Thursday, June 5, 2014

What are some comparisons or contrasts between Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye and various characters from Othello by William...

A reader might compare Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye to Othello in Shakespeare's Othello. Both Holden and Othello suffer from personal insecurity that lays the foundation for negative events that happen to them. For example, Holden is grieving the loss of his brother Allie, which is a natural human experience; however, along with his grieving, he considers that Allie was a "better" child than he is. When Holden is writing about...

A reader might compare Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye to Othello in Shakespeare's Othello. Both Holden and Othello suffer from personal insecurity that lays the foundation for negative events that happen to them. For example, Holden is grieving the loss of his brother Allie, which is a natural human experience; however, along with his grieving, he considers that Allie was a "better" child than he is. When Holden is writing about Allie's mitt, he recalls that Allie was really smart and that everyone liked him. It almost seems that Holden questions why Allie was the one to die, suggesting that his family would have been better off if Holden were dead instead. Similarly, Othello is insecure about himself largely because of his race. Othello faces prejudice when Brabantio cannot fathom having his daughter Desdemona married to Othello because he is black, and it is natural that Othello would by hurt by such discrimination. However, Othello internalizes this prejudice, and he even questions why he is worthy of Desdemona's love. Both Holden and Othello question their self-worth, which causes them to fall victim to negative experiences: Holden is kicked out of several schools and pushes away anyone who tries to get close to him, while Othello falls into Iago's manipulation.

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