The impact on American and Chinese culture

The impact on American and Chinese culture

------Holden in The Catcher in the Rye

基础科学系 英语0901 刘晓

Literature Review

The Catcher in The Rye was written by an American writer, J. D. Salinger, a famous writer in America. The story was told in first person as Holden Caulfield-a teenage boy expelled the school a few days earlier before the vacation actually started and to hang around in New York city instead of returning home. This novel led the new trend of the American literary creation in 1950s. To some degree, it created a new literature period called "Salinger Age", which arouse people's attention to individuals. This is how The Catcher in The Rye affected America. In short, in America, in China. But what is more important is that the novel has stimulated a revolution among Chinese teenagers, for in modern China, though there is much more freedom than in the old days, teenagers are still not complete free from the long history and deep Confucian Culture.

So, this paper will focus on the impact The Catcher in The Rye has created both on American culture and Chinese culture.

First, the novel has managed to draw attention of the American society including many writers and politicians to the young generation. Here is one example of the astonishment the society has shown after the

novel became popular among the young generation in American. After having witnessed their children’s incredible behaviors, angry parents did an interesting study on how much coarse languages has been employed in the book. The result turned out to be 237“Goddamn”、58“bastard”、31“Chrissake”6“fuck”. Some university libraries even announced the book as banned book. However, as time went by, the American society had to acknowledge the righteousness of the novel as a result of the increasing popularity among American teenagers.

Many American experts have written on this phase of growing up, but few have got such an awareness of the intensity of suffering and depression. In a typical example, Daniel F. Davis and Norman Langer, authors of A History of the United States Since 1945, argue that Holden’s adventures say a great deal about the worth of the individual in American society. They also remind readers how vulnerable every individual can be.

This is true, in looking into Holden’s character and the world he lives in, we can see so many instances which give us a deep impression of the cruel world and how it beats down a unique individual.

First it is essential to view the young generation in American from the country’s history. World War II has brought America huge pride of triumphs instead of stabbing pain. The urban civilization of America in 1950s had been developed sharply. In 1947, the Marshall Plan and

Truman doctrine marked the beginning of the cold war. Uneasiness hung over people and the whole American society appeared depressed. Just as novelist Saloon Wilson wrote in his novel, “Not long after I return from the front, I was so confused about what to seek. All that I could find was young men, running around in New York. But in my opinion, they neither ran after the philosophy nor happiness. What they were running for was no more than habitude.”

Two J.D. Salinger’s short stories, I'm Crazy and Slight Rebellion off Madison were published in periodicals during the 1940's, and introduced Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye. Both short stories were revised for later inclusion in Salinger's novels. The Catcher in the Rye was written in a literary style similar to prose, which was enhanced by the teenage slang of the 1950's. “It is a widespread belief that much of Holden Caulfield's can did outlook on life reflects issues relevant to the youth of today, and thus the novel continues to be used as an educational resource in high schools throughout the nation.” For Slinger himself, he is: “a beautifully deft, professional performer who gives us a chance to catch quick, half-amused, half-frightened glimpses of ourselves and our contemporaries, as he confronts us with his brilliant mirror images.”

John B. Judis wrote “I used to read The Catcher in The Rye in flashlight after the lights turned off”. This does not mean he studied hard,

but shows that he didn’t want to follow rules. Such kind of rebellion as reading The Catcher in The Rye has become some kind of memorial towards the writer of The Catcher in The Rye J. D. Salinger.”

In China, The young generation is supposed to study and work hard and at the same time live up to a certain moral standard. However, The Catcher in The Rye seems to be breaking that long-lasting culture.

“The reason why The Catcher in The Rye has become so popular is that the novel created a rebel.” He Liangliang commented in Phoenix TV. I think rebellion is what the Chinese young generation needs. They need rebellion against social values; they need rebellion against Confucian culture; they need rebellion to achieve their individual values.

Ye Kuangzheng put it like this, “Holden is quite like the second rich generation in China. They are totally lost. The Catcher in The Rye totally overturned the values of the Chinese youth.” He said that the novel described well the condition of the second rich generation in China and it will mean a lot to Chinese society in the future.

The Catcher in the Rye broke new ground in literature because it broke so many conventions and challenged the conservative values of the late 1940's-1950s mainstream. It featured a young protagonist thinking and speaking like a typical teenager--which was pretty shocking to those who had never read such language in print.

The book continues to have an impact today, and will continue to have an impact as long as there are young people who feel disenfranchised by society. People strongly relate to Holden Caufield because he recognizes a lot of negative things about society and desires to protect the helpless and innocent from them. His voice is the same voice as anyone who's ever been frustrated by his/her rather helpless role in the world, and he speaks strongly to those like him--on the cusp of adulthood and scared to death of entering the real nasty world. Bibliography

[1] Davis, Daniel F. and Norman Langer. A History of the United States Since 1945 [M]. New York: Scholastic, 1987

[2] David Stevenson. J.D.Salinger: The Mirror of Crisis [M]. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1962

[3] J.D.Salinger. Review, Essays and Critiques of The Catcher in the Rye and Other Fiction [M]. Marvin New York: Odyssey Press, 1963 [4] 何亮亮.《麦田里的守望者》影响一代代人. 凤凰网, 2010年02月09日

[5]叶匡政.评《麦田里的守望者》：塞林格笔下正是“富二代”. 《东方早报》2010年02月04日

Outline

The impact on American and Chinese culture

------Holden in The Catcher in the Rye

Chapter I Abstract and the introduction of the influence on American and

Chinese culture

Chapter II The influence on American society

2.1 Many coarse words used among young generation

2.2 The importance of individual worth emphasized

2.2.1 Give a view on how the cold war beats down a individual

2.2.2 Reflect the contemporary American young generation in 1950s

2.2.3Call for people do not follow the rules

Chapter III The influence on Chinese society

3.1 Broke the long-lasting moral

3.1.1Create a thought of rebellion against social values

3.2 Mirror the Chinese second rich generation in China Chapter IV Conclusion

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