Catcher In The Rye - The Conte :: essays research papers

J.D. Salinger is considered one of the most critically reviewed author in modern literature. In particular his only sweet Catcher in the Rye has received the most criticism.The account book has been constantly debate and sometimes banned in some states because of its vulgar expression and sexual content. On the other hand it is used in freshmen side of meat and praised as the greatest book in the twentieth century. Catcher in the Rye has been reviewed in many aspects. People had drawn many conclusions in trying to decipher the meaning of Catcher in the Rye and the mentality behind the mysterious Salinger. Buddhism is one apparent aspect in this book and it is also apparent in Salingers life. Does Salinger exhibit Buddhism on diametric levels in Catcher in the Rye?The main character in the book is Holden Caulfield. He attends a rich prep school called Prency prep. It is a school that typifies the idealistic American school, where the dirt and grind does not demand a space, at least not on the surface. Holden is thusly expelled from the school, and starts to punt out the world on his own. He goes back down to bleak York, the dirt and grind capital of the world. He gets more and more sickened by the fakeness, and cruelty of the world. An example of this would be in the Catcher in the Rye, when he goes in to the museum he notices an obscenity written with a childs red crayon on the wall(121 bloom). Holden says in the novel Thats the whole trouble, he realizes. You cant ever find a place thats nice and peaceful, because there isnt any. You may regard there is, but once you get there, when youre not looking, personll sneak up and write Fuck you right under your poke(264 Salinger). He throws up because of the whole idea and from that point he then begins to understands the real meaning of life and learns to accept life as life. Holdens life is a mirror image of the life of Siddharta Gotama the price of Nepal in 563 B.C. The story of the Prince is the pri nce lived in his kingdom where he was shielded from suffering. He never saw the dead, the dying, the suffering, the hungry. He knew none such existed. Until one day he had ventured out of the kingdom and saw the things he had been shielded from.