Parodies and Psychology In The Catcher in the Rye

1. Parodies and Psychology In The Catcher in the Rye By: Ashley A. and Tatyana S.

2. Why is The Catcher in the Rye so often parodied? What is a parody?-A literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. Some popular t.vshows such as “the tonight show” often parody popular videos and trends. Another example would be the movie “Vampires suck” which parodies the movie “Twilight”. The Catcher in the Rye is most often parodies because of its easily relatable style of writing, and its dramatic tone. Writing/creating parodies of a piece of literature is easiest to parody, or write about when the piece of writing is relatable, and a simple writing style. As opposed to poems or lyrical writing, stories, or novels, are bestparodies because they are much easier to mimic, and plots are easier to match. Also, parodying a classic can create a sense, or feeling, that the writer has a well-versed writing style. Similarly,ThomasC. Foster says, in How To Read Literature LikeA Professor, that quoting, or referencing, Shakespeareimplies intelligence. http://www.answers.com/topic/parody#ixzz2q17HAPZ0

3. Examples of Parodies:

4. What do Catcher parodies share? The Catcher in the Rye is characterized by Holden’s tone and choice of language. By using a negative tone, and a choice of words such as “damn” and “phony”, all Catcher parodies create a common feel that is similar to the original Catcher in the Rye. Also, by using these tones it is easier to recognize the parody as one from the Catcher in the Rye.

5. Catcher of the Fries So here we go, boy I’ve got a story for you. If you’re actually interested in reading this, then you must be a phony. I mean, who actually wants to read a crummy story like this anyway? Whatever. So junior year of high school, my crummy parents told me I had to get a job. Can you believe that? Honestly! The phonies said I needed to “learn life skills” and stuff. So I went out to get a damn job. The only one I could get was at McDonalds. Of all places! My manager was a frikin phony. All he ever did was tell me I was doing things wrong. I pressed the wrong buttons on the register, I gave the wrong order to the customer at the drive through, ect. So I quit. I mean, I don’t need a crummy job like that, in a place run by phonies. Forget ‘life skills’.

6. What does the existence of so many Catcher parodies suggest about the changing perception of the novel? The existence of so many Catcher in the Rye parodies implies that it is a popular writing topic because it is easily relatable to today life, and the many different ways of perceiving the novel can change drastically from reader to reader. Many parodies of Catcher in the Rye perceive of a lost young man, a boy who is “searching for himself”, and even someone suffering from PTSD. Although the majority of readers think of Holden as a grumpy, confused adolecent boy.

7. Is Holden suffering from a psychological problem as some critics argue, or is he just a typical teenager? That question will always be up to debate for readers, although significant evidence does stand in support of Holden suffering from a psychological problem such as PTSD. For some victims suffering from PTSD “their orientation toward life is so drastically changed that they become very ineffective people, losing their careers, much like Holden when he ceases to care about school anymore”. Holden’s passionate distaste of “phonies” could have come from a traumatic experience in his past, which could have caused his PTSD. Or, Holden could just be suffering from teenage hormones, and doesn’t quite know how to handle them. http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/afdiary/ptsd.htm