literature

Introduction

The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria deals with issues of global dominance. In this book, Zakaria analyses the role that the US has played in both political and world domination. Zakaria reveals that his book is not about the fall of America.

He writes that his book is about the rise of other countries. He refers to these countries as ‘everyone else’¹. The Post-American World is different from similar books because it does not portray the fall of America but rather dwells on the rise of other countries such as India and China. Zakaria posits that the United States will lose its global influence on politics and capital. The US will however remain strong.

He compares the current US position with similar positions held by countries such as Britain. Zakaria informs us that Britain and the US have dominated global economics and politics for the last 500 years. While Britain has lost both its economic and military dominance, the US has gained a modern military that dwarfs all other armies in terms of size and equipment. Zakaria gives an optimistic analysis of the next fifty or so years. India, Russia and China will continue to rise.²

This book has enjoyed thousands of reviews from magazines and internet users around the globe. It has been viewed as sharp and accurate. It is a good account of global politics and issues and is written with a comfortable journalistic style. The author is well known and very credible. Zakaria maintains that we are living in a “peaceful era”. He is highly hopeful of the 21^st century. He says that global violence was at its climax in the 1980s and 1990s and is now on a historical decline. Less people are perishing in conflicts. He alludes that the US has played a great role in fostering democracy and economic growth around the world.³

As a result, many countries are now rising on the economic front. Wealth has spread to developing countries. The US no longer has the highest buildings or the largest dams. Zakaria looks at the implications of these facts. He advises the United States on the steps it should take to improve its viability.⁴

Body

Zakaria analyses how developing countries have risen over the past decade. This financial growth has created political confidence and patriotism. The downside is that it can also create serious problems. The book informs the US on how to deal with this new age. The book notes that there have been a few changes of power over the last 500 years. These changes have transferred power from the West to the United States.

This power is now being shared by the US and emerging countries such as Brazil, Russia and China. The United States had a lot of economic power at the beginning of the 20^th Century. That power was initially not political. The US gained political power in the middle of the 20^th Century. That power has waned and is now held by several other powerful countries.⁵ Zakaria describes a new world order. He describes his book as such: “This is a book not about the decline of America but rather about the rise of everyone else.” He reports that the number of poor people is reducing in most of the world’s countries.

The world economy has experienced historic growth despite events such as the September 11 terrorist attacks. It “grew at its fastest rate in nearly four decades.”⁶ Macao makes more than Las Vegas in regards to casino taxes. Singapore has the largest Ferris wheel. Bollywood has overtaken Hollywood. A small number of countries experience more than 15 percent inflation. An interesting note is that Iran spends about a penny for every dollar the US spends on weapons. The United States economy has dwindled in comparison to other nations.⁷

This book emphasizes the role of strong central governments. Some people have consequently viewed it as communist. The Post-American World has seven chapters. It first declares its main argument. The argument is that a new power shift has emerged. The United States will remain as the most influential country but with less influence compared to the last few decades. There has also been a shift of power to large non-governmental organizations.

These international organizations need to take adaptive steps to modern trends. Zakaria believes that there is little focus on important issues such as the environment of our planet and inflation. He believes that too much focus is being put on less important factors such as terrorism. The book looks at the factors that have led to the current situation. The West became powerful because of encouraging trade with various nations. The West also improved its labor productivity and. This is where Britain and Europe traded with people from all backgrounds. Britain traded with China, India and nations from other continents.

The US took over this power because of its free market economy and capitalist policy. The US successfully spread this policy to other regions. This spread has caused the creation of new economic powers in a number of nations. The economies of these nations have surged dramatically.⁸ The book compares this growth to similar growths in the late nineteenth century and mid-twentieth century.⁹ In both instances there were new nations that climbed the ranks to become global powers. The author looks at how the US has become distrustful of people from other countries.¹⁰

An entire chapter is dedicated to China. China exports more products on a daily basis than it did in the whole of 1978. Zakaria analyses how the country has steadily modernized. China has undertaken a technique of minor and gradual reforms. It now stands next to the United States on the power scale. It will however take decades for it to reach the same level as the US. China’s Confucian idealism has enabled it to embrace success. This ideology holds that people can be tutored and improved. This can be achieved through individual and collective efforts. High merit and moral perfection are embraced.¹¹

The country also has strong beliefs in the practicality and rationalism. It has an attractive non-combative guiding principle that has been well applied in Africa. This is in contrast to the forceful Western style of intervention. The Western style enforces reforms but the Chinese do not force anyone to reform. China has a fear of social reforms and this is what inhibits it. This is due to its top-bottom political structure.¹²

India also has an entire chapter. It has bottom-top political structure that always falls prey to social unrest. This unrest has little political effect. One of India’s inhibitions is the fact that high priority is put on regional matters. This takes away attention from national matters. This is evident in its government policy and decisions. This book looks at India’s plus side. India has autonomous courts.

Contracts and private property rights are respected. There are many businessmen who speak English.¹³ The constitution is strictly adhered to and the private sector is stable and strong. The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria analyses how global powers have used their power. It summarizes the state of economies, politics and stability. It looks at how Britain and the US started the Boer War and the Iraq War. Britain had enormous political power but it lost its financial authority. The US had unsurpassed economic dominance at the start of the 21^st century. The US was different because it had diminished its political power¹⁴.

Fareed Zakaria is optimistic on the future of the US. He disagrees with signs that show the US is deteriorating. He warns the US about the dangers of internal partisan politics and domestic extremism. He decries the allocation of power to special interest groups. Zakaria is opposed to media sensationalism. This media reduces the federal government’s capacity to deal with new world trends. The book gives a precise and real account of how the United States has used its power.¹⁵

Fareed Zakaria offers six guidelines that the United States should abide to. The guidelines are intended to make the US remain economically and politically strong. The first guideline requires that the US choose its priorities. Zakaria recommends that the US should decide what is important to it instead of spreading its focus on several issues. The US should concentrate on saving and improving the environment and deal with rising commodity prices. Broad rules should be created.¹⁶

Special interests should be put aside. Global mechanisms and institutions should be strengthened and enforced. The United States must commit to these mechanisms and institutions. The third guideline says “Be Bismarck, not Britain”¹⁷. The United States should foster good relations with every nation. They should not try to counterbalance budding powers. Britain lost heavily because of maintaining strained relations with strategic powers.

The US should respond to problems through a variety of organs such as the United Nations, OAS or NATO.¹⁸ It should not address all issues using one front. The US should be rational and assign adequate priorities to all challenges. It should not give undue attention to minor events. The US should deal with terrorists and drug cartels. The last guideline advices the US that legitimacy is the element that determines who has influence. It generates the power to influence agendas and mobilize support.

