The self versus institutions in J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to observe textual comparison and analysis of the adolescent protagonists of Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey which indicate the social change of America during the twentieth century. There is a battle between the self and institutions where adolescents have their own view of society and the institutions want them to follow the traditional norms. Jerome David Salinger talks about the American society and its changes in the early 1900s. After the Great War, society was going through a paradigm shift, which put an impact on social, cultural and literary aspects and the American adolescents as well. Due to industrialisation and modernisation, there was a sudden boom in the American economy and many people became materialistic which made the adolescents alienated from their family and society. Salinger portrayed those dilemmas and struggles, and captured the vein of American teenagers at that time which attracted the young people who were able to relate with the protagonists; and, they continue to have appeal among youngsters even today. The same situation and crisis can be detected among today’s young generation in Bangladesh as well which influenced me more to analyse this subject.