The Analysis of American Counterculture on the Interpretation of Character Holden 通过霍尔顿形象解读解析美国反主流文化

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1、The Analysis of American Counter-culture on the Interpretation of Character Holden通过霍尔顿形象解读解析美国反主流文化ContentsAbstact(English) .Abstact(Chinese) .1. Introduction to Salinger and The Catcher in the Rye .12. The Social Background .22.1 American Dream .2 2.2 Background of America in the 1950s .33. Holden

2、s Journey of Heart .4 3.1 Holdens Depression .4 3.2 Holdens Rebellion against the Society .4 3.3 Holdens Conformity to the Society .44. Holden: A Rebel against the Mainstream Culture.54.1 Origin and Development of Rebellious Heroes .54.2 Rebellion against the Pencey Prep .64.3 Rebellion against the

3、American Dream .74.4 Rebellion in Language .84.4.1 Grammatical Errors .94.2 Vulgarity and Obscenity .104.4.3 Use of Slang.115. Conclusion .12Bibliography .13Acknowlegments.14 Abstract: J. D. Salingers novel The Catcher in the Rye has been considered as one of the two “modern classics” since more tha

4、n 30 years after its publication. The novel profoundly reveals the senses of alienation and loneliness through Holden Caulfields roaming in New York after his expulsion from Pencey Prep school. Holden is disgusted with the indifference, fraud and phoniness among his fellow students, and thus he goes

5、 to New York, only to find out that the society is even more vulgar, obscene and decadent. Finally his sister Phoebes love helps him escape from desperation. This thesis tries to analyze the anti-hero Holden Caulfield. In connection with the social, political and economic background, this thesis exp

6、ounds the definition of the mainstream culture and its core expressions the American Dream. The American Dream means the pursuit of freedom and happiness. However, in the 1950s the American Dream was distorted and the American people overstressed the pursuit of the material prosperity. Living in suc

7、h a suffocating era, Holden indignantly rebels against the mainstream culture. Holden denies the distorted American Dream and exposes its deceptiveness and corruption. His language bears the same characteristics of the counter-culture movement.Holden escapes from modern civilization, an obscene soci

8、ety and a world of alienation. He engages himself in a search for self-identity, meaningful communication, human love and childrens innocence. To some extent, childrens innocence and simple nature give him warmth and strength, but he finally realizes that the innocent childhood is brief and transien

9、t and its inevitable for children to fall off the “cliff”. Finally he accepts the reality and reconciles himself with the phony world by resorting to his compassion and love for humans. Keywords: Holden; the mainstream culture; rebellion; counter-culture; American Dream摘要:JD塞林格的长篇小说麦田里的守望者在出版了30多年后,

10、已被美国文学界公认为当代美国文学中两部“现代经典”之一。小说通过霍尔顿考尔菲德(Holden Caulfield)离开潘西中学后在纽约的游荡经历,深刻地揭示了现代社会中的疏离感和孤独感。霍尔顿厌倦同学间的冷漠、欺诈和虚假。他只身到纽约游逛，进而发现社会更加平庸、鄙俗和腐败。他十分失意，最后只因为妹妹菲比(Phoebe)的关爱，才走出绝望的深渊。本文试图从文化角度来分析霍尔顿这一反英雄人物形象。本文结合当时的社会、政治和经济背景阐释了主流文化及其核心表现形式美国梦。当时社会对人们思想产生深刻影响。美国梦意味着对幸福、自由的追求。然而在50年代的美国，美国梦已被异化，人们过分关注于对物质的追求。生

11、活在这样一个时代，主人公霍尔顿愤怒地发起了对当时主流文化的反叛。主人公坚决反对已被异化的美国梦,彻底揭露美国梦的欺骗性和腐败性；主人公的语言同时也体现出二战后美国反文化运动语言的特点。霍尔顿逃避现代文明,逃避一个卑劣的世界，逃避一个冷漠疏远的社会。他追寻自身的存在追寻有意义的交流，追寻人类间的真爱，追寻儿童般的纯洁。在一定程度上，孩子们天真质朴的天性给予他温暖和力量，但他最后明白了童年的天真无邪是短暂而易逝的，企图阻止孩子们长大成人是徒劳无益的。他意识到堕落“悬崖”的必然性，最后凭着他对世人的挚爱与同情，他接受了现实，并与虚假的社会取得和解。关键词：霍尔顿;主流文化;反叛;反主流文化;美国梦

