Catcher And The Rye And Siddhartha

The novels Siddhartha by Herman Hesse and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger show many similarities. One of the major themes in both novels consists of the main characters finding their self and journey through life. Their similar experiences consist of the relationships they go through, as well as the different people they meet in life and their personal views on society, which let the audience distinguish the affect on similar situations.

Siddhartha's dream throughout the entire novel consisted of finding his own self, and to be united within the great Gods. "One must find the source within one's Self, one must possess it." (Hesse, pg.5)

In his village many people admired him for his intellectual ability because he knew so much about finding peace and being at one with the universe. However, he always searched for a better world and a better understanding of the purpose of life. He knew the people in the village couldn't further his knowledge any more, and decided to leave his friends and family behind in a search of a better future. He experienced love and lust, as well as living amongst average people. He tried to understand why people behaved a certain way and always thought more deeply into life unlike everyone else. He tried having a family and being a merchant, however it did not satisfy him enough to stop searching. "A path lies before you which you are called to follow. The gods await you." (p.67). He continued listening to his heart and continued to walk through his life, until he came close to the river. Looking at the river, Siddhartha heard different kinds of voices; young and old, laughing and crying, which let him come to the conclusion that the river is continual no matter how close or how far it is. All of the voices combined the sound of "Om", which represented the unity of all things, universally linked to one soul. It let the audience know that Siddhartha had stopped desiring, and that he had no where else to go which signified that he finally found what he was looking for.

In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden experiences similar things. Holden, just like Siddhartha, leaves his friends and family behind as well. After being kicked out of many different schools, and experiencing his brother's death, let Holden hold a very cynical and repressed way of thinking about everyone around him. The audience sees that Holden has difficulty getting along. He is extremely judgmental and overly analytical, which gets him into trouble a few times. Just like Siddhartha he experiences love and lust; however it enables him from happiness because of his outlook on life. Siddhartha's outlook on life consisted of desiring and finding something new, which enabled him from staying with Kamala. Looking down upon and criticizing people represents a way of Holden making himself feel better and better than everyone else. By meeting new people, Holden tries to find ways to influence them, especially kids, from doing bad things such as drugs, sex, and violence.

"I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff-I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day." (Salinger p. 173)

Holden realizes at the end of the book when

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