Camus and Salinger both reflect society’s desires to categorise people into certain sections of the social order, in order to demonstrate society’s overwhelming pressure on an individual to fit in. This is seen in The Outsider where
CUMULATIVE COUNT: 570 WORDS
resists the court’s pressure to justify his murdering of the Arab, claiming that the murder took place by “chance”1. In refusing to justify his action, Meursault allows the prosecutor at his trial to dub a “heartless criminal”2, as opposed to a remorseful offender who regrets his actions. This idea is also presented in The Catcher in the Rye where Salinger portrays Holden as an immature seventeen-year old who does not wish to be categorized as such. Holden’s immaturity is apparent when is refused liquor by numerous waiters and laughed at by a group of middle-aged women after attempting to flirt with them; the waiter asking for “verification of age”3 and the women asking, “how old are you?”4 As a result, society classifies Holden as immature because he cannot accept that society does not regard him as an adult. Correspondingly in The Outsider, society pressures Meursault to be categorized as a remorseful man who wants to find forgiveness in religion, a classification that Meursault refuses to accept. Society’s overwhelming pressure and desire to categorize Meursault is seen in the actions of the deeply religious magistrate and priest who plead with Meursault to accept religion. This rejection of religion is seen in Meursault’s words, “he pleaded with me one last time, asking me if I believed in God. I said no.”5 Nevertheless, the notion that society desires to categorise people and fit them into certain sections of the social order is still apparent when the Magistrate dubs Meursault as “Mr. Antichrist”6. Similarly, Holden resists society’s pressures to categorise him as part of any religion and instead he chooses to call himself an “atheist”7. Holden’s contempt for society’s categorization of people is also apparent when he comments how he is “crazy about The Great Gatsby”8, a novel that criticises the corruption of the American class system in the decades after the First World War.
1. The Outsider, Published in Penguin Books, 1983 PG. 92
2. The Outsider PG. 93
3. Catcher in the Rye, Published in Penguin Books, 1958 PG. 62
4. Catcher in the Rye PG. 65
5. The Outsider PG. 68
6. The Outsider PG. 70
7. Catcher in the Rye PG. 89
8. Catcher in the Rye PG. 127
CUMULATIVE COUNT: 883 WORDS
This idea of society categorizing people also translates to real life, as seen by the recent questionable rescue of the female American soldier in Iraq, an incident where the facts seem to be ignored in order to satisfy the public’s view of her being classified an American hero.
Throughout both texts, the authors portray the individual’s decision either to agree or refuse to conform to society’s beliefs in order to show the extent of society’s pressure on the individual to fit in. In The Outsider, Camus begins with the line “Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know”9. This serves as an indicator of ’s unaware, unconcerned and nonconformist nature. As a result of not yielding to accepted social mores of knowing and caring about one’s own mother, Meursault is frowned upon by society for his lack of emotion. This idea of non-conforming to society’s mores is also apparent when is criticised, and hence pressured, by the court for drinking “white coffee”10, smoking “a cigarette”11 and because he “dozed off for a while”12 by his mother’s coffin; all of these acts seen as not fitting in with what is deemed proper. This concept, however, surpasses mere literature and is in fact evident in real society as seen by Lindy Chamberlain at her daughter’s inquest several years ago. The mother’s seeming lack of emotion and her phlegmatic disposition, similar to Meursault, caused her to be seen as infringing society’s morals, uncaring about her daughter’s death and even guilty of foul play. Consequently, the media and society labelled her guilty because of her seemingly callous nature. In contrast to Meursault’s resistance of society’s pressures, Salinger portrays Holden’s
9. The Outsider PG. 9
10. The Outsider PG. 14
11. The Outsider PG. 14
12. The Outsider PG. 14
CUMULATIVE COUNT: 1160 WORDS
attempt to fit in with his peers. An example of Holden’s effort to fit into society and satisfy its mores is seen in incidents such as not wearing his hunting hat because society had labelled it ridiculous. Even though Holden acknowledges it was “cold as a witch’s teat”13 he still does not wear the hat as a result of society pressuring him not to wear it. Salinger also illustrates this in a New York City nightclub, where the reader witnesses Holden’s conforming to society’s expectations when he says goodbye to the naval officer accompanying D.B’s former girlfriend, even though he admits his “Glad to have met you”14 was insincere and that he was “not at all glad”15 but was merely courteous in order to satisfy society’s mores. In contrast to Holden’s earlier attempts to fit into society, the later scenes of the novel, generally once he is intoxicated in New York City, depict Holden’s conscious decision to rebel against society’s mores and wear his ridiculous hat even though it does not conform to society’s desires. Ultimately both texts depict the different outcomes for individuals who must choose either to follow or resist society’s pressures.