12、Part One. Introduction to Salinger and His The Catcher in the RyeJerome David Salinger, a distinguished American novelist and short story writer, is best known for his controversial novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951). Salinger is recognized by many critics and readers alike as one of the most popul

13、ar and influential authors of American writers after World War II. His skills of writing, “in the manner of the New Yorker, with its period styles,”(Chelsea House Publishers, 1987,2) are admirable. In one form or another, Salinger is “everybodys favorite with that audience of students, intellectuals

14、, instructors, and generally literary, sensitive, and sophisticated young people who respond to him with a consciousness that he speaks for them and virtually to them, in a language that is peculiarly honest and their own, with a vision of things that captures their most secret judgments of the worl

15、d.” (Chelsea House Publishers, 1987, 19).Roughly speaking, his writings can be divided into two phases. In the first phase, he published short stories in the magazines, such as Saturday Evening Post, Esquire, and The New Yorker. Gradually but eventually he fixed on the recurring theme which ensured

16、his fame. After the publication of The Catcher in the Rye, his writings entered the second phase. The second phase is to enter a world of psychological sick men, who fight a doomed war against the phony and suffocated world around them, and had a good taste of the sense of disillusion, loneliness an

17、d despair. “Although he has written a lot, his reputation seems to rest chiefly on The Catcher in the Rye.” (常耀信, 1990, 423) Thus, this thesis will focus on this novel.J. D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye, which was first published in 1951, stands out as Salingers only novel to date. It is conside

18、red as one of the two “modern classics” in contemporary American literature (the other one is Ralph Ellisons The Invisible Man). The Catcher in the Rye gave us a portrait of a sixteen-year-old American boy, Holden, who is disgusted with the indifference, fraud and phoniness among his fellow students

19、, and thus decides to escape from school, and wander alone in New York, only to find out that the society is even more vulgar, obscene and decadent. Then, he feels extremely depressed, and plans another escape. Finally that is his sister Phoebes love helps him escape from the abyss of desperation. T

20、his novel profoundly reviews the senses of alienation and loneliness through Holden Caulfields roaming in New York after his escape from Pencey Prep school. To him, his every action is his own choice, and in the end, love becomes a salvation.Part Two. The Social Background2.1 American DreamThe Ameri

21、can Dream plays a significant role in American life and it is based on the ideology that each one, no matter what his origin is, can be successful through his own efforts and cultivating his own qualities. This ideology is based itself on the American ideal that each person is responsible for himsel

22、f.The American Dream describes an attitude of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. The search for freedom and happiness actually goes back to the very beginning of American civilization, to the time of the first settlers. The first settlers were all relig

23、ious refugees and they were driven to the North American continent by persecution. They came there to seek freedom and happiness. In these early settlers minds, they wanted to get away, to get rich, to carry their faiths or philosophies to what they called the new world. In this world, the human bei

24、ngs can get the second chance to reestablish a completely new ideal life.The American Dream of freedom and opportunity was also a dream of material advancement. Material prosperity and progress keep pace with religious and spiritual goals. When the East Seaboard, including the thirteen colonies beca

25、me overcrowded, the first settlers decided to move to West. This increased their senses of hope and faith. And this looking forward beyond the immediate present, this belief in future, has become a national characteristic. America was an agriculture society in 18th and 19th century. During that time

26、, the dream was transformed into self-reliance and self-confidence. Success was seen to hold a proper place in the society by the most people at that time. Realization was also seen as an important condition for a proper social status, so people tried their best to realize ideals as much as possible

27、.As time went on, the American Dream gradually became part of the American life and one of the American characteristics. But after several hundreds years of development, especially with the economical prosperity and the prevalence of materialism and consumerism, the condition of the American Dream w

28、as seriously distorted and deformed. The American Dream was originally related to a desire for material and spiritual improvement. However, the material aspect of the dream was so easily and quickly to achieve that it soon outpaced and destroyed the spiritual aspect of the dream. So the American Dre

29、am was lacking in spiritual life and purpose. In the 1950s, the material culture became the dominant trend of life. To most people, their life aims were to work in the office, make big money and drive a BMW. Some people were so disgusted with the misguided dream that they choose to rebel against it.