Conclusion

The Post American World is an informed account of the state of global power. One disadvantage of the book is its brevity. It looks at the changes in the world with a more detailed focus on the events of the last three decades. It shows how US attitudes have changed and there is a greater suspicion of foreigners. The United States is given advice on how it should change and adapt to a new world order. The book gives an optimistic success on the future of the United States. The United States will remain economically and politically powerful but global power will be spread out more evenly.¹⁹

Works Cited

Drezner, Daniel W. Avoiding trivia: the role of strategic planning in American foreign policy. Chicago: Brookings Institution Press, 2009.

Herring, George C. From colony to superpower: U.S. foreign relations since 1776. Oxford University Press US, 2008.

Indyk, Martin Innocent abroad: an intimate account of American peace diplomacy in the Middle East. Simon & Schuster, 2009.

Lundestad, Geir. East, West, North, South: Major Developments in International Politics since 1945. SAGE Publications Ltd, 2010.

Moïsi, Dominique. The Geopolitics of Emotion: How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation, and Hope Are Reshaping the World. Doubleday, 2009.

Salkowitz, Rob. Young World Rising: How Youth Technology and Entrepreneurship Are Changing the World from the Bottom Up. John Wiley and Sons, 2010.

Sen, Amartya. The Idea of Justice. Harvard University Press, 2009.

Waters, Neil L. Beyond the area studies wars: toward a new international studies UPNE. Chicago, 2000.

White, Jane. America, Welcome to the Poorhouse: What You Must Do to Protect Your Financial Future and the Reform We Need. FT Press, 2009.

Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2008.

Footnotes

1. Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. (New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2008), 5.
2. Waters, Neil L. Beyond the area studies wars: toward a new international studies (Chicago: UPNE, 2000), 56.
3. Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. (NY: W.W. Norton & Co, 2008), 119.
4. White, Jane. America, Welcome to the Poorhouse: What You Must Do to Protect Your Financial Future and the Reform We Need. (Houston: FT Press, 2009), 142.
5. Lundestad, Geir. East, West, North, South: Major Developments in International Politics since 1945. (New York: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2010), 121.
6. Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. (New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2008), 145.
7. Lundestad, Geir. East, West, North, South: Major Developments in International Politics since 1945. (New York: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2010), 121.
8. Lundestad, Geir. East, West, North, South: Major Developments in International Politics since 1945. (New York: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2010), 68.
9. Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. (New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2008), 209.
10. Sen, Amartya. The Idea of Justice. (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2009), 97.
11. Salkowitz, Rob. Young World Rising: How Youth Technology and Entrepreneurship are Changing the World from the Bottom Up. ( London: John Wiley and Sons, 2010), 67.
12. Sen, Amartya. The Idea of Justice. (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2009), 76.
13. Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. New York: (W.W. Norton & Co, 2008), 214.
14. Herring, George C. From colony to superpower: U.S. foreign relations since 1776. (New York: Oxford University Press US, 2008), 45.
15. Indyk, Martin Innocent abroad: an intimate account of American peace diplomacy in the Middle East. (London: Simon & Schuster, 2009), 78.
16. Drezner, Daniel W. Avoiding trivia: the role of strategic planning in American foreign policy. (Chicago: Brookings Institution Press, 2009), 245.
17. Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. (New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2008), 111.
18. Moïsi, Dominique. The Geopolitics of Emotion: How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation, and Hope Are Reshaping the World. (Los Angeles: Doubleday, 2009), 162.
19. Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World. (New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2008), 219.

In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte; females are portrayed from various perspectives in which different women come out to possess various personalities, different from others. In this book, Charlotte Bronte introduces a very well-behaved young girl who is an orphan; and one who had been severely receiving mistreatments from her aunt; the wife to her uncle. The character of Jane’s aunt comes out to contradict that of Jane, who is a very humble and well-behaved girl; who lived by her strong principles (Drakulic 125-145).

According to the theory,’infection of the science: the woman writer and the anxiety of authorship’ Charlotte’s writings seem too much influenced by her pre-cursors in the sense that, she seems to have anxiety in her authorship to bring male characters to be humane. In this book, the author brings the two characters, Jane and her aunt; who seem to be contradictory to each other in the sense that the likes of each seem to differ from those of the other.

Critically, such characters portray the disparity of characters in individuals even if they happen to be of the same gender. This difference in personality is far much rooted in certain life events that people undergo; which are different from each other’s, where afterward such characters develop to dominate the personalities these different people generally develop. Charlotte’s anxiety in her authorship seems to revolve around her work in this book Jane Eyre in various aspects as scenes unfold in the story (Duhacek 131-137).

The issue of gender and oppression comes out to be depicted in the book, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. This is portrayed when Jane is openly mistreated by her cousins who are boys, as she is a girl. On this basis, therefore, it can be seen that gender issues are emerging to explain how women in the society undergo abuse and mistreatment from males; who seem to dominate over the person of a woman. This is one of the many instances that Jane is mistreated by male characters; indicating the way females in the society are often mistreated by males (Drakulic 125-145).

The theory of literacy sub-culture on the other hand seems to bring out Charlotte’s works as being influenced by her female predecessors in the authorship of books. This is better explained by her work when she brings in to focus the gender issue. On the gender issue still; when Jane completes her schooling excellently securing a position in a teaching post; she is later portrayed to be loved by the character of her employer. In the first instance, Jane seems not to love him but the administrator insists that she must marry him; which Jane later falls for. To Jane; the fact that the school administrator was married makes her not like the idea of their having a relationship between them.

After she fails to comply with her employer regarding the relationship issue; she loses her job which makes her start living the life of a beggar despite her being educated and holding onto the good morals she had. Generally, the mistreatment of women by men is witnessed more often in this book; where Jane finds herself to be the victim of situations in many instances (Erich 77-80).

Love and passion are also other issues that the book, Jane Eyre expounds in-depth; where Jane is the key player in bringing out this issue to focus. As it has been revealed; Jane’s success in the various things she has been doing, all revolve around the theme of love and the passion she had for other people. The love that Jane had for her aunt despite her ill-treatment of her; portrays the way the simplicity of the life of the poor differs from the complexity of the life of the rich; who seem to be heartless and cruel. In his case, Jane who comes from a poor family lives with her rich uncle’s family; from which she receives various mistreatments from the madam and in return shows her brutal aunt a lot of love in exchange (Duhacek 131-137).

In this perspective therefore the book Jane Eyre seems to revolve around love and passion where the main character seems to portray love to every situational encounter; despite the ill-treatments, she receives from these various characters. As it is seen, when Jane’s employer in the school falls in love with her; Jane does not provoke her inhuman nature but mainly displays her morality by refusing to be married as a second wife; until the death of her employer’s wife when she returns for a reunion with her employer getting on to the marital issue (Erich 77-80).

Generally, this book seems to revolve around love and passion; which according to my view the writer wanted to bring out the love and care that should be borne in all people and across all dealings. From the plot this is used to mean that, women in contemporary society should be good-hearted and ones who portray love and care; for and to the other people within the society (Burg et. al. 535-550).

Another issue that is brought out within the story is sovereignty; where the writer of the book brings out the appeal for the appreciation of an individual’s significance. Throughout the story, Jane seems to be on her own and the author treats her as an independent girl with her likes, talents, and interests. Jane’s defiance from her aunt is one of the instances that show how Jane’s life was independent; and that she never feared any person who came along her way to ideality (Drakulic 125-145).

