Discuss the view that in "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" and "Catcher in the Rye" Holden and Ruby can be regarded as unreliable narrators

Julia Christie Coursework Discuss the view that in "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" and "Catcher in the Rye" Holden and Ruby can be regarded as unreliable narrators ---------------------------------- In both "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" and "Catcher in the Rye" there are obvious signs that Holden and Ruby are troubled and unreliable characters. The informal conversational tone that Holden uses is meant to be spontaneous and unrehearsed; so instead of getting a focused autobiography, we get a scanty account of a few days that often trail into other stories that are what we use to draw a picture of Holden. Holden states his intentions from the beginning. He has no intentions of telling his 'whole goddam autobiography or anything' and states clearly that he doesn't want to write 'all that David Copperfield kind of crap'. This also suggests that Holden has no concern with what has happened previously, which we later see is not the case. "Catcher in the Rye" is only spread over a few days unlike "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" which can be seen as more of a bildungsroman and appears to be a child's viewpoint in an adults voice. This is characterised by the use of vocabulary and descriptions and also marked by the use of parenthesis. Parenthesis often follows descriptions such as after the description of the guest bed Ruby adds in brackets 'much nicer than the camp bed'

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 2537
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Why is symbolism in the Catcher in the Rye so important?

Andre Malan (word Count 1064) Why is symbolism in the Catcher in the Rye so important? Symbolism is an essential element in any literary work. This is especially true for J.D. Salinger's novel the Catcher in the Rye. Salinger's main character, Holden finds it difficult to communicate with the outside world and therefore with us, the reader. Salinger uses symbolism as a subtle way of communicating Holden's emotions and faults to us the reader, without compromising the consistency of his characters by forcing Holden to do so. Salinger also uses symbolism to relate events in the novel to society at the time and expose its faults to public ridicule and criticism. Finally Salinger uses symbolism to highlight the idea of Holden making a journey and to make the reader aware of when Holden's journey has reached an end. Holden hides his emotions from himself and from those around him. He says that his breaking of the car windows was 'just for the hell of it' (Salinger 39), when it is patently obvious to the reader that this violent reaction was due to anger and pain caused by the death of his brother Allie. Salinger uses the symbol of Holden's hand that 'still hurts me once in a while' (39) to show us that the death of Allie still causes Holden great emotional pain. He also uses the hand to show that The death of Allie has weakened Holden 'I can't make a real fist anymore - not a

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 1095
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

'Holden's quest is an impossible one; it is a quest for the preservation of innocence in a world of phoniness and cruelty'. By close examination of appropriate episodes in the novel, discuss how far you would agree with this statement.

'Holden's quest is an impossible one; it is a quest for the preservation of innocence in a world of phoniness and cruelty'. By close examination of appropriate episodes in the novel, discuss how far you would agree with this statement. On reading 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D Salinger we discover Holden Caulfield's quest to preserve innocence in the world of phoniness and cruelty that surrounds him. However, the various people, places and events that we come across as the story unfolds lead us to doubt the possibility of such a quest. The novel takes the form of a retrospective narrative as Holden, the seventeen year old narrator and protagonist, relates to us from a kind of institution the "madman stuff" that happened to him the previous December. It charts Holden's journey other three significant days in his life, from the elite boarding school Pencey Prep to the urban wilderness of New York City as he resists entry to the adult world which he views as a cold, cruel and corrupt place. His overriding belief is that this world poses a major threat to the purity and virtue of childhood innocence. I will now explore the many ways in which Holden attempts to protect this innocence and evaluate the extent to which he succeeds in his quest. In order to better understand the innocence-threatening world presented to us in the novel, we must first consider its various contextual

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 4307
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay