Analysis the Crucible V. Catcher in the Rye

Cristy Bardle
English 430: Contemporary Writers
Dr. Gail S. Corso
September 29th, 2010
Analysis Paper 1 In the two pieces of work, The Crucible and The Catcher in the Rye, the tragic effects of the lies that take place by the characters have a big impact in many different ways. The tragedies that occurred in Holden’s life and the depression he has encountered make him want to tell lies because he cannot face reality in The Catcher in the Rye. Most of the Characters in The Crucible are lying also, if not to them self—then to other people. The twist in the story is that by telling the truth, you die, but you also gain your freedom. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, he writes about a young man who is very distraught after World War II. Holden is this character’s name, and he does not understand society and the surroundings he lives in. He keeps referring back to how everyone and everything around him is a phony, and makes himself seem unreliable by telling the reader that he lies openly. Since the readers know that Holden is a habitual liar, one may never know the difference from when he is telling the truth or when he is telling another one of his stories. Time and time again, Holden brings to our attention that a lot of the time he does not even notice that he is lying or even contradicting himself, which is another thing he does often. Also, the fact that Holden just failed out of school, sends him further into depression, and what seems to me, a longing for the lies he tells to actually be reality. Holden will make statements that seem to make sense, but which upon a closer look, do not add up. For example, when Holden goes on about how his brother used to be an amazing short story-writer, but now that he has sold his material to Hollywood he is just as phony as everyone else. He knows he is a liar, but he refuses to acknowledge that this means he is a phony himself. He is so quick to pass severe judgments on others, but not so quick to see the faults in himself. Holden finds nearly everything depressing, from receiving gifts to hearing people say “please.” His isolation and alienation from everyone else is the greatest source of unhappiness. Since Holden seemed to keep running into instances that dealt with death and disappearance throughout his life, he is left to focus on avoiding the real and living world around him because he is drowning in his own depressing thoughts. Some may claim that Holden is mad, but this decision is left up for the reader to decide. While Holden can be considered crazy during his time in New York City, his presentation of his narrative suggests that by the time he’s telling us the story, he is sane. The Catcher in the Rye also includes mention of childhood molestation, and raises question in which such events affect young adults such as Holden as they try to understand their own sexuality. Holden is a seventeen year old boy and he presents with his point of view that sexuality is degrading for a woman, and he cannot act sexually towards a woman that he respects. This something that makes me think Holden lies all the time because he is confused and is not in touch with himself. He ends up hiring someone to come over and have sex with him when he leaves school and stays at the hotel. The fact that he ends up backing out of the situation, but still pays Sunny, shows us how confused he really is. I believe Holden’s mental breakdown is a direct result of his inability to come to terms with the world belonging to adults because he thinks all adults are phonies. It seems Holden is a very smart character, but he is extra attentive when children are present more so than when an adult is around. He states at one point that “he wants a world with little boys and girls who need help with tying their shoes.” This is definitely nothing close to reality and Holden cannot grasp that because of the depth of the traumatizing events in his life, the lies he tells, and the misperceptions he uses to cover it all up. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, reputation is very important in a town where your good name is the only way you can get other people to do business with you or even get a fair hearing. Reputation had to do with religion; if you were a good and trustworthy person, you were also a good member of the church. John Proctor, for example is deceitful at first for cheating on his wife, and then hiding it. But, for the good sake of his and his friend’s reputations he refuses to sign a false confession, and would literally rather die. Although Proctor dies falsely condemned as a witch, he gains his respect among those who mattered to him because he refuses to falsely identify his friends and neighbors as witches. In the first instance of lies in the play, Hale makes his entrance and is bombarded by everyone in the room, all trying to put across their opinion on what has happened and why Betty is the way she is. Rather than letting him find out the truth on his own, they are intent on making sure some witchcraft is found. At this point, Hale seems to be sure he will not be prejudice, and find out what is wrong with Betty for himself. As conversation goes on though, he seems to be more and more influenced by the talk of witchcraft, and begins to start questioning Abigail about the dancing in the woods. Furthermore, many of the characters in this play are motivated by jealousy and greed. Abigail is motivated by jealousy of Elizabeth Proctor, because she wants her to die so she can marry John. Jealousy seems to be the hidden force behind most of the drama in the town and where all the lies begin. Putnam also wants George Jacobs to die so he can get his hands on a great piece of land. The entire village bases its belief system on the argument between good vs. evil, or Satan vs. God.
Over and over, as people are accused of witchcraft, this scenario gets dragged out. When Tituba confesses, she claims she wants to be a good Christian and stop hurting people. It may seem like the evil is winning to the reader, but we also see as one innocent person after another gets put to death, that there is power in the martyrdom. The innocent people who confessed are beginning to rebel and both ministers recognize their mistakes by the end of the play.
Another group of people who lie out of selfishness are the court officials. If the people of Salem were to find out that the girls fooled even the members of the court, their reputations would be ruined. So, they go along with the girls and continue to hang people. The only way to save themselves is to get a confession out of Proctor. The court officials know that if John confesses he will be lying, but thinking of themselves they also know that their reputations will be saved.

Works Cited
"Holden, Young and Old." New York Times 19 June 2009: 26. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.
Campbell, Patty. "Our Side of the Fence." Horn Book Magazine 80.3 (2004): 359-362. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.
JANET, MASLIN. "The Bewitching Power of Lies." New York Times 27 Nov. 1996: 9. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.

Cited: "Holden, Young and Old." New York Times 19 June 2009: 26. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2010. Campbell, Patty. "Our Side of the Fence." Horn Book Magazine 80.3 (2004): 359-362. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2010. JANET, MASLIN. "The Bewitching Power of Lies." New York Times 27 Nov. 1996: 9. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.