Camus and Salinger also show the impact of not conforming to society’s mores. This is observed when Holden retells of the suicide of a young student at his school, named James Castle. Holden explains how the boy “instead of taking back what he said”16 about another student, suffered harassment and pressure to a point where he could not stand it any more and hence “he jumped out the window”17. The result of not conforming to society’s mores is also illustrated by Salinger’s depiction of a mentally unstable Holden who, similarly to James Castle,
13. Catcher in the Rye PG. 3
14. Catcher in the Rye PG. 79
15. Catcher in the Rye PG. 79
16. Catcher in the Rye PG. 153
17. Catcher in the Rye PG. 153
CUMULATIVE COUNT: 1447 WORDS
reveals the impact of society’s overwhelming pressures in his mental breakdown and specifically in the comment “what I really felt like, though, was committing suicide”18. The destructive nature of society’s pressures is also seen in Holden’s comments about his older brother D.B when he describes his resentment of society because it pressured D.B to throw away his apparently marvellous talent for writing and go to Hollywood in order to write movies. As a result of D.B’s choice to give into society’s pressure, Holden labels him a Hollywood “prostitute”19 and categorizes him as a “phony”20, someone who betrays individual moral beliefs in order to take on those of society. This is contrasted to the character of Mr. Antolini whom Holden uses as a role model for how not to become a “phony”, seeing that he has not conceded to society’s pressures and hence does not attempt to hide or change his cluttered apartment, older wife or the fact that he is a “heavy drinker”21. Camus also presents this idea where society seeks to pressure Meursault into at least developing a rational explanation for the murder of the Arab, one that cannot offer. As a result of his reluctance to give into society’s pressures, is sentenced to death in what the author describes as a “debt owed to society”22, a very different fate from what may have occurred had Meursault shown remorse. This prominent idea that society pressures individuals into the actions they take is also seen in other novels such as Fly Away Peter. In this novel, society’s demands cause the main character Jim to give into the pressure on young men and enrol in the Australian infantry to fight on the World War One battlefront, only to die in battle.
18. Catcher in the Rye PG. 94
19. Catcher in the Rye PG. 1
20. Catcher in the Rye, Multiple references throughout text
21. Catcher in the Rye PG. 163
22. The Outsider PG. 105
CUMULATIVE COUNT: 1739 WORDS
Salinger and Camus furthermore make significant use of the endings of their novels in order to depict two very different outcomes of people dealing with society’s pressure to fit in. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden, who has relentlessly criticised society, eventually concedes to society’s pressures and chooses to accept its mores. As a result of his choice to conform to society, the conclusion reveals a more resolute and rehabilitated Holden Caulfield, a vast contrast to his otherwise imminent mental break down. Conversely, The Outsider’s ending denotes that as a result of resisting society’s mores and refusing to fit in, Meursault is eventually executed and hence removed form the very society with which he refused to conform. Whereas Camus provides his reader with a more resolute and definite ending, that of Meursault’s refusal to fit in and hence his execution; Salinger ends his novel in a manner that allows the reader to question what the true outcome of conforming to society may be.
Ultimately, Camus and Salinger utilise the diverse genres of a bildungsroman and a fictive autobiography, in order to show how society can pressure two relatively different individuals to fit in and conform to society’s mores. By shrewdly reflecting incidents of real life, while employing a first person perspective and colloquial language, the authors create a bond between the reader and the protagonist and hence allow the reader to experience the pressures that Holden and Meursault must confront.
CUMULATIVE COUNT: 1980 WORDS