Comparing Catcher In The Rye And A Streetcar Named Desire
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“Don’t let life change your goals because achieving your goals can change your life. You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream” (Anonymous). Society should not be allowed to change one’s life. Only a person can change their own life. They can set their own goals and dreams and accomplish them at their own pace. Age should not affect a person’s willingness to change. In American Literature, society tries to control the characters choices and decisions, and from a reader’s perspective it seems as if the authors expects the readers to sympathize with society. In J.D. Salinger’s classic novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and Tennessee William’s play A Streetcar Named Desire, each of their main character’s, Holden Caulfield…show more content… Blanche has grown up with many privileges, but the loss of her husband is a major setback. Blanche marries a man named Allen Gray. They are both happy with one another until Blanche learns Allen is a homosexual; then he kills himself. The memories of Allen come back to haunt Blanche many times. On top of the loss of her husband, she loses family owned property. With not enough money and a place to stay, Blanche comes to live with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley. From the start, Blanche and Stanley have it out for one another. They constantly argue and Stanley is willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of Blanche. Stanley takes it to real extremes when he gives Blanche a one-way bus ticket back to Mount Laurel. Stella gets very upset with Stanley for doing so and she yells at him saying, “You didn’t know Blanche as a girl. Nobody, nobody was tender and trusting as she was. But people like you abused her and forced her to change” (Williams 136). Stanley abuses Blanche’s kindness, upsetting both Blanche and Stella. Blanche, upset and angry with Stanley, lashes out even more easily than before. She used to be so sweet and nice to others. Moving in with her sister, she feels as if she is downgrading from her previous lifestyle at Belle Reeve. Blanche is used to a higher end lifestyle with pearls and other types of fancy jewelry. Also, she is accustomed to being flirtatious with men, and she always acts younger than she really is. One night at Stella’s she says, “I can’t stand a naked light bulb any more than I can a rude remark or vulgar action” (Williams 150). Blanche avoids the light because she fears people seeing who she really is. She does not want others to know her real age since she always acts so young. She avoids the light using lanterns and dim lights. Also, the light will uncover the society that she lives in. She feels that she is better than the rest of