30、 Holden Caulfield was one of them. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, we can find much evidence that expose the corruption of the American Dream and show Holdens rebellion.2.2 Historical ContextAfter the Second World War, America began to experience a prosperity that it had never reached before. A

31、n easy prosperity encouraged a feeling of complacency, a conviction that America had at long last found the formula to the good life in the bustling, self-satisfied and middle-class mediocrity.However, under the affluent society hides the traumatic spirit of the Americans, begotten by World War Two

32、and made worse by the Cold War and anti-Communist movement. The Americans found themselves in the post-Second World War decades filled with the feelings of disillusion, guilt, despair and alienation. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki left lasting scars on the American conscience, which remained

33、troubled for several years to come. The Korean War also had a great impact on the American mind. The conviction governing the incidence of the Korean War expressed itself in the form of a struggle against communism as communism symbolized barbarism and consequently Americas every barbaric act as a r

34、eprisal got justified. The post-war American self recoiled at the bestiality of man towards man and felt disoriented. In a word, the post-Second War period is an age if anxiety, a time when man suffered not only from war and persecution, but from inner problems such as terrible despair, a conviction

35、 of isolation, randomness, meaninglessness in his very existence.Another important factor that contributed to post war Americans sense of being rootless was the adverse effect of technocratic revolution that overtook America. In the age of anxiety, the failure of communication, the loneliness of war

36、 and the unspeakable of the bomb, the frightening uncertainty, the cold immensity of the changing worldall these societal changes have a negative effect on adolescents. The author in that period saw through the emptiness and absurdity in the social reality, and noticed all these societal changes pro

37、duced negative effects upon adolescents, thus creating a series of novels mainly about a protagonist seeking meaning of life and selfhood in exile and uncertainty.Part Three. Holdens Journey of Heart3.1 Holdens DepressionAs adolescence, Holden is in the transition of childhood to adulthood. The teen

38、ager years is the most complicated and tortured period in ones life. The teenagers in this period need the instruction and concern from their elders. However, Holden, lacking warmth, guide and understanding from his parents, teachers or even his peers, always feels lonely. Feeling so depressed and p

39、ainful, he is obsessed with death, for it is a kind of eternity which can bring him the feeling of peace and comfort. But the reality is cruel. Everything does not go smoothly as he imagines. He wants to keep the innocence of the childhood which he cherishes very much. On the other hand, he cannot e

40、ndure the temptation of the adulthood into which he seeks to step. Weaving between the two worlds, depressed and oppressed, he decides to rebel against the world he disgusts.3.2 Holdens Rebellion against the SocietyThere are several rebellions in the Catcher in the Rye: Holdens rebellion against the

41、 Prep School, rebellion against the materialistic-status seeking, and the rebellion against the phoniness. All those rebellions are different aspects of Holdens rebellion against the American society. The prosperous economy brings the American people good material life, but their spiritual life rema

42、ins barren. Holden, as a misfit hero, cannot endure the social life around him so that he rebels against it from different aspects, including the spokesman of educational systemhis school Pencey Prep; the false social value of the peoplematerialistic-status seeking as well as the peoples philosophy

43、of lifephoniness. Through Holdens eyes, we see a picture of the corrupted life of the contemporary American society.3.3 Holdens Conformity to the SocietyIn Holdens eyes, the world is full of corruptions, obscenity and ugliness. And the children world is an innocent one in which the children enjoy th

44、e happiness and purity. He hopes to preserve the innocence of children. Therefore, in order to prevent the innocent children from falling into the corrupted adult world, he comes up with an ideato be the catcher in the rye, which is his ideal. But gradually, he finds that his ideal is impractical an

45、d it will not come true under the great power of the society. Through his own realizationreflected by three times of symbolic death, he achieves his spiritual growth. Besides, with the assistance of his younger sister Phoebeher attentive love, he begins to accept the social reality and abandons his

