Assignation And The Sound Of Silence

In this recent - and highly contested - election cycle, new President Donald Trump launched a war on the institution of political correctness. Many of his supporters praised him for “telling it like it is”; he did not allow propriety to stand in the way of his messages. In doing so, Trump veered away from the longstanding influence of society, and the standards it has set for all people. Still, Trump’s frankness and seeming lack of regard for common customs is rare. Though most people exhibit traits that may not be deemed perfectly acceptable by common culture, they go to great lengths to conform to what they see as normal. In Catcher in the Rye, the poem Resignation, and the musical piece The Sound of Silence, each author illustrates that
For example, in Resignation McClatchy states that a tree does not try to “[...] change its fortune. They seem [...] unconcerned with what the world makes of their decencies” (McClatchy 9-11). Masterfully utilizing his personification of trees, the poet observes that people do not attempt to “change their fortunes”, rather they resign to leaving them in their present state. This is very similar to Salinger’s depiction of Holden’s character in Catcher in the Rye, as when Holden is told that “Life is a game that one plays according to the rules”, Holden thinks, “Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game” (Salinger 13). This reveals the alienation Holden feels, as he is identifying with those “on the other side of the game”; he feels as though the he is at odds with society. Yet, throughout the novel he does little to amend this. He consistently dons his red hunting hat, a symbol of his alienation and outcast status from the rest of society. He almost unhappily embraces his status, and resigns himself to do nothing to change it. Furthermore, on numerous occasions Holden is placed in situations which require him to act with far more muchority than he truly has, such as when he converses with a Pencey Prep mother on his train ride. Holden asks her, “ ‘Would you care for a cocktail?’ [...] ‘We can go in the club car. All right?’ (Salinger 62), exhibiting his intention to behave as though he is older, as he asks her to get a “cocktail” with him - an activity reserved to those older than Holden. He does this because of his belief that a perception of greater sophistication is more socially acceptable than