More so, when Jane is pushed by her employer who happens to be very rich; Jane does not accept in the first instance his advances; which portrays how Jane lived an independent life despite her supporters withdrawing the support that they had on her. Further, when Jane loses her job after she objects to her employer’s confrontations of engaging her into a love affair knowing that he was married; Jane lives her own life despite its being a pathetic one, as she becomes a beggar with all the education she had attained (Drakulic 123-130).

Generally, the author brings Jane out as an example to depict how women are expected to be and live within the society. From a personal point of view; the book depicts the expectations of the society from the women, who should be self-reliant and independent in one way or the other; a character which Jane in the book Jane Eyre is portrayed to have. In this perspective therefore the independence part of humans is very crucial; to maintain oneself regardless of the prevailing conditions. In this aspect therefore the writer seems to contemplate the mark of inferiority in women by bringing in the female characters who demonstrate very strong grounds of being independent (Burg et. al. 535-550).

Lastly, atonement and forgiveness seem to prevail in various scenes as the story unfolds. The religious concerns by various characters in the book seem to seek forgiveness as the events in the book reveal. Rochester, who was Jane’s employer, is greatly tormented by reviewing how he had previously mistreated Jane; when she refused to accept his marriage proposal at first, which was followed by Jane’s loss of her job. Rochester makes atone of his behavior; after which she openly accepts Jane when she comes back to her for reconciliation. Jane on the other hand finds it in her heart to forgive most of the people who wronged her from the various incidences shown in the book (Drakulic 123-130).

Jane’s humility and good-heartedness from these instances is the basis for her character of being ready to forgive everybody who wrongs her. The first incidence is seen when Mrs. Reeds, her aunt mistreats her; after which she finds herself in trouble and Jane offers to help her. More so, Jane forgives Mr. Rochester for all the wrongs he had done to her even to the extent of sending her off his job after she failed to fulfill his desires for marrying him. Despite all the torture Jane gets from being sent out of job and having nowhere to go; which leads to her leading the life of a beggar, Jane forgives Mr. Rochester who was the ultimate cause of all the torture that she went through (Burg et. al. 535-550).

The fact that Jane’s mistreatment by the various characters seems to follow her in all the places that she goes; is used to show the fact that she generally forgives all the wrong against her very easily. From a personal point of view; the author brings out the character that is expected of the ladies within the contemporary society for co-existence. Further, Jane gives a good example of the kind of women that society today deserves; so as not to cause much alienation among its members.

Works cited

Burg, Steven and Berbaum, Michael. “Community, Integration, and Stability in Multinational Yugoslavia.” New York: Harvard Publishers. (1989): 535-550.

Drakulic, Slavenka. “Women and the New Democracy in the Former Yugoslavia: In Gender Politics and Post-Communism: Reflection from Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union”. New York: Rutledge. (1993): 123-130.

Drakulic, Slavenka. “The Balkan Express: Fragments from the Other Side of War”. New York: Norton & Company Inc. (1993): 125-145.

Duhacek, Dasa. “Women’s Time in the Former Yugoslavia: In Gender Politics and Post-Communism: Reflection from Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. New York: Rutledge (1993): 131-137.

Erich, Vera. “Family in Transition: A Study of 300 Yugoslav Villages”. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966.

Introduction

James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902- May 22, 1967) was an American poet, columnist, novelist and short story writer and was one of the earliest innovators of an art form known as jazz poetry. He was a prolific writer and devoted his life to writing and lecturing, he also edited anthologies in an effort to promote African writers. Most of his works were based on the fight against racial prejudice among his fellow black countrymen and the rest of Europe. Among his famous poems are; “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, “Let America be America” and “A New Song”. He died from prostrate cancer at the age of 65.

Tennessee Williams (March 26, 1911- February 25, 1983), born Thomas Lanier Williams, is one of America’s foremost 20^th century playwrights and authored more than 70 plays, these included “The Glass Menagerie” (1945) and “The Night of the Iguana” (1961) which received New York Drama Critics Circle Awards and “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1947) which received a Pulitzer Prize. Most of his plays dwelt on the frustrations of a society (Infoplease, n.d, Par. 1).

Aim

The aim of the paper is to look into the background of Langston Hughes and Tennessee Williams and make a comparison between these two early writers by studying their literary styles.

Discussion

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri to Carrie Mercer Langston and her husband James Nathaniel Hughes, both parents being of mixed race. He wad brought up by his grandmother, Mary Langston, because his parents had divorced while he was young. It is the grandmother who instilled a sense of racial pride that would later on influence his works. Hughes later moved to live with his mother in Illinois after the death of his grandmother, it is here that he attended high school and began writing poetry.

Hughes joined his father in Mexico after graduating from high school. His father never thought he would be able to make a living out of poetry and wanted him to study engineering instead. Hughes finally joined Columbia University to study engineering in 1921 but dropped out in 1922 due to racial prejudice within the university but continued writing poetry, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (1926) was his first published poem. He did odd jobs and in 1923 joined the S.S. Malone, traveling to West Africa and Europe, he left the job and worked in England before returning to the US in November 1924 to live with his mother who had moved to Washington DC.

Hughes joined the Lincoln University in Pennsylvania after receiving a scholarship in 1926 and graduated in 1929 with a B.A. In 1943, he was awarded an honorary Lit. D. by his alma mater, He moved into New York in the same year and lived in Harlem for the rest of his life.

Langston Hughes was very creative, his first work was published in 1926, and this was “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. Hughes not only wrote plays. He also wrote, musicals and operas, short stories and novels and edited anthologies too, anthologies include “New Negro Poets: USA” (1964), “The Best Short Stories by Negro Writers” (1967) and “An African Treasury” (1960). Hughes’ once said that his poetry was influenced by the American poets Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Carl Sandburg and his life and work greatly influenced the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. His main concern was to encourage the black people and his poetry reflected this; confronting racial prejudice and protesting poor working conditions.

Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams in Columbus, Mississippi to Edwina and Cornelius Williams. His father was a traveling salesman for a shoe manufacturing company. He also had an older sister, Rose, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age and spent most of her life in mental institutions (The Midge, 2008, par.2). Tennessee Williams was very close to Rose and when a prefrontal lobotomy was performed on her which incapacitated her for the whole of her life, he became very lonely and this could have possibly led to his dependence on alcohol and drugs. The family moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he attended Soldan High School. He joined the University of Missouri in the early 1930s, transferring to Washington University and later to University of Iowa where he graduated in 1938.