46、ideal of being the catcher. At last, he compromises with the society and tries to face the existing world bravely. He fulfills the transition successfully from an adolescent boy to an adult. Part Four. Holden: A Rebel against the Mainstream Culture4.1 Origin and Development of Rebellious HeroesThe i

47、mage of rebellious heroes goes back to ancient times and seems to exist in every culture. A rebellious hero refers to one person who is discontented with his respective unpleasant reality and strives for living in a world that he presumes to be paradise. In primitive society, people had not enough f

48、ood and they were threatened by natural disasters, wars and famines. With the hope of searching for food and lodging, they had to fight against natural disasters and some uncontrollable power, but they did not surrender or give up. Hope was deep engrafted in their hearts. We may find such stories in

49、 the Bible. Under the yoke of unspeakable and multiplied oppression, the Israelites, led by Moses, fought against the Egyptians. They yearned for ending their miserable fates as slaves and leading a happy life in Cannan, the land of prosperity and promise. Obviously, the Israelites motive was simple

50、they rose up to get rid of persecution and find a land of their own for their existence. The Israelites rebellion is one such example in the western literature and culture. The hero Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye also falls into such a category.Salinger first created his literary charact

51、er Holden Caulfield in Collers magazine in “Im crazy”, which appeared on Dec. 22, 1945. Then for the second time he characterized the hero Holden Caulfield in Slight Rebellion off Madison, published in the Dec. 21 issue the New Yorker in 1946. The two publications at first were delayed by the entry

52、of the United States into World War II, but the two works contain materials that are actually used in The Catcher in the Rye. The story “Im crazy” reveals the psychological state of Holden Caulfield, indicating the result of a young adolescent suppressed by society and the repression of his inner ex

53、perience. The story “I m crazy” begins to show Holdens rebellion for the first time. In Slight Rebellion off Madison, Madison Avenue, a famous avenue beside the Park Avenue in East Manhattan, is the place where the upper-class white people live and it represents the property, identity and social sta

54、tus. It could be regarded as the miniature of the 1950s society. In American literature, the Main Avenue or street is a very important image. In 1920, Sinclair Lewis published his famous novel Main Street. In this novel, the main street represents political, economic and cultural centre of the small

55、 town. Through the description of the Main Street, Lewis presents the small town fellows spiritless state, narrow-mindedness, conservativeness and snobbery. It symbolizes the dominant trend in American life.Madison Avenue in The Catcher in the Rye is such a symbolic street. What Holden rebels agains

56、t is the mainstream culture Madison Avenue represents. From Holdens description in the story, we can see that the dull and stifling mainstream culture heavily burdens on him. Though Holden is a young man, he sensitively sees the snobbery and phoniness of the world surrounding him. Being an innocent

57、adolescent, he cannot fit into the phony and decadent world. As a result, he rebels against the society and the mainstream culture.4.2 Rebellion against the Pencey PrepIn this novel, Holdens parents fail to choose a proper prep school for him. They only send their son to one private prep school afte

58、r one another. Pencey prep in Agerstown, Pennsylvania is the third expensive private prep school. It claims to mold boys into splendid clear-thinking young men, the “strictly for the birds.”(J. D. Salinger, 1990:6) In fact, Pencey Prep strangles the individuality of the youth. In Holdens eyes, the s

59、chool is boring, trivial and full of phonies. The atmosphere of Pencey Prep suffocated him. He cannot obey the rules and regulations which govern the boarding school. At Pencey, one is expected to play the game, whether it is the football contest pitting Pencey against Saxon Hall or what Dr. Thurmer

60、, Penceys headmaster, calls the larger “game of life”. The critic Geismer Maxwell further pointed out that Holden opposed to all those old routines and stuck to his own opinions, even about literature. Though he thinks he is quite illiterate, he reads a lot. He thinks that Out of America is a good b

61、ook. In contrast, A Farewell to Arms has become a real phony book. Holden regards himself as a “half-coward”. To some extent, he is a type of hero who shows the strong opposition to the popular aggressive tough images in Hemingways novel. However, even such a “half-coward” hero hates bitterly “these dirty little goddam cliques” which is the hypocritical team