Catcher in the Rye Marxism Quotes Flashcards
“Now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute”
…out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute”
Ideas of selling out to the dominant ideology of art - as well as Holden’s supposed disdain of commodity culture shown by his bitterness to D.B.’s new car:
“He just got a Jaguar … It cost him damn near four thousand bucks”
“‘Go ahead yell your goddamn head off … Want your parents to know you spent the night with a whore? High-class kid like you?’”
Maurice is conscious of the class difference between them and turns it on its head - using it against Holden rather than being oppressed by it. Possibly also a moment of Holden’s class awakening.
“I hate it if I’m eating bacon and eggs or something and somebody else is only eating toast and coffee”
Holden’s conscious of the discrepancies between the the wealthy and the rest of society, in turn tries to make up for it by donating $10 to the nuns’ church - bourgeois guilt.
“It drives me crazy if somebody gets killed - especially somebody very smart and all - and it’s somebody else’s fault.”
Holden’s sadness at Mercutio’s death in Romeo and Juliet shows his desire for justice in the world, that those who suffer at the hands of others - dying in their wars or starving on their streets - are undeserving
“‘It’s full of phonies,and all you do is study enough so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to buy a goddamn Cadillac someday’”
Holden’s disdain for education ties into Williams’ idea of education as a cultural tool which embeds the hegemonic following of capitalism into children.
“the thing with kids is if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them”
Metaphor for capitalism/the constraints of society. We must carry on doing as we are told, striving for unattainable goals which only result in self destruction. To point this out is effectively blasphemous in a capitalist society.
“I’d build me a little cabin with the dough I made and live there for the rest of my life”
Holden’s realisation of how little control he has over his life and destiny leads to him becoming alienated from himself and from society as he is deprived from the right to truly determine his own future and has to fulfil society - and capitalism’s - expectations. Stems from Marx’s idea of Estrangement
Alternative rather than oppositional lifestyle, as proposed by Williams.
Holden’s obsession with consumerism
All of Holden’s recollections and reminisces, even when focused around other people, seem to be centred on the material goods which coincided in his mind.
e.g he was prompted to think of a former roommate at university when confronted with a pair of cheap suitcases
the suicide of one of his fellow students at Elkton Hills, James Castle, only makes Holden focus on the fact he was wearing his turtleneck - also draws a lot of attention to the fact that Mr Antolini didn’t care about bloodying his coat when carrying James’ body
with Sunny, the prostitute, Holden’s attention was entirely encapsulated by the thought of her buying the dress she was wearing that night
