Key Points CATCHER IN THE RYE and THE OUTSIDER

THINK ABOUT THE HONESTY THING
Holden- the 'phoniest' person in the book
'Shooting the bull'
'Tiny tumour on the brain'
'If there's one thing I hate, its the movies'
WILD HYPERBOLE

Holden is then again a PARADOX. Is open with the wrong things. Conceals the real troubling problems.
'I felt like I was sort of disappearing'
^^^ minimisation of language, masking the intensity of his emotions >>> not what Meursault does, doesn't need to

Meursault- so honest, is alienating. Loves a sun 'that leaves no shadows'. He lives his life in black and white. He thought it was the only way to face up/hold up integrity to the 'tender indifference of the world'

The voice of the novels.... the retrospective/active&passive voice

The majority of the catcher in written in RETROSPECTION... that's why it stands out that he says 'he's dead now', a present tense sentence in a retrospective novel. Allie's death is clearly still haunting him. DEFINING EMOTION: GUILT.

In The Outsider we find the passive voice dominates. Until at the end of the novel (refer to structure) we find he finally uses a flourish of the active voice showing how gains control of his life/becomes happy. "I opened myself... to the gentle indifference of the world"

The Butcher Key Points

Structure/Narrative Point of view
-McCabe constructs his first person narrative in a stream of consciousness style
-Abrupt shifts from one place or time to another... KAIROTIC/ EPISODIC STYLE
-Highlights his lost, drifting condition
-This febrile (feverish) recollection of events highlights his LACK OF THOUGHT PROCESS
-At moments of high drama the grammatical structure disintegrates.
-Large 'slabs' of text are without punctuation
-Lack of speech marks. Direct speech of other figures are absorbed/incorporated/appropriated into his own direct speech
-Shows his inability to distinguish between his inner fantasies and exterior reality
-The other characters are denied autonomy. Highlights the EGOCENTRIC narrative style.

Language and imagery
-Hyperbole/wild exaggeration alongside bathos... stresses how he cannot grasp situations/inappropriate patterns of behaviour
-SPATIAL ORGANISATION ... i.e. the physical placement of Francie. McCabe often creates the a tableau of the outsider and insider
-Expletives, this casual use alerts us to violent/unstable tendencies
-TRAGICOMIC VEIN... misplaced language (comical).... longing to be accepted (pathos engendering)
-HALLUCINATORY LANGUAGE
-Nicknames, distancing himself. Disconnect
-Pig imagery** worn as a badge of honour.
-Onomatopoeia- focuses on senses/sounds rather than having emotional complexity. DELIBERATE ESCAPISM
-Comic book clichés

Context: Mr Camu

Well here's some key facts. Camus was a pied-noir, a French man that had been born in Algeria.
-He lived a tough existence as a child, he and his were impoverished and his father died in the Battle of Marne.]
-He was victim of the Roman Catholic Bourgeois, disillusioned from authority and the church
-Sharp awareness of death. He suffered a severe case of Tuberculosis.
-Note; the Roman Catholic faith underpinned the French culture.
-NON-COMFORMIST FIGURE--- refused to go along with the anti-arab sentiment in Algeria

His thoughts on CAPITAL PUNISHMENT:

For centuries the death penalty, often accompanied by barbarous refinements, has been trying to hold crime in check; yet crime persists. Why? Because the instincts that are warring in man are not, as the law claims, constant forces in a state of equilibrium.

 

Honesty and integrity/appearances:

Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.

 

This is why Meursault is happy at the end. He gives up looking for a meaning in life. He finally begins to live.

You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.

The Butcher Boy: How effective is McCabe in presenting Francie Brady's disturbed mental state?

The extract begins on page 165 with the words “But there was nothing much else I could do.” and continues to the end of the chapter.

McCabe presents Francie's mental descent into chaos in a sinister and poignant manner. This achieved primarily through his construction of the first person narrative in a stream of consciousness style. This is observed best when Francie stands listening to the "rain gurgling" that night and then confronts Mr Purcell "bleary eyed" the next morning. This sudden abrupt shift alerts to Francie's mental instability. He's clearly been standing voyeuristically watching their house with no comprehension of time. This should alert us immediately to the unreliability of Francie as a narrator. He imagines he can hear Mrs Nugent whispering "who is it, who is it", but this only heightens the ironic discrepancy between his fantasy and the exterior reality. His thoughts are evidently defined by a crazed paranoia.

McCabe effectively appropriates the direct speech of Mr Purcell into Francie's, intensifying the notion that Francie is unable to distinguish between his internal reality and external reality. "He just kept saying what party", the absence of speech marks denies Mr Purcell autonomy in the text and suggests the egocentric nature of his narrative. Francie imagines what he wants to hear, "I knew by the way he looked at me", this only generates a deeper sense of pathos as it makes clear for Francie's desperation for understanding and acceptance.

The spatial organisation the text furthers the impression that Francie's mental state is deteriorating. He is presented as being on "the far side of the road", on a dark and empty street. McCabe effectively depicts a tableau of an insider/outsider. We feel the physical isolation mirrors Francie's mental detachment. Francie's mental disintegration is stressed yet further through the breakdown in the grammatical structure. From "I think