Copmparing Catcher In The Rye And Pygmalion

And Their Themes Essay, Research Paper

Comparing Catcher in the Rye and Pygmalion and the

Themes They Represent In J. D. Salinger.s novel The

Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield,

muses at one point on the possibility of escaping from the

world of confusion and .phonies. while George Bernard

Shaw.s main character of Pygmalion, Eliza Dolittle,

struggles to become a phony. The possible reason for this

is that they both come from opposite backgrounds. Holden

is a young, affluent teenager in 1950.s America who

resents materialism and Eliza Dolittle is a young, indigent

woman who is living in Britain during the late 1800.s trying

to meet her material needs and wants. These two seemingly

opposite characters do in fact have something in common:

they, like every other person, are in a constant pursuit of

happiness. This commonality is the basis for the themes

these two stories present. Some of these themes go

unconsidered and this leads to many misunderstandings in

the world. This is why Pygmalion and Catcher in the Rye

are not just stories but, in fact, lessons that are presented in

their themes. These themes teach that being middle or

upper class does not guarantee happiness, treating others

with good manners and equality are important, and

pronunciation and terminology can .put you in your place.

in terms of class. Throughout the world.s history,

pronunciation and the way a language is spoken indicates

one.s place in society. This is quite apparent in Pygmalion.

Eliza is a classic victim of being .put into her place. based

on the way she speaks. She goes to Professor Higgins in

hope that he will give her lessons on how to speak in a

more refined. She says she wants .to be a lady in a flower

shop stead of sellin at the corner of Tottenham Court

Road. But they won.t take me unless I can talk more

genteel. (23). This is precisely why she comes to Henry

Higgins. He knows quite a bit about the study of speech. In

fact, he is a professor of phonetics. He can .pronounce one

hundred thirty vowel sounds. and .place any man within six

miles. of their homes (15). Sometimes he can even place

them within two streets of their homes. When Eliza hears

this, she decides to take advantage of Higgins. ability and

take lessons from him. She learns a new form of speech

and this newfound way of speaking helps to pass her off as

a duchess at an opera. Holden.s speech also manages to

categorize him: not class-wise, but rather age-wise and

personality-wise. He captures the informal speech of an

average intelligent adolescent. This speech includes both

simple description and cursing. For example, in the

introduction, Holden says, .They.re nice and all,. as well

as, .I.m not going to tell you my whole goddam

autobiography or anything. (1). The term .nice. is an

extremely broad term Holden uses to characterize his

parents. He does not want to disrespect them yet he does

not feel right praising them either. This opening to Holden.s

story shows Holden.s unwillingness to share his views.

However, this gradually changes and he opens up. He uses

the terms .and all. and .or anything. regularly throughout

the novel and because not everyone speaks like this, these

terms make Holden.s speech unique. Holden also feels he

has to confirm what he is saying because he does not quite

believe himself. For example, he says, .I.m a pacifist, if you

want to know the truth. (26). When Holden is particularly

angry, he swears more often. He says .That guy Morrow is

about as sensitive as a god dam toilet seat. (55). His

inability to properly communicate without have to rely on

profanity to express himself shows Holden as a boy

suffering from what some might call .teenage angst..

Holden, however, rarely shows his angst publicly. For the

most part, he is composed in front of people; especially

adults and strangers. If annoyed about something, he

manages to say what he thinks in such a polite, disguised

way, the people he talks to do not even notice. Holden

believes in manners and treating everyone equally. Before

Holden leaves for Christmas Break, Mr. Spencer invites

him to his house and asks about what the headmaster, Dr.

Thurmer, said to him. Holden replies that Dr. Thurmer

spoke of life being a game, and that one should play it

according to the rules (8). Holden shows no animosity

about Dr. Thurmer.s speech. He accepts it as part of the

educator.s duty even though he knows that life is only a

game if you are on the right side, where all the .hot-shots.

are. Mr. Spencer also lectures and proceeds to go through

Holden.s history exam with him. Holden did poorly both in

class and on the exam and feels guilty because Mr.

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