Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And Antigone

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, and the play Antigone both main characters Holden and Creon are alienated or isolated from society. Through their journey they both develop the theme which is wisdom is gained through suffering and experience. J. D. Salinger’s novel ‘Catcher in the Rye’ portrays to the reader a protagonist named Holden Caulfield who desires independence and feels that the world is an inhospitable place, that he holds contempt for, Holden like many teenagers seeks a sense of identity but does not look for it through his connections with others. The book highlights this and his issue of identity is explored through Holden, himself, who can be correlated to other people living in forced isolation and alienation. Holden
He purchased a red hunting hat that will make him stand out in a crowd, or protect himself from the outside world. He wears a hunting hat to show his uniqueness and isolates him self to portray that he is better than others and above interacting with them. In the beginning on the novel we see that the hat is used more frequently, to hide his true emotions. He tends to wear his hat when he is alone and thinking to himself. But he did wear it in a crowd of people so no one would talk to him. As he is in New York he tends to stop wearing the hat so often this meaning that he is growing up and maturing. Then eventually he even gives the hat to Phoebe showing that he is now an adult. There are many conflicts that Creon has to over come before he realizes that he is not the only person he truly cares about. Creon puts himself at a position of power, he go against his word saying that he would listen to the people of Thebes. Now he is going to send people to death even if they are listening to the gods. Because Creon is at a postison of power he can do whatever he wants even though it is pushing people away from him and causing him to be isolated. At the end of the play Creon finally realizes that just because he has power does not mean that everyone will love him, and he is left alone. This helps develop the theme because we can see that both characters are suffering in their own way. Holden
Holden is terrified to make a connection with someone knowing that the people he love often abandon him: Allie, D.B., his parents. “Where do the ducks go?” is a question that he often asks to the taxi driver. This is a symbol of growth and maturity because he can see that not everything will leave forever like Allie. The ducks will come back and so will the people in his life. Holden thinks he wants to find someone to share intimacy with but truly what he needs is a good friend, someone who he can talk. This person in the novel is his sister the one who he truly cares about Phoebe. She is like a rock for him, even though she is much younger than him she acts as the adult in the relationship. She helps him grow and mature into a young adult. Unlike Holden, Creon is in love with power. He puts his love for his country above the love for his family He'd rather kill Antigone to uphold his law and win the respect (or fear) of people of Thebes than pardon his niece and one of his last living relatives. When he sends Antigone to her death he has an argument with his son Haemon. Creon is now killing the love of his son’s life for his own love of power. He tries to take back what he has done but it is to late, Antigone, Heamon, and Eurydice are now dead. Creon had cause his own son and wife to die because of his love for power. Love helps develop the theme