Salingers characters quest for happines

A detailed Summary of Salingers characters quest for happines

A recurring theme in J. D. Salinger's stories concerns people who don't fit in with the traditional American culture. His main characters are super-intelligent humans who must choose between the phony real world (American culture) and a morally-pure, "nice" world. Salinger's characters unlike the rest of society, are caught in the struggle between a superficial world and a conscious morality.. They do not conform to the material happiness; but search for a spiritual happiness.

The works of J.D. Salinger show the quest for happiness through religion, loneliness, and symbolism. In "Nine Stories" Franny Glass keeps reciting the "Jesus Prayer" to cope with the suicide of her brother Seymour. This prayer serves as a means of comfort and the last hope for Franny in this situation. She would be lost if their was no prayer. Another instance of searching comfort through religion is shown in Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caufield is in despair for losing his girlfriend, so he reads a passage in the Bible. This probably helps him change his outlook on life. Holden was alone then and had no one to turn back on, until he found the Bible.

In Franny and Zooey, the youngest Glass child Franny has a nervous breakdown. Influenced by Seym

happiness. In Catcher in the Rye Holden Caufield's entire plot deals with him trying to isolate from society. Holden realizes that society has become bad (even children at Phoebe's school when he saw "fuck" written on a wall), and wants no part in this terrible life. Society is used as the source of discord in this case to be isolated from. Holden is shown as just a hermit. at the end of Catcher in the Rye. He only wants to be separated from the society which considers him a misfit. In Salinger's works a source of unhappiness is usually the fact that

our's interest in Eastern philosophy, she is frustrated with the superficial world around her. In the second half of the book, Zooey explains to his younger sister Franny that they and the rest of the Glass family are the problem, not the rest of the world. They are different because they were religiously enlightened by their two oldest brothers, Seymour and Buddy: "We're freaks, that's all. Those two bastards got us early and made us into freaks with freakish standards, that's all. We're the Tattooed Lady, and we're never going to have a minute's peace, the rest of our lives, till everybody else is tattooed, too" (Franny 139). As Zooey says, "the only thing that counts in the religious life is detachment" (Franny 198).

characters and evil. Society is portrayed as bad, and for many character's isolation from the society is the only way to achieve

Salinger uses symbolism from other books in his books to convey how the characters in his works will change for a better life. Salinger uses much of

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Approximate Word count = 1051
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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