FAMILY
Non-literary text: 1950s Family: structure, values…
The Ideal American Family Structure (Nuclear Family)
father
mother
two or three children
“Children were precious assets and the center of the family.”
“Parents did everything possible to make life ‘good’ for their kids and grow them into successful adults.”
breadwinner
advice giver
family disciplinarian
housewives
few wives worked
The Catcher in the Rye
Father
Mother
Holden
Phoebe
Allie
D. B.
a touchy individual
wealthy
successful
corporate lawyer
hysterical
anxious
nervous all the time
terrific short-story writer
"Now that he's out in Hollywood, D. B. [is] being a prostitute."
in Hollywood
intelligent
neat
wonderful dancer
innocent
died because of leukemia when Holden was 13
brilliant
friendly
the smartest of the Caulfields
innocent
Holden is tormented by Allie's death
Holden still carries Allie's baseball glove
"blames himself for not being able to 'catch' Allie[,] even though there was nothing he could do to save him from cancer."
close to his sister Phoebe
isn't particularly close to either his mother or father
: : : : : :
A contrast between Holden’s family relationships and the considered ideal family is observed by the audience. This is because the reader can understand that in Holden’s family, he is not the one who is the “precious asset”.
This also helps the reader to realise the contrast and compare Holden’s parents’ behavior with the behaviors of ideal parents in the 50s. Holden and his parent’s relationship is superficial. Holden’s parents sometimes seem like they care about their son, but when it comes to opening up about his problems, Holden does not feel comfortable enough to talk.
“Raising Boys in the 50s”
“Male children were expected to be strong, responsible, and assertive, but also mischievous.”
The audience can understand that boys were taught to have a dominant, masculine energy at such a young age. If the audience thinks about Holden and his characterization throughout the whole novel, they will clearly realise that the main character, who is a boy, wasn’t described as much as a manly figure. Also, this indicates one of the topics that Holden is different among his peers and creates the question “whether he will be accepted, or not?” which is about the theme of isolation.