Catcher in the Rye and 1950s Television
J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye depicts life in the fifties as seen through the eyes of a disillusioned teenager. There is a vast difference between the life of a real 1950s family and that of a typical family portrayed through the television sitcoms of the day. The Catcher in the Rye is filled with examples that demonstrate how different real societies are. In the fifties, quaint and perfect families dominated television home-life. The mother or "house-wife" on television was always perfect. She would always don a housedress, frilly apron, and four-inch high heels, all this along with her perfect makeup and hair. You could always count on your TV mom to be up at the crack of dawn to make your breakfast. It would typically consist of eggs (sunny side up, of course), sausages, bacon, toast, orange juice and of course, the fresh, piping hot pot of coffee for TV dad (we'll get to him later). She would always have the paper ready on the kitchen table for dad and the kids' ( we'll get to them too) lunches would always be ready. When it came time for the children to go off to school, and dad to work, mom would always be waiting at the front door. She would give the children their lunches and a kiss on the cheek an
Television dads were very distinguished business people, with undisclosed professions. The TV dad would always be in his suit and tie at the kitchen table, coat and all. He always had the same briefcase and never brought anything to work that exceeded the load of his briefcase. When dad got home from work his idea of comfortable clothing was a dress shirt, dress slacks, tie and, of course, a sweater. With his evening paper in hand, he would light a pipe and prepare to deal with whatever'situation comedy problem' his children were experiencing. Real life moms were never quite that perky. For instance, when Holden was on the train he bumped into Ernie Morrow's mom. She had been to a party, alone no less, which was a no-no for TV mothers. "She had these orchids on, like she'd just been to a big party or something.(70). She struck up a conversation with Holden and he proceeded to lie to her about her own son. Lying that much was not something you would have likely seen very often on TV in the fifties. Holden's mother seemed to have a life outside of the home, too. "They won't be home till very late, mother said. They went to a party in Norwalk Connecticut."(210) That indicates that she was in fact not home. Through the many episodes o
Some common words found in the essay are:
Catcher Rye, Leave Beaver, Holden Caufield, Ernie Morrow's, Beav Holden's, Wally NewYork, Pencey Daddy's, G'night Sally, Rock Roll, War II, tv dad, life fifties, leave beaver, catcher rye, holden's life, kitchen table,
Approximate Word count = 838
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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