호밀밭의 파수꾼(The Catcher in the Rye)에 제시된 새로운 미국인의 꿈

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The Catcher in the Rye is, superficially, Holden's personal narrative of his three days attempt to find a fixed reality, free of the adult “phoniness”. Holden's story is narrated in a mysteriously intimate way as in interior monologue or unconscious verbal practice. Holden is similar to many other characters in American literature and belongs to the tradition of the American Adam who is isolated from the corrupt society.
In a sense, American literature is the interpretation of the meaning of American dream which is the cultural myth of America. J. D. Salinger shows readers of The Catcher in the Rye that the fundamental obstacle to American dream does not lie in any social defect but in the human character itself. Salinger, through The Catcher in the Rye, criticizes American vulgar culture and spiritual poverty in the process of American new economic prosperity. This paper is focused on the recognition of Holden's spiritual enlightenment.
Holden begins in a screaming rage against a society of adults, immorality, and patently false, but he ends by establishing love and acceptance as a saving grace. When the innocent girl, Phoebe, rides on a carousel horse, Holden suddenly cries and experiences a moment of universal harmony, which he has never felt before. And he meets an aesthetic moment when he feels liberated autonomously from all those outside conflicts and warring elements in a mysterious, inexplicable way. In this way Holden goes through a kind of spiritual redemption and regeneration by the zen ideas.