The Total Package of an American Essay -- Literary Analysis, J.D Salin

The definition of what it content to be an American is difficult to outline in exact impairment however, through the characters in Catch-22 and Catcher in the rye, Joseph monster and J.D. Salinger manage to do just that. American musical note, identity, culture, and values argon four aspects of America that are the al-Qaida of what it means to be an American. The characters in Catch-22 and Catcher in the Rye provide the reader with a solid base of what Americans are all about. Most Americans are independent, fun loving, patriotic, and firm in their beliefs however, some but few Americans are greedy and imbecilic. Through the works Catch-22 and Catcher in the Rye, Heller and Salinger respectively use of goods and services characters to showcase the true essence of being an American through American spirit, culture, identity, and values.Deep down in every American, a sense of American spirit and pride is contained. Since the birth of America, citizens have put emphasis on their love for independence, exploration, and peeled ordains, an aspect of American society that is evident in both Hellers Catch-22 and Salingers Catcher in the Rye. In Catch-22, the American spirit is conveyed through the new roommates Yossarian acquires in chapter thirty-two. When Yossarian catches his first glimpse of the roommates, he thinks, They were frisky, eager, and exuberant ... They were well-chosen the war had lasted long enough for them to find out what it was really like (346). Heller notes that the boys are excited to be in a new place and to try new things, supporting the idea of American spirit in that the boys are overjoyed at the chance to be in a new place with new surroundings, even if it is in the middle of a war. The same feeling of American spirit is expressed in Salingers Catc... ...Holden on the effective path in life. Salinger puts Mr. Spencer in the story to symbolize all of the wise Americans, be they teachers, parents, or adults in general, who try to s teer children in the right direction, whether it is what is outstrip for the children or not. Unfortunately for Holden however, Mr. Spencers beliefs conflicts with Holdens own views in that he is not looking for the most brilliant education at the most excellent school, he is looking for a place to belong a home. Salinger creates a sense of the many American values in Catcher in the Rye by using characters who exemplify these values. Throughout both Catch-22 and Catcher in the Rye, Heller and Salinger give the reader a strong insight into what it truly means to be an American by intertwining American spirit, identity, culture, and values through the characters personalities and the storyline.