THE POST-WAR ERA AND THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

ENGLISH 10REDDING

HISTORICAL CONTEXT: WWII

The Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951.

August, 1945: first atomic bombs used in warfare dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Reasons for the bombings controversial

In Hiroshima, approx. 70,000 people immediately killed as result of initial blast, heat, and radiation effects. After five years, the death total was approx. 200,000+ due to cancer and other long-term effects.

In Nagasaki, approx. 40,000 people were immediately killed. After five years, the death total was approx. 140,000.

THE POST-WAR ERAAfter end of WWII (1945), growing confidence in

U.S. military and economic might

End of war rationing meant access to consumer items

Opportunities for employment for many (although women employed in wartime factories often exited the workforce)

Burgeoning consumer culture of “luxury for the masses”

THE COLD WAR ERA1946: Churchill coins the term “Iron Curtain”

1950: North Korean Communist troops invade South Korea; U.S. and U.N. intervene

1951: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of selling U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. They are executed in 1953

1950-1954: The Joseph McCarthy Era—investigations into alleged Communists in the government

CULTURE OF THE POST WAR/COLD WAR ERASymbols and signs of optimism, wealth,

and vulgarity:*the car (In the ’50s, 20% of GNP of U.S. went to purchasing vehicles)* gaudy colors & chrome* the supermarket (with an astounding selection of goods)*home appliances (the “mod cons”)* the suburbs

Levittown: considered first planned, mass- produced community in the suburbs; built 1947-1951 on Long Island

THE MAINSTREAM VS. THE ARTISTSWhile the mainstream was embracing the

consumerism and prototypical suburban family, many artists felt isolated and disconnected from the mainstream.

These artists were often seeking:*apolitical subject matter that was avant-guard (experimental or innovative)

*a divergence from past art forms

* reactions and meaning-making from the viewers/readers/listeners

Can you think of ways your generation tries to stray from the mainstream?

ABOUT SALINGERBorn 1919 in New York City to parents Sol and

Miriam; father was Jewish, mother, Catholic

Attended public and private schools in Manhattan; then Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania (may be basis for Pencey Prep, a boarding school the main character attends)

Attended college, but didn’t graduate

ABOUT SALINGERDistinguished himself as writer in second

semester of night class at Colombia, but many of his submitted stories were rejected by The New Yorker.

Served in WWII: participated in D-Day Landings in 1944; was one of first soldiers to enter a liberated concentration camp

Was treated for shell shock, aka combat stress reaction, after the war

Met and began correspondence with Earnest Hemingway while overseas; E.H. called Salinger “a helluva talent”

ABOUT SALINGERThe Catcher in the Rye, featuring Holden

Caulfield, was published on in July 1951

Salinger on Catcher: "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it.”

Novel was immediate popular success but also faced criticism for profanity, irreverance, and other “inappropriate” content

Attention after publication of Catcher led Salinger to move to a small town in New Hampshire; he never published anything after 1965 and remained a hermit until his death in 2010.

ABOUT SALINGER’S TECHNIQUES AND THEMESTechniques/aspects of style:

*internal monologue*stream of consciousness*sparse but revealing dialogue*young characters as focus* colloquialisms intermingled with elevated diction

Themes in Catcher and other works:* youthful innocence and the loss thereof* alienation and isolation of the individual* failure to live up to parental and society’s expectations

Be on the lookout for these elements!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MODERN ERATwo devastating almost-global wars: World

War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1941-1945)

Huge changes in industry and technology as compared to the 19th century

The rise in power and influence of international corporations

Interconnectedness across the globe: cultural exchanges, transportation, communication, mass (or popular) culture from the West (with "West" being considered Europe and North America)

MODERNISMUses images ("word pictures") and symbols as

typical and frequent literary techniques

Uses colloquial language rather than formal language

Often, the intention of writers in the Modern period is to change the way readers see the world and to change our understanding of what language is and does  

MODERNISM CONTINUED

Uses language in a very self-conscious way, seeing language as a technique for crafting the piece of literature just as an artist crafts a piece of art like a sculpture or a painting.

Sees language as a special medium that influences what that piece of literature can do or can be

Form, style, and technique thus become as important--if not more so--than content or substance.

EXISTENTIALISM Philosophical ideology that became prevalent after WWIIIndividuals give meaning to life – meaning cannot be found through

society or religionIn literature, the existential writer reacted to traditional storylines and

character development – the author of these traditional works would manipulate the plot and character choices so that everything resolved (life made sense)

With existential plots, life doesn’t make “real” sense---only the “sense you choose to make of it.” These stories deal with the absurd series of events that each person tries to make sense of.

Three core existential thematic elements: death, alienation, authenticity

Many critics argue that Catcher in the Rye fits the definition of existential through these elements. As we read, you decide!