Analyze the Symbolic Theme of the Catcher in the Rye under the Perspective of Ecological Criticism

1、Analyze the Symbolic Theme of the Catcher in the Rye under the Perspective of Ecological Criticism1. IntroductionThe novel The Catcher in the Rye is the classic of American writer J. D. Salinger, which has been spoken highly as a “modern classic” by modern critics. If Mark Twain's The Adventures

2、 of Huckleberry Finn is the seminal work of the Bildungsroman novel of the 19th century American literature, The Catcher in the Rye occupies a similar position in the United States after the year of 1950. Indeed, as one of the masterpieces of the Bildungsroman, this novel had a profound impact on th

3、e subsequent American literature. What is more, The Catcher in the Rye also played a major role in promoting the Youthquake in the 1960s of United States, as well as the advent of a large number of young people film and television production.1.1 BackgroundThe writing background was the early 1950s a

4、fter the World War II. During this period, the United States made a fortune in the war, the post-war material production was developing fast, and peoples living standards were rapidly improving, the number of middle-class also surged. However, the spiritual life of majority people was getting increa

5、singly scarce and empty. In the early 1950s, the U.S. government pursued Truman Doctrine and McCarthyism to contain the Communism. Internationally, the Cold War was exacerbated; domestically, the progressive forces were under suppression. Furthermore, the horrors of nuclear war were hanging over eve

6、ry heart of the people. Some people fooled themselves, thinking that they were living in a peaceful and tranquil society; some people disliked the vulgar and hypocritical the morals of the time. They wanted to resist, but they were lack of a glorious ideal, could not find a brighter way out. Therefo

7、re, some contemporary historians of the United States called Americas 1950s and 1960s as “silent 1950s” or “cowardly 1950s”. Some young people were against the reality with a negative way. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye is a representative.1.2 Purpose of the paperThis book narrated the ex

8、periences and feelings of Holden (the books protagonist), which were about his nearly three-day wandering in New York City after being expelled from school, with an autobiography tone. And also it criticized the hypocrisy and deceptive acts of the adult world from a vision of young people. This work

9、, which was treated as one of “the most classic novels in modern time”, was gave birth to in more than half a century ago. And during this time, it has won a wide favor of readers in all ages. Just as Paul Alexander守望者 塞林格传, 作者: 保罗·亚历山大, 孙仲旭, 出版: 译林出版社, 版本: 2001年9月, 译林出版社 (2001) said, “the

10、 importance of this book to American culture's contribution cannot be overstated in any case.” Salinger revealed the hypocrisy and vulgarity, mess and squalor of the adult world of American society after World War II in his novel by its protagonist, Holden, a 16-year-old boys exploration, pursui

11、t and resistance of the world and himself. In this novel, Holden sent out the cry that he wanted to be “The Catcher in the Rye”, which implied the writers deep desire and wish to return to humans childhood and the beautiful nature, reflecting a profound ecological philosophy. When this novel came ou

12、t, the juvenile image Holden who hated hypocrisy deeply was treated by millions of readers as a fascinating new hero. Also, the cordial language of the text which is an advocating of freedom has been warmly welcomed. What is more, the novel reflected the outlook of the messy life and morality of Ame

13、rican teenagers after the World War II, representing a considerable part of young peoples mind and situation. Holdens resistance without a clear purpose is a typical disease of the students and young people that time. After the publishing of The Catcher in the Rye, the high school and college studen

14、ts were all eager to read, and it was regarded as a “Required Reading” by parents and teachers, which was a key to understanding contemporary youth. The Catcher in the Rye has led a new trend of the creation of the American literature. It made the Americans who were with poor thinking and indifferen

15、t feeling that time deeply charmed. And this period can be called a “Salinger era” beyond the definition of the literary circle.1.3 Significance of the researchThe literary circle has made lots of analysis and interpretation, especially in terms of mental analysis, the characteristics of language, t

16、he symbolism, growth themes, characters contrast and narrative art. However, with the worsening of environmental issues and the birth and development of eco-criticism in recent years, many domestic and foreign classical literatures have also been analyzed from the natural ecological perspective. As

17、a new literary and cultural criticism method, the main tasks of Eco-criticism are to re-examine and investigate the relationship between humans and the natural through the literary and cultural studies, and make the human understand the difficulties brought by the rapid development of the industry,

18、and then appeal to the protection of natural and harmonious coexistence with nature. In view of this, this article uses the new perspective ecological criticism as a starting point, combining with the related symbolic themes, analyzes this implied deep ecology philosophy which reflecting returning t

19、o nature in this narrative fiction of the, reflected in a return to natural ecological thinking, deliberates and understands this book from a new perspective.2. Related information2. 1Ecological Criticism2.1.1 BackgroundEco-criticism, as a literary and a kind of tendency of cultural criticism came i

20、nto being in the mid-1990s in the United States, and then it appeared in many other countries. Among the so many definitions of the term eco-criticism, which can be mostly accepted by most scholars was the definition of the leading advocate and promoters of the American eco-criticism Cheryll Glotfel

21、ty: Cheryll Glotfelty & Harold Fromm: The Ecocriticism Reader; Landmarks in Literary Ecology, The University of Georgia Press, 1996, Athens, p. xviii.eco-criticism is to explore the relationship between literature and the natural environment. Also, there have been many other definitions of Ecolo

22、gical Criticism. Some western ecological critics have pointed out that ecological criticism is a kind of “research about the relationship between the literature and the natural environment”;Cheryll Glotfelty & Harold Fromm, The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology, The University o

23、f Georgia Press, 1996, p.xviii. it is to “explore the relationship between literature and the nature environment of the criticism in a spirit of responsibility on the environment”.Phillips, Dana., Ecocriticism, Literary theory, and the truth of ecology. New Literary History, Summer 1999,30(3): 524.

24、In my opinion, Eco-criticism is a kind of literary theory criticism to criticize the ecological problems from the perspective of literary criticism. On the one hand, it solves the deep relationship between literature and the nature environment; on the other hand, it pays attention to the inherent re

25、lationship between literature art and social ecology, cultural ecology, spiritual ecology. Its research object and purpose is the interpretation of the natures embodiment in the literature, exploring the relationship between human culture and the natural environment. Cheryll Glotfelty (1996) propose

26、d that “eco-criticism, in a critical position, it is stepping on literature with one foot, stepping on land with another; as a theoretical discourse, it coordinates the relationship between human and nonhuman.”Cheryll Glotfelty & Harold Fromm, The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecolo

27、gy, The University of Georgia Press, 1996, p xix.2.1.2 The Function of Ecological CriticismHuman culture is closely related to nature. It has influence on the nature world, and it is also affected by nature. Ecological criticism aims at re-examine human culture through the literary or cultural criti

28、cism, and subverts, challenges, exposes and criticizes the ideological root causing the environmental degradation and ecological crisis: the narrow anthropocentrism, in order to rouse humans awareness of ecological protection, establishing a new ecological concept and realizing the harmonious develo

29、pment between man and nature. “Eco-criticism should not only emancipate the nature; but also advocates a return to nature, back to nature, turn the humanity back to a natural state, building a persons spiritual ecology, in order to solve the alienation problem of the people. It promotes a positive i

30、nteraction of spiritual ecology and the natural ecology. It is not only to deconstruct anthropocentric world view and way of life, but also to construct a natural, ecological, green, sustainable values and way of life with the purpose of ecological interests, and to rebuild a new kind of humans rela

31、tionship with nature. ”陈茂林.质疑和解构人类中心主义.当代文坛, 2004(4).pp:35.As a criticism with ecological responsibility and a new moral consciousness, eco-criticism is aimed to restore the value and significance of the independent existence of Nature, re-establish the Natures position in the cultural and literary

32、arts. From the view of eco-criticism, we should treat the nature as a basic element in literature, culture studies and eco-criticism, and with the discussion of theory promoting “nature writing”, and then enlighten the readers ecological protection and natural consciousness. Eco-criticism pays more

33、attention to aesthetic connotation and emotional value of the literary and artistic works under the guidance of the ecosystem concept, and ethics and moral connotations in literary research, more greatly emphasize the sense of mission and responsibility of the literary and artistic creation.2.1.3 Th

34、e value of Ecological CriticismAs a literary and cultural criticism, the characteristics and the unique value of eco-criticism is to review the human culture through the literature. It explores how the humans thought, culture and social development model affect or even determine humans attitudes and

35、 behavior to nature, and lead to environmental degradation and ecological crisis. In addition, if the value of ecological criticism is explored from the point of view of expanding the vision of literary studies, the eco-criticism is not only a manifestation of the social responsibility of the critic

36、s, its significance also lies in opening the view of research literature, and opening the vision of literary criticism to the nature. Ecological criticism is the symbol representing that the literary study has been beyond the boundaries of the humanities, and it is related to the natural sciences an

37、d nature. Literary criticism itself should be an open process which should demonstrate characteristics of keeping the literature in touch with the outside world, such as the nature.Wei Qingqi. the primary green literature study: ecology critism. Foreign literature.2002(3) At the same time, the eco-c

38、riticism always focuses on the connection between human and nature, so that critics can catch more significance than just social and historical values. The traditional literary classic composition, the contemporary classic composition and the pros and cons of the existing literary theory could be an

39、alyzed from a high degree of the Earth's biosphere, which can realize the position of nature in the literature and even culture.陈晓兰:为人类“他者”的自然当代西方生态批评，文艺理论与批评，2002年第6期。 Solving ecological problems is not just dealing with problems in natural ecosystems, but the human spiritual and ecological pro

40、blems. The eco-criticism can help people achieve a deeper, spiritual sense of the “return to nature”. 2.2 Symbolic ThemeSymbolism was one of the earliest factions in western Modernist Literature, which had a great and wide impact. It emerged from French in the 1880s, and was in full flourish from 19

41、20s to 1940s. As a technique of literature expression, the symbolism is against to direct and blunt expression in the literature works, emphasizing the implication and the use of “objective counterpart” to express their feelings and topics. This approach has a profound impact on the other later Mode

42、rnism factions.Symbol, as a unique means of artistic expression, is made use to “represent or imply something, with a rational correlation, association or an accidental similarity; in particular, symbol is a visible thing to represent those invisible things, for example a piece of idea, a kind of qu

43、ality, etc.Zhang Ruihua.the symbolic meaning of The Great Gatsby J. foreign literature research,1999(2)” That is to say, symbol is a kind of specific image which can express or imply a certain conception, philosophy, or emotion. The meaning is not just limited to the words and this specific image co

44、ntains far more than its own significance. Applying this to the creations is a kind of artistic expression technique using objects to clarify and express feelings and thoughts. Thus, the Symbolic Themes in novel is using symbols to display the invisible thinking, such as thoughts and ideas hiding be

45、hind the visible people, things and objects den. Only by grasping the symbols of the novel can we achieve the novel implication layer. There are a large number of symbols in this book, The Catcher in the Rye. For example, the Pansy secondary school is a very good symbol which can well reflect the co

46、nflict of the mainstream culture and the sub-mainstream culture. Pansy Middle School is a symbol of the traditional social and cultural mainstream. It is a school set up specifically for children of riches, and the students are children who are mostly like Holden from the American middle-class famil

47、ies after World War II. The recruitment advertisement of this school claimed that “since 1888, we put the children into excellent young brains”. In fact, in the 1950s the United States was in a sham state of peace, the modern large-scale production made people into robots on the assembly line, and t

48、here were no normal communication among people for barriers between each other. Pansy Middle School is such a production assembly line of robots. In accordance with prevailing social norms in the United States at that time, it promoted the hypocritical education policy, which cultivated nurture stud

49、ents to be unassertive person and in line with traditional cultural norms of mainstream society, the “ideal” citizens. To make matter worse, the cold social reality after World War II showed that some kind of warmth and tenderness in traditional culture has in reality been disappearing and depleting

50、, which was replaced by hypocritical indifference: the principal despised the poor and was favor with the rich; teachers were decrepit and incompetent; there exists full of fraud and selfish among the students. But such a school enjoyed an excellent reputation in the society, which shows it had no d

51、ifference with the society.For example, snow is another very important symbol in this book. It is a refuge for the spirit of Holden. On the Saturday after Holden left Pansy Middle School, it snowed. He made a snowball but everywhere was all so white and clean that he could not throw it to anywhere.

52、The snow-covered earth was a pure and beautiful world in Holdens mind. However, though the snow was pure, it was most likely to be defiled, and was the easiest thing to fade away. It symbolizes the beautiful world in Holdens heart was unreal as a mirage.There were also many other symbols of topic in

53、 this book, such as beautiful Sally Hayes, and the neighbor girl Jane Gallagher. Sally symbolized the secular sex relations, while Jane Gallagher was a symbol of ideal platonic love of Holden. They two symbolized the splitting of love and sex, and contradictions between id and superego.Two novels me

54、ntioned in this book, Oliver Twist of Dickens, The Great Gatsby from Fitzgerald symbolized Holdens mental activity in which he not only embraced fairy tale ideal, but also was fear of being excluded from society. In this way, his spirit was split between the fairy tale ideal and social ideal which w

55、ere two conflicting, mutually exclusive poles, resulting in his psychological imbalance.Another crucial symbol with great ecological significance in the novel was “The Catcher”. “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little ki

56、ds, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff-I mean if theyre running and they dont look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and ca

57、tch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all.” This fantasy of Holden is full of the characteristics of writer Salinger. The symbolism of rye is obvious and clear; it represents a utopian and a fairyland type world; thousands of children playing games i

58、n the rye is the symbol of people are living in a beautiful paradise world; “cliff” is the critical line between the park and corrupted world; preventing the children from falling from the cliff edge to symbolizes preventing people from falling into the reality of the secular world.So symbols play a

59、 very important role in this novel. By all these symbols, the writer showed the inner conflicts of the protagonist, and deepened the theme of the novel.2.3 A general summary of comparative studies of The Catcher in the Rye and Ecological CriticismSince the publishing of this book in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye has been a bone of contention of the critics in term of the ethical issues reflected in the work. And there are both praises and criticisms. Some critics have argued that the human survival situation shown in this novel is quite fascinati