Comparing Catcher In The Rye And Igby Goes Down

Comparisons Between Catcher in the Rye and Igby Goes Down

The Catcher in the Rye and Igby goes Down are texts of Bildungsroman. Throughout the to texts we are shown the elements of conformity, societal expectations and most prominently belonging. In both texts the protagonists: Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye and Igby Slocumb in Igby Goes Down are portrayed as anti-heroes. These two characters share so many similarities that they can be perceived as the same person. Both protagonists have entered the real world where independence is vital for survival. They underestimate the viciousness of society and enter the world without guidance, both searching for a place of belonging and ultimately finding their true identity.

Igby and
Igby and Holden both find it extremely difficult to find this place to belong in and as a consequence make them have the urge to search and find this place. The reason Holden can’t find his destination is because of his penchant of having a prejudice view on someone and judges him or her by his or her actions and external features. He classifies most of the people he interacts with as ‘phony’ because he believes they have put a mask on over their true identity to satisfy societal demands and expectations. This results him never making new acquaintances or friends, which ultimately leaves him lonely and still lost from his desired destination of belonging. Igby has the same outlook towards life as Holden, to find that area of belonging. Igby has a different approach to find that destination, he asks for his share of his inheritance from his mother and wants to move cities to start his independent life. We are shown during the scenes where Igby is given a job by Russell as a Drug Courier and meets his old teacher and two young ladies. We are shown that he tries to create this false persona during each encounter with someone new. This is because he’s subconscious does this to steer him away from others, I think that Igby’s area of belonging is solitary. At the end of each text we find that throughout their respective journeys, they have not gained even a single new friend, still worlds apart from their