EN355 Modern & Contemporary American Fiction

From the abstract: "The early reception of D.B.C. Pierre’s Vernon God Little (2003) has been characterized by comparisons with two canonical literary antecedents: J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1991/1951) and, at a greater remove, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). The three novels capitalize on the subversive potential of disaffected teenage narrators, whose compelling vernacular voices, and distinctive position as outsiders in the adult world, are powerful tools for social critique. This article offers an analysis of the continuities and discontinuities in the narrative tradition that links Vernon Little to Huckleberry Finn via the pivotal figure of Holden Caulfield, who is widely considered as the original, unsurpassed model of adolescent rebelliousness in modern literature."

From the abstract: "Many critics have remarked on the deeply religious character of J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye; the novel has been discussed, for example, in terms of Zen Buddhism and Gnosticism. Catcher's treatment of Christianity, however, has received little attention. This omission is regrettable given the characteristic acuity with which its narrator, Holden Caulfield, addresses Christian sources and themes. The aim of this article, therefore, is to consider in detail Holden's conflicted attitude toward Christianity. It contends that despite Holden's biting complaints against Christians (e.g., that many are hypocritical, cliquish, or ostentatious), he manifests an affinity for Christ and an attraction to Christian forms of religious life."

From the abstract: "This philosophical treatment of J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye critically examines the stylistic and situational choices by which the author portrays a callow youth growing up absurd in post-World War II America. The portrait of youthful alienation that Salinger paints in the novel needs to be understood as an abstraction from Salinger's very individual, fictional cameo of Holden Caulfield as filled with a self-loathing he projects onto others because of his unresolved sense of loss and survivor's guilt over the death by leukemia of his younger brother, Allie"

From the abstract: "This paper is an attempt to explore J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (1951/1958) in relation to Winnicott's theories of adolescent development, also with regard to psychodynamic theories of symbolism, mourning, defence mechanisms and containment. I consider the significance of the novel's protagonist and narrator Holden Caulfield. What is the reason for the enduring popularity of his voice and its influence on the tone of subsequent adolescent literature? To answer this question, I examine the role this iconic, troubled character may play in the development of the adolescent reader."

From the abstract: "In this article, the author discusses the working of writers such as poet William Shakespeare and novelist Ernest Hemingway. It mentions the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger depicting teenage angst and alienation. It also mentions that the novel critiquing the succession of upper-class prep schools that have given up on fictional character of the novel Holden Caufield."