He moved into New Orleans, Louisiana in 1939 where he wrote for the Works Progress Administration for sometime. “Battle of Angels” became his first professionally produced play and in 1940 but was not widely received. His best known play, “The Glass Menagerie” opened up on Broadway in 1945 and won several awards. Other plays which featured on Broadway include “A Rose Tattoo” and “Camino Real”. “A Hot Tin Roof” and “Orpheus Descending” among others were turned into motion pictures. In the course of his career, William’s collected many awards including Donaldson awards, Tony award, an $11,000 Commonwealth award, an honorary doctorate from Harvard University and was also honored by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Most of the plays written by William revolved on the conflict between sexuality, society and Christianity.

Tennessee Williams died at the age of 71 with police reports indicating that alcohol and drug use was the probable cause of his death. In late 2009, he was inducted into the Poet’s Corner, which is also shared by William Shakespeare.

A comparison of Langston Hughes and Tennessee Williams

It is observed that Langston Hughes’ early inspiration came from his grandmother, Mary Langston, whom he lived with for most of his childhood. The grandmother instilled a lasting sense of racial pride which would later influence most of his work which were mostly calls on the African Americans to rise up and fight racial prejudice. His poems were about race-consciousness and influenced many local and foreign black writers.

Tennessee Williams found inspiration from his mother who gave him a typewriter when he was young and encouraged him to write, he also used writing to get away from his parents’ conflict. His father repeatedly favored his younger brother and thus he remained aloof, this gave him more time to write and also set the theme for his poems in the latter years; frustrations of the society.

Langston Hughes’ plays were very popular within and outside the United States, notably among the black people. He won admiration for his distaste of the white oppression and was in turn awarded honorary Lit. D. by the Lincoln University, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1935 and a Rosenwald Fellowship in 1940. Tennessee Williams won even more awards; these included Donaldson award, Tony award, an $11,000 Commonwealth award, a Pulitzer Prize, an honorary doctorate from Harvard University and was also honored by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

Langston Hughes and Tennessee Williams both had similar backgrounds; both had very troubled childhoods. Hughes was largely raised by his grandmother following the acrimonious divorce of his parents. He lived with family friends after the death of his grandmother, later joining his mother in Ohio. He eventually joined his father in Mexico in the latter years after graduating from high school. Tennessee Williams’ father was always absent due to the nature of his job and when he was at home, he repeatedly favored Williams younger brother over him. His father was also a heavy drinker and often beat Williams’ younger brother when drunk. Williams was also handicapped for two years while young and could not walk, it is during this period that he honed his writing skills.

It is this troubled childhood that heavily influenced these two writers later in life.

Conclusion

Langston Hughes and Tennessee Williams were both writers artists in the 18^th century with diverse themes but had a common background in their childhood. This childhood influenced their themes in the latter stages of their lives. Although Tennessee Williams received more accolades than Langston Hughes, it is worthy to note that racial segregation was at its toll during this time and access to the mainstream population was more of a challenge. Langston Hughes also wrote to a specific audience; the African Americans.

Reference List

Infoplease. (n. d.). Williams, Tennessee. Web.

James Langston Hughes. Web.

Famous Poets and Poems. (n. d. ). Langston Hughes Biography. Web.

The Midge. (2008). A brief History of Tennessee Williams. Web.

The play, Othello, is full of terrible ironies. At the heart of these ironies is the symbol of a handkerchief. The handkerchief is given by Othello to Desdemona. Othello tells her that the handkerchief was made by a sibyl and it was used by his mother to ensure marital fidelity (Shakespeare 98). Othello thus gives the handkerchief to Desdemona as a sign of love and marital fidelity. The handkerchief has some strawberry patterns. The patterns of strawberries are made in a way that suggests virginity. However due to manipulations and interference by Iago, the handkerchief which is a sign of true love becomes a sign of jealousy, insecurity and lack of fidelity. In the course of the play, Desdemona and the handkerchief retain their symbolism and they do not change despite the attempts by Iago to change them.

To start with, the handkerchief is a symbol of love and affection. It is a symbol of marital fidelity. The handkerchief is the initial gift that Othello give Desdemona and she really treasures it. It is the one that indicates the love that is there between the two. She does not leave it behind and in act three scene two, she says that she must be with it everywhere she goes ( Shakespeare 78). Apart from love and fidelity, the handkerchief also captures the virginity of Othello’s wife. It has a whitish background that is patterned with strawberry embroideries. The patterns were made using dye extracted after the mummification of the hearts of virgins. It is the symbol that adds sensuality to the union between Othello and Desdemona.

When Iago takes possession of the handkerchief, its symbolism changes. The handkerchief starts representing the lack of trust between Desdemona and Othello. The lack of trust starts when Othello decides to believe Iago’s story. Iago tells Othello that the handkerchief has been found in Casio’s room and he uses this evidence to accuse Desdemona of infidelity. The fact that the handkerchief has been found in the room of another man makes Othello lose trust is his life. It is the same handkerchief that used to be the symbol of love, fidelity and chastity that has turned out to be a symbol of betrayal, lack of trust and insecurity. It does not mean that Desdemona was unfaithful to Othello. The problem is that Othello was too quick to judge. He had not established how the handkerchief went there in the first place and was also unaware of Iago’s evil schemes.

It is very ironic that Othello decides to trust his nemesis who has decided to use the symbol of their love to destabilize their relationship. The fact that the husband quickly believes that Desdemona is cheating betrays his lack of trust. It is ironic that the symbol of their love becomes the symbol that kills their love. When Othello decides to believe that Desdemona is sleeping with Casio, the symbolism of the handkerchief changes from depicting love between Desdemona and Othello to depicting love between Casio and Desdemona which was not there in the first place. When the handkerchief gets lost, Desdemona is depressed. He hopes that Othello will understand because she trusts him but this does not happen. Othello is so insecure that he decides to use the least circumstantial evidence to pass a judgment on his wife. The handkerchief inevitably becomes a symbol of Desdemona’s infidelity when Iago manages to lay his hand on it. Iago manipulates the handkerchief, making it change its symbolism totally.

The handkerchief is also a symbol of fragility. This is because it keeps on changing what it represents. It starts as a symbol of love, trust and fidelity and ends up as a symbol of jealousy, mistrust and infidelity. It starts as a symbol of purity and ends up as a symbol of betrayal and evil. This fragility can also be seen from another perspective. The fragility created by this symbolism is that of the union between Othello and Desdemona. The symbolism also depicts their fragile love. The love between the two is not deep. If it was really deep, Othello would not have passed judgment on the character of Desdemona without the necessary proof. If the love was as deep a it seemed to be at the beginning, then Othello would have listened to his wife’s side of the story and cast doubt on what Iago had told him. However, he decides to trust Iago’s side of the story and not Desdemona’s side, exposing the shallowness of their love and marriage. The marriage is brought down by the disappearance of just an handkerchief and this demonstrates how fragile the union was (Hall 302).

The marriage is fragile because one party in the marriage is also fragile. Desdemona is a strong character and even the audience can attest that she is completely faithful to Othello, Iago has already noted that Othello has a weakness and he exploits this weakness to put him against his wife. This weakness is his fragility. Othello is not a strong character. He is not as strong as Desdemona and the fragility of his character is symbolized by the handkerchief. The fact that his love for Desdemona could disappear with the disappearance of a simple handkerchief is a sign of his fragility.

