If
teaching Catcher in the Rye by
J.D. Salinger were to be paired with a Select Literary Theory, the
Marxist theory would be a natural approach. The Marxist theory is
based on the philosophy of Karl Marx and has the students view the
text as a product of work while focusing on class and power
relationships (Bucher and Hinton, 67). Through
this theory students can examine issues of power, class, resistance,
and/or ideology. In Catcher
in the Rye there
are some clear examples of class conflict and economic power, as well
as Holden, the main character's, resistance to be a part of any
specific social class.
Holden
is adamant about not wanting to be a “phoney.” He often refers
to most of the other people he meets as “phonies.” For example,
when referring to one of his old Headmasters, Mr. Haas, Holden says,
“...(he) was the phoniest bastard I ever met...if a boy's mother
was sort of fat or cony looking...and if somebody's father wore those
suits with very big shoulders and corny black-and-white shoes, then
old Haas would just...give them a phony smile and then go talk
...with somebody else's parents” (Salinger, 14). Holden has a
clear image of at least one incident in almost of the people he comes
across that would classify them as phoney in his eyes. He is
terrified of being phoney himself and at one point refuses to eat his
bacon and eggs because the person next to him only has coffee and
toast (Salinger, 100).
An
example of the Marxist theme of economic power in Catcher
in the Rye is
when Holden reminisces on a time at one of the boys' schools where
his roommate is much less off than his family.
Holden's bags are
name-brand and rather expensive, whereas his roommate's are
knock-offs and clearly tattered. Feeling embarrassed by his family's
money, Holden places his bags under his bed where no one can see
them, but his roommate takes them out and places them on the rack for
all to see, hoping that others will mistake them as his (Salinger,
108). This clearly shows a struggle among classes, as well as
economic power. Holden also does not feel that he fits in to any one
class nor does he have a desire to because he finds them all to be
phoney. He says, “...it's (the world) is full of phonies. And all
you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be
able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day” (Salinger, 13). Holden's
resistance to become part of society is only perpetuated by the fact
that he is clearly a very privileged, white, depressed young man, who
has a hard time finding the good in any situation.
Another
example of Marxism in Catcher
in the Rye can
be seen in Holden’s
privileged status and it's stark contrast to the scenes and people
that he encounters in New York.
For example, Holden's interactions with Maurice and Sunny. Maurice
is the elevator man, who is clearly also trying to make some extra
money by pimping out ladies to hotel guests and Sunny is the girl
that he sends to Holden's room. Holden immediately feels poorly for
doing anything with Sunny because of the clear class difference.
Maurice sees an opportunity to take advantage of a young, wealthy boy
and ends up physically assaulting Holden for more money than they
originally agreed upon. Both of these are examples of the contrast
between Holden's social status and other people that he encounters in
New York.
When
introducing the Marxist theory, a teacher could start by asking
students to think about class and power structures, through cliques
and groups, in their school. He/she could use the examples of
athletes (jocks) and academics (nerds) and have students think of
other types of cliques that could be included. Then, have the
cliques/classes ranked from the most to the least
influential/powerful with justification for their rankings. If
prompting was needed, the teacher could ask questions such as,
Are there specific groups with power? Without power? Where
does the power come from in these groups? Is your perception of power
affected by your personal experiences with some of these groups? Are
class structures fixed or is it possible to move among the class
designations?
Finally, the teacher will explain that power and class structures are
a part of a literary theory called Marxism and that the novel they
will be reading include issues of power between and among characters
and groups. While the students are reading Catcher
in the Rye,
they
would be looking for clues that point to or justify the Marxist
theory. Using this approach to
Marxism, the teacher could clearly help guide students to see the
themes of class conflict and economic power that are prevalent in
this book.
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