In both Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar, most of their plots take place in New York City. Coincidence? I think not!
During the 1950s, New York City had the largest population in the world, rising to prominence after WWII. This led to a massive economic and cultural boom, leading to new opportunities for aspiring artists, like Salinger and Plath. As both had lived in New York, they could have found the experience of living in New York impactful enough to place their characters in that setting.
Placing their protagonists in the hustle and bustle of NYC also helps to highlight the loneliness the protagonists go through. Being alone is bad enough, but the feeling of being alone in such a massive and busy city is so much worse. Additionally, the relative proximity of different and iconic settings makes more of an impact to the reader-- Holden critiquing the Radio City Music Hall catches the reader more than him just critiquing another dance show without the context of cultural impact Radio City has made.
Or, the books could be set in NYC because Salinger was born in NYC, and lived there until he was sent off to boarding school; and The Bell Jar appears to be based off of the experiences Plath had when she went to work for Mademoiselle magazine in NYC for a month..
It is very interesting how you present this phenomenon. I was not aware that both authors were from NY, but it makes a lot of sense. I think there is a very real problem of being lonely in such a big place. The bustle of others breaks down the characters, almost as if they cannot themselves ever achieve a similar lifestyle. I think that this is really interesting, and a point for further analysis...
ReplyDeleteI agree with the second idea, a lot of what occurs in coming of age novels comes by necessity from the narrator's own experiences. It is likely true that because it is the largest city in America at the time it was the most likely place for parts of the books to occur, but I think that was because the authors were keeping with their experiences rather than because they thought that was important because they have insulted a number of important things throughout their books, Salinger especially making it clear that he didn't want the fame of New York. I do think location is an important part of the books though, interesting...
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