Finally, the handkerchief depicts the personality and the character of Othello’s wife. The handkerchief is white in color. White is a color of purity. Othello gave it to Desdemona because it symbolizes her, Desdemona was a virgin when they married meaning that she was pure and chaste. She was also very faithful to her husband and this faithfulness is symbolized by the handkerchief (Kass 90). The moment the handkerchief disappears, all these qualities that Desdemona had also disappear in the eyes of her husband, Othello. Without the handkerchief, Othello sees Desdemona as an unfaithful wife whom he accuses of infidelity. The purity of Desdemona in the eyes of Othello disappear with the disappearance of the handkerchief. When Iago misuses the handkerchief, he affects how Othello’s wife is perceived and changes Othello’s attitude towards her. When Iago steals it, he steals Othello’s love for Desdemona, he steals Desdemona’s fidelity and purity. He actually steals the entire construct of who Desdemona is and the ultimate result is the death of Desdemona. This means that the handkerchief was the symbol of the character called Desdemona.

In conclusion, the handkerchief is one of the key pieces of symbolism in this Shakespearean tragedy. Most of the themes and the character traits in the play are developed by this symbol. It is the symbol that leads to the traffic events at the end of the play that makes Othello to be one of the best Shakespearean tragedies.

Works Cited

Hall, Kim F., ed. “Symbolisms and motifs.” Othello, the Moor of Venice: Texts and Contexts. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007. 300-305

Kass, Sarah. “The Trials of Othello.” Journal of Education 176.1 (1994): 85-101.

Shakespeare, William. Othello, the Moor of Venice. Ed. Kim F. Hall. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007.

Introduction

Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy: Guerilla Warfare in the West, 1861 – 1865 by Richard Brownlee is a non-fiction work, containing reliable information on the warfare in Missouri and Kansas during the Civil War. This book is one of the most careful analyses of irregular warfare in the nineteenth century.

Plot description

Brownlee provides the authoritative information, revising his doctoral dissertation into this book. It was published by the Louisianna State University Press in 1958 and numerous reprintings that followed serve the evidence of the book’s significance. Being a fifth-generation Missourian, the historian spent several decades gathering historical data concerning his native state and received a doctoral degree in the field. Notwithstanding the title of the book, the author focused not on the west, but rather on events in Missouri and Kansas. The author’s thesis can be read at the very beginning of his work:

In the years between 1861 and 1865 when the United States was tormented by the Civil War and while massive armies slowly maneuvered and grappled for control of the Eastern Seaboard and the Mississippi Valley, the vast and lightly settled country just west of the Mississippi, the western border, was wracked by insurrection and continuous guerilla warfare (Brownlee 3).

The plot of the book represents the particularization and development of this idea. Brownlee’s main purpose was to demonstrate the differences between the participants of the warfare partisans, Confederate guerrillas, and the cavalry. He aimed to prove that the partisans played an important role in the war in general. These goals were reached successfully, while Brownlee’s research changed the public opinion concerning warfare in the west. Thus, a reasonable reader will be influenced by the information of the book and the attached materials: such as maps, and illustrations.

The book is meant for a wide audience, including both historians, knowledgeable in the events of warfare and the common people without a special degree as well. This fact requires the author’s ability to bring serious historical events in a manner that would make the book acceptable for the unprepared readers at the same time. It is amazing, that the author managed to reconcile contraries – not only to fill the gap in the history of the Civil war, making his significant contribution to the study but describing colorful personalities of the partisans at the same time, that made the book interesting for lots of people.

The fact is that the author himself participated in the military operations of the Second World War and the reader might think that he borrowed the characters from his experience, but the format of the book did not allow him to use fictitious characters or unverified information, as the historical science does not accept inaccuracy. The depicted characters were rather taken from the stories of his compatriots, who did not participate in the Civil War but described their parents’ or grandparents’ experiences.

The language of the book is formal, but it is not overcomplicated with the special terms or notions. For example, writing about the misinterpretation of the Missourian’s intentions in the Civil War Brownlee manages to describe the citizens’ disappointment preserving the formal style of narration: “To their surprise Missourians were on almost any occasion able to read of themselves as ‘slaveocracy, whose only interest in Kansas was based on an unsavory and immoral hunger to expand slavery throughout the entire West” (Brownlee 7). Thus, the historian appeared to be gifted in writing and managed to combine the features of fiction and non-fiction literature in his book, making Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy: Guerilla Warfare in the West, 1861 – 1865 a best-seller in the field.

Brownlee’s book illuminates the difficulty of the question he was researching, choosing the theme of loyalty and disloyalty as one of the key topics. The author demonstrates that none of the positions in the war can be viewed as correct or wrong, but rather the position that was predetermined by certain life circumstances and lifestyles. The Civil War was aimed at breaking the rules according to which several generations lived and got accustomed to living. Naturally, Missourians split over the question of slavery, and, significantly, the author raises the question of the institution of slavery, as it was an integral part of the social and economic system of the state in the nineteenth century.

By 1860 slaves made up only about nine percent of the population of Missouri, but the institution was still an important factor in the agricultural economy and was increasing in the rich farmlands of the central and western portion of the state (Brownlee 47).

Having researched a lot of materials the author admitted that the problems concerning slavery had a psychological basis as well, as owning one or two slaves indicated wealth and could change the citizen’s social status. Brownlee used a new approach for researching the Civil War events, taking into consideration the significance of the institution of slavery and what is the most important, in my opinion, without prejudices representing Missourians as slaveocrats.

Conclusion

Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy: Guerilla Warfare in the West by Richard Brownlee combines authoritative historical data with the captivating manner of presentation, indicating the author’s awareness and love of the native state.

Bibliography

Brownlee, Richard.Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy: Guerilla Warfare in the West, 1861 – 1865. 2003: 274.

Introduction

Most people experience problems in their daily life. However, it does not mean that we have as individuals have the capacity and right to judge others and say that all do have no purpose. Holden, the main character in the book The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, has cut himself an image of one person who criticizes everything others do. This puts him into a lot of problems with other people he encounters throughout all his aspect of life.

Holden has troubles with schooling, arts (movies), other people’s ideas and many other issues in the society. Holden “feel some kind of good-by” some moments before he decides to leave Pencey (Salinger 16). Holden does not trust anyone in his dealings and live in a world of imaginations and lies.

In fact, Holden wants to make use of his imaginations and lies to be part of the community he lives in. He defines this through his own emotions and personal feelings to impose his ideas on how things should be done. And in most cases, this makes him go at loggerheads with the rest of the people he encounters throughout his life.

Lies and Imagination

In his attempts to use his personal imaginations and lies to maneuver his life in the world, Holden has failed to succeed in his attempts to think differently from the rest of the society. According to Rohrer (2), Holden is unable to stay enrolled in school as he has too much imagination about what and how school should be. Although it has not been directly illustrated that he has imagines too much about school, we can easily assume and predict it from the way he perform in the essay test about Egypt. In this case, he loses patience with all those activities and events that fail to stimulate is somewhat weird imaginations.

