No Marshmallows, Just Term Papers
Both John Hughes and J.D Salinger have used a novel and a film respectively to display their personal views on the issues of their context. They make a mockery of their society’s schools education systems as well as materialism through their different text types. This is clearly demonstrated when both texts are compared – and how we can see their similarities in different societies.
The novel, ‘Catcher in the Rye,’ and the film, ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day off,’ have both been cleverly thought using a protagonist through first per5son narration. Holden Caulfield in ‘the Catcher in the Rye,’ and Ferris Bueller in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day off,’ lay their ideas to engage us in what concerns them in their brief experiences. These three and one day snapshots respectively demonstrate the unfortunate and many flaws in the education systems, as well as the continuous and future generations of teenagers affected by their materialistic worlds, even with a significant 40 year time difference.
In Salinger’s novel, Holden is gifted with wealthy parents capable of giving him everything he desires. The narrative voice and tone he uses reflects an attitude suggesting he is satisfied of his wealthy chattels yet at the same time neglects in looking after them. Holden’s pride for his possessions can be seen even when he recounts James Castle’s death. He points out that his turtleneck sweater was being worn by the boy at the time due to Holden lending it to him. Holden’s wealth allows him to become a complacent lender and this hints out to society’s overall materialism as several peers borrow, and even steal, his possessions to appear wealthier. Another example of this is when Holden flashbacks to Dick Slagle, who is a characters that used to be Holden’s roommate. Dick isn’t as wealthy as Holden which is indicated by his suitcases that he kept “under the bed” instead of on the rack. Dick is a good example of the materialism as hi character puts Holden’s suitcases on the rack to “think my...
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