In the view of Scruton (1), it is the view and feeling of imagination that gives a central and intelligible ability to create things in the mind out of nothing. This judgment is also what entails appreciation of nature. Through imagination, one is also able to develop a critical analysis of his or her surrounding. However, when the imagination goes beyond the surrounding and one starts to think of what does exists be yond the horizon, the mind deviates from the natural setting and becomes exclusively out of what people expect. Probably this kind of imagination is what Holden is going.

According to Austin (72), taste is an ‘isolated and inexplicable segment of human psychology”, and it is simply a curious but philosophical fact about interests that makes humans enjoy particular things. It’s an issue of sentimental value that a particular things presents to an individual. For example, Holden seem not to like movies. That he is in trouble with movies is shown when he tries to act like certain characters in a move he has just watched. When Holden sets his imagination to think about war after watching war movie, he illustrates that he can imagine and explore particular issues he has never encountered.

Holden’s imaginations and telling lies are some of his survival techniques in the world. However, he also imagines how to make things better than they seem. But this does not conform to his perception on other people and what they do. It is noted that one individual cannot change everything by himself or herself, particularly when everyone sees them as not part of the larger community’s vision.

This practically makes the entire community weary of him. He is also weary of the people around him as he does imagine what really entails life in entirety. When Mr. Antolini touched Holden’s head in the nights, his imaginations drives him to think that he had ‘poverty’ intentions against him (Katrina 7). This kind of behavior makes it difficult to accomplish any responsibility as people always avoid doing anything good to help him out.

The Alienation from the Society

Holden’s behaviors make him get alienated from the rest of the society. Brooks (12) observes that Holden’s negative attitudes do not change whatsoever till the end of the story. This implies lack of maturation even as he learns about the ways of the world the hard way. For example, his intention “to go to the West to become a deaf-mute gas station attendant” suggests how his imagination is not in reality with the real world and that this causes the negative perception other people have on him. Another view of himself as different makes it difficult even for his teachers to understand his intentions and what vision he has in life.

For instance, Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer is suffering from bad cold. This forces him to take a rest in the bedroom. When he advises Holden about the fact that his being sent away from Pencey will affect his future in many ways, he does not take it kindly and he shows very little attention to his teacher’s lecture that life is a game in itself and has rules to play it a long with. To amend the Clichés that have been tossed at him by his teacher, he retorts: “Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game all right- I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game.” (Salinger 8).

Although the little ‘boy’, Holden apologizes as he realizes that his teacher, Spencer, tries to make more sense on the gravity he faces out of his conducts through loud-reading of his history exam. He admits that his life is more distressful like never before.

Unfortunately, he consoles himself that he’s just going through a phase that everybody goes through at least once in a lifetime (Salinger 15). In reality, Holden likes to have his way in everything but this makes him more of a problem to the authority. Even though he shows some sympathy to the teacher as a person and feels sorry for not doing what he recommends, his overall attitude suggests that he has a lot of difficulty when it comes to handling authority in every aspects of his life.

The ‘Phonies’ in Holden’s Life

In everyday life, it is easy to come across difficult people and those who are out to make life difficult and unbearable to you in many aspects (Menand 31). However, it is said that how you treat them is as important as how you want them to relate to you. In other words, accepting others views, actions and attitudes are some of the many ways of achieving better relationship with them. This does not happen with Holden. Holden frequently mentions the word ‘phony’ when he describes those he perceives as dishonest and insincere. For example, he always sees his fellow students as just people who want to look good in doing things yet they do little or nothing.

According to him, every action of many people he meets is as a result of dishonesty. When he encounters Ossenburger, a businessman who operates discount funeral parlors, he has a different perception of the person and his business. According to him, the funeral parlor business is not a right business because the proprietor, Ossenburger is just taking advantage of grieving families. He justifies his perception because the businessman is pretending to be virtuous by stressing to the students that they should adopt integrity as a virtue and devoutly pray in their day to day operations. This phoniness is even extended to school authorities and their dealings.

In fact, the hypocrisy practiced by the school is what makes Holden hate the school authority. For ex ample, he does not understand the business dealings between Ossenburger and the school authority. That is, no speech would occur unless Ossenburger gave Pencey money to purchase new dorm.

In the modern world of business, the popular meaning of corruption is the misuse of public office for personal gain at the expense of other stakeholders (Rajivan 1). Because there are many players in the business of corruption, particularly the authorities of public sectors as well as private business, openly criticizing such a group is a sure way of becoming their enemy. This is largely true considering Holden’s age. He is basically young and considered a minor, yet he does not see any sense in such hypocrisy expressed by both the school authority and individuals in business like Ossenburger.

Holden also has issues with movies and the characters who play in them. He describes them as fake. In fact, movies are one of his biggest pet peeves since they express fake emotional and stereotypical behaviors as they carry on with their roles. However, behind the backdrop of his criticism of the movies, he admires imitating what he watches in them. For example, he says, “I hate the movies like a poison, but I get a bang imitating them” (Salinger 29).

While this may appear to be double standard when dealing with his peers and issues about movies, he manages to gather enough enemies in friends and this does not make things easy for him in his daily relationships with others. He even extends his description of everything phony including schools and their roles.

However, as Holden said earlier that he is feels he is just in particular phase of life; he tends to change tact to justify this earlier observation. That is, he lessens his criticism of everything he considered phony. Subsequently, he focuses on his new initiative: an effort on how to keep the world of children “innocent”. This is a clear indication that he has changed in terms of character, presumably as s result of experiences throughout his life of criticism of those he considered phony.

Criticism and social Life

Holden’s social life is in shambles, not because he finds it fun to criticize anything humanity but because he finds nothing appealing among the people he encounters. The only person he seems to appreciate is his late brother, whose baseball skills he profoundly admired. It is acknowledged that people are never the same, but Holden’s perceived standards of how people should live are somewhat ridiculous and unattainable.

According to him, every person he encounters is not genuine and is not worth his attention. For example, he decides to walk a long distance to his hotel room instead of taking a taxi cab. This is because he’s tired of them and would not want to bother them. How individual relates to his peers defines his or her attitude towards life. Holden’s view of social life is one that makes him feel odd at every social joint he goes to. For instance, when he goes to Ernie’s, he finds the place unbearable and full of “prep school jerks and college jerks” (Salinger 83). While the jerks enjoy the piano playing at Ernie’s, Holden seem to hate and live in despair about what happens in his surrounding.

He isolates himself by staying put at the worst table within the joint. This makes him separated from the rest of the people, mostly his peers, with whom he would have shared with the social issues that matters to them. In fact, Holden ignores any contact with the girls in his age, tries to present an innocent character every time he encounters girls. When he leaves the bar to his room, the elevator man is curious to know whether he is interested in a lady to spend a night with, which he says yes, but later regrets his answer and steers clear of any possibility.

People normally get it easy to associate with those they share same feelings and visions in life. However, when an individual does show little interest in what majority of his or her peers like or are interested in, he or she is likely to be alienated and separated from the rest socially (Menand 4). Holden’s negative opinions about girls make him pay prostitutes, so that they can stop bothering him. Holden also has issues with movies and the characters who play in them. He describes them as fake. From here, he is passionately hated by the girls even though he did not intend to have enemies.

Breaking the Rules

There are people who would rather break the rules than abide by them. There are also those who would hate rules but just keep working within their confines. Even though Sally is ever complaining of what is happening within the school environment, she would rather keep the rules than break them. This is shown when Holden asks her whether she has ever been fed up with what is happening around her.

Holden finds it right to offer his criticism of boy’s school, even though Sally is a little bit uncomfortable with how the conversation goes. He says, “It’s full of phonies….all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day….” (Salinger 131). He does not obey the rules and wants to flee away. He feels the rules are just there for someone to keep studying with hope that some day he or she will buy some Cadillac. To him, this does not make any sense and feels the rules are too subjective.

Display of Innocence and Sensitiveness

In the modern society, it has become a phenomenon for young people to practice a hyper lifestyle that involves early dating, frequent night-outs, and sex life (Austin, 19). In this scenario, Holden has shown a lot of innocence in sexual matters and dating game. His innocent reactions towards sexual matters perplex his peers, especially boys (Menand 1). When Holden later saw a little boy sing and walk with the parents, he longs for this type of innocence he sees in the boy, apart from being protected. This childhood innocence makes him feel completely attached to the belief that he can nurture such innocence in other children.

Conclusion

It is ordinary to have different opinions of what happens in the society, how people should behave, what they are should deal with issues in the social, economic and political environment. However, Holden does not seem to feel what the rest of the society feels. His imagination of what world should entail is rather ideal. He displays extreme cases of ideal situation and will find anything to criticize in the society, from school environment to his life outside schooling. This kind of behavior puts him at loggerheads with everybody he encounters, from school authority, his teachers, peers, and any other member of the society.

The life of Holden may be seen in the dimension of transition as he later lessens his criticism habits and adopts more friendly behaviors towards other members of the society. If it is in the light of developing one’s mind, Holden has learnt through hard way that it is important to be accommodative of other’s opinions, ideas, and thoughts in order to survive.

Works Cited

Austin, Michael. Explorations in Art, Theology and Imagination. Chicago. Equinox Publishing Ltd, 2005.

Brooks, Bruce. “Holden at sixteen”. Horn Book Magazine, 2004.

Katrina Onstad. Beholden to Holden. CBC News, 2008. Web.

Menand, Louis. “Holden at fifty”. The New Yorker, 2001. Web.

Rajivan, Anuradha. The Business of Corruption. The UN-Business Focal Points- UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Center in Colombo, 2008. Web.

Rohrer, Finlo. “The Why of the Rye”. BBC News Magazine (BBC), 2009. Web.

Salinger, Jerome. The Catcher in the Rye. New York. Raider Publishing, 1951.

Scruton, Roger. Art and Imagination: Study in the Philosophy of Mind. New York. Routledge, 1974.

Initially written for an adult readership, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger has become increasingly popular with younger readers and now is regarded as a major profound work concerning teenage angst, rebellious behavior, rejection, incomprehension, and confusion with adult world. Holden Caulfield, both protagonist and antagonist, has become the most famous representative of teenage rebellion in the history of literature.

At the beginning of the novel, Holden doesn’t want to reveal any details of his life as a child and directly passes to the description of his downfall: “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like… and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it if you want to know the truth” (Salinger 1). Holden looks deep into the mechanism of a society of the middle of the 20^th century. “1950 – of snobbery, privilege, class injury, culture as badge of superiority, sexual exploitation, education subordinated to status, warped social feeling, competitiveness, stunted human possibility, the list could go on” (Ohmann 517).

Thus, mind of a young inexperienced boy cannot comprehend social norms that are imposed on people, fully subordinating people’s lives to them and leaving no free will, forcing people pretend adjusting to them. “The novel draws readers into a powerful longing for what-could-be, and at the same time interposes what-is, as an unchanging and immovable reality” (Ohmann 517).

Thus, Holden proceeds with his narration about Pencey Prep School where he’s expelled from as he failed four subjects except English. Holden rejects the way people behave in the school calling them ‘phoney’. Despite the fact that he changed many schools and Pencey Prep School is regarded to be one of the best educational establishments, Holden never regrets leaving it. On the contrary, he is overwhelmed with derision and misunderstanding of the social norms of behavior in school, which is the main reason for his intention to leave its borders as soon as possible. The school stands for a symbol of a “phoney” cruel world the concept of which is unacceptable for Holden.

According to Ohmann, “this novel is first the story of a young man so displeased with himself and with much of the world around him that his strongest impulse is to leave, break loose, move on. From his pain follows rejection and retreat” (Ohmann 516). Moreover, students in school are never sincere; they wear masks just like adults. Holden cannot find inner forces to bear this society but he understands what rules underlie it: “Life is a game and all. And how you should play it according to the rules” (Salinger 8).

After leaving school, Holden heads for New York where his parents with his sister live. Holden is perplexed and doesn’t want to go home as his parents still don’t know that he’s expelled. On his way, the boy encounters a lot of people, the representatives of “phoney” society. In New York Holden opposes the adult world, however, attracted by such adult obsessions as cigarettes, sex, and alcohol.

Though Holden is lured down by some attractions in New York, he sees no point in them and tries to soothe his extreme feeling of loneliness. It is in New York that Holden forces himself to try to find his objective in life. In fact, the boy’s thoughts are very mature and intelligent though he still remains a child. In his mind, two entities are fighting trying to overcome one another, i.e. adult ‘normal’ behavior and childish innocent worldview that cannot accept the prejudices and fake of the adult society.

Thus, Holden lives in his secret inner world admitting almost no people to it. “So long as the choice is between this society and no society, Holden’s imagination has no place to go. He wants to love and relatedness among equals. These do not thrive in the institutions that surround him, but they cannot exist at all without institutions, which shape the human feeling and give life social form” (Ohmann 517).

Holden is not a conventional character: “He is a boy of uncommonly deep sensibilities, his nature is still childishly one-sided, for his feelings, like a child’s, still predominate over his inadequately developed intellect” (Glasser 464). The boy is extremely perceptive to the events and people who surround him rejecting their way of behavior. But “what exactly is it that puts Holden out of sorts with his life? What does he reject?… an immoral world, the inhumanity of the world, the adult world, the predicament of modern life, the human condition, the facts of life, evil” (Ohmann 516). Holden’s character as opposed to the characters of two of his peers at school, Ackley and Stradlater, who are depicted through their vices.

Holden describes their artificial behavior, their ‘phoney’ banal aims. However, the isolated character of Ackley highlights the inner world of Holden, striving for both intimacy and communication with the world. Caulfield’s new red hunting hat becomes a symbol and acquires a special meaning in the novel. It stands for the unique individuality of the character; a hat distinguishes him from other people and at the same time serves as a shield from a cruel adult world for him.

However, the conflict inside him is evident: Holden always wears a hat when he is among people, i.e. he tries to protect himself but also needs companionship. However much Holden despites the school, he feels the need to say goodbye to it: “I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by… I don’t care if it’s a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t, you feel even worse” (Salinger 4).

Encountering adult experiences, such as sex, Holden remains loyal to his own views and doesn’t understand the excitement of it. His attitude to women is very gentle and respectful: “You don’t always have to get too sexy to get to know a girl” (Salinger 76). Facing prostitute Sally, Holden is confused as well as the girl as they are still teenagers who try to act like adults. A major twist in the novel is Holden’s meeting secretly from his parents with his younger sister Phoebe.

Phoebe, the embodiment of innocence, is the only person with whom Holden feels comfortable. From Holden’s point of view, Phoebe is the most perfect creature in the world, not corrupted by it. “Holden’s dilemma… throughout the book, is that he is unable to prevent his impending loss of that uncorrupted spirit possessed by children, such as Phoebe before they have been immersed in the experiences of this world” (Glasser 465). Holden realizes his purpose in his life in the conversation with Phoebe: he wants to become a catcher in the rye to prevent children from falling. Metaphorically, he wants to save innocent children from the cruel adult world: “God, I love it when a kid’s nice and polite when you tighten their skate for them or something. Most kids are. They really are” (Salinger 119). “Holden would like to keep Phoebe a child because he is troubled by the differences he sees between children and adults, both in their physical appearances and in their personalities” (Glasser 464).

Holden’s dynamic character differs from the other teenage characters as Holden is not affected by society at the end of the novel, he doesn’t become mature in his perception of this word. He struggles and feels depressed throughout the whole novel and only in the final paragraphs he inspires a bit of hope watching Phoebe at the carousel. For Holden, it is a beautiful moment of relief and joy when he detaches from his fears and strengthens his idea to become a savior for children.

Very mature, intelligent, keen, Holden’s sister Phoebe serves as a link between Holden and the rest of the people. Phoebe is successful in school, unlike her brother. She has created a household name and writes stories in her notebook. Phoebe looks at her brother as a hero and wants to follow him anywhere. She is the only person who is able to see deep inside Holden’s soul and immediately realizes that Holden left school. In the episode in the flat Phoebe says to her brother: “You don’t like anything that’s happening… You don’t like any schools. You don’t like a million things. You don’t” (Salinger 169).

A small girl, an innocent pure mind, manages to formulate the thought that runs all through the novel. She emphasizes that Holden is different from ordinary people, that he is fragile and confused. “The apartment episode with Phoebe is so brilliant and so densely packed that we must examine it in two stages, here largely from Holden’s point of view and later from Phoebe’s” (Strauch 507). On the whole, the relations between the two siblings are very tender and affectionate.

Holden tries to take care of Phoebe as a parent: in the passage when Phoebe rides on the carousel, Holden realizes that Phoebe has to grow up and make her own choices: “All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the goddam horse, but I didn’t say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (Salinger 211).

On the metaphorical level, the ring embodies the choice that children should be free to make even if they can make mistakes. On the other hand, Phoebe is fascinated and dedicated to her brother; she is going to follow him to the west. However, she cannot understand all of Holden’s implications. She is unlikely to realize the meaning of Holden’s dream to become a catcher in the rye as she is still a small girl that enjoys her life.

Holden goes through various conflicts struggling with society and himself. In the Pencey Prep School Holden blames the phoniness of people, both students and teachers. He feels that he’s on the other side of the road: “I had this feeling that I’d never get to the other side of the street. I thought I’d just go down, down, down, and nobody would ever see me again. But I kept going. I was sort of afraid to stop, I think” (Salinger 197-198). Holden never explicitly shows his emotions but he is very perceptive to the surrounding world and understands that he doesn’t belong to it. At school Holden shared the room with Stradlater, a boy focused on his appearance and girls.

Holden dislikes the boy and describes him exaggerating his disadvantages thus forming a negative attitude to him. In addition, Holden despises all the material welfare: “Goddam money. It always ends up making you blue as hell” (Salinger 113). What’s more, Holden is expected to be a successful young man according to his social position.

He is expected if not forced to go into a prestigious prep school and to enter the adult society. But Holden can’t accept this idea of escaping from every institution planning his own escape and seeking rescue in his fantasies. On the whole, the boy leads “his war against everything that is phony and sad-making, he provides an etiquette book for those who see themselves reflected in his doomed situation and a point of reference for those who have, for better or worse, moved beyond the pains of adolescence to those of adulthood” (Pinsker).

Holden not only rejects the adult world but he conflicts with himself, which results in his moral breakdown. The key issue that prevents Holden to find some balance within society and establish his own place is his aspiration for social interaction and, at the same time, his desire to keep intimacy and innocence. In other words, his rejection of society is the consequence of his inner conflict. Overmature in his thoughts for his age, Holden feels like an innocent child who doesn’t want to leave his own safe world. On the other hand, the boy is attracted and scared by communication with people who seem to them corrupt and ‘phoney’.

“Innocence is always under siege by con men and scoundrels, by phonies and hypocrites” (Pinsker). Holden is afraid of death and physical satisfaction implying by that the corruption of soul and spirit, the destruction of innocence. “The identity of the fear of death and the fear of sex is made clear, and these fears are to be seen, actually as a pervasive fear of violence to body or spirit and the ensuing mutilation” (Strauch 508). In his struggle, Holden tries to find answers to his miscellaneous questions, to find the truth in the world, the nature of reality. For Holden, the reality means “organic relation between childhood and maturity, continuity and change, the contemplative and the active, the external world and the inner spirit.

This reality is not a philosophical abstraction, but an existentialist datum of physical and emotional experience” (Strauch 509). And since these components struggle inside Holden, the conflict in his mind arises with himself who tries to identify the meaning of all these entities.

Young, depressed, struggling, characterized by teenage depression and rebellion, “Holden Caulfield continues to be the (anti-) hero of choice for one generation of adolescents after another” (Pinsker).

Works Cited

Glasser, William. “The Catcher in the Rye.” The Michigan Quarterly Review (1976):432-455. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Vol.8. Detroit: Gale Research Company. 464-465.

Ohmann, Richard and Carol. “Reviewers, Critics, and ‘The Catcher in the Rye.’” Critical Inquiry (1976) : 15-37. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Gerard J. Senick. Vol.12. Detroit: Gale Research Company. 516-517.

Pinsker, Sanford. “Holden Caulfield on Social Security.” Holden Caulfield on Social Security. 2001. College Dispatch. Web.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2001.

Strauch, Carl. “Kings in the Back Row: Meaning through Structure – A reading of Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’.” Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature (1961): 5-30. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Gerard J. Senick. Vol.12. Detroit: Gale Research Company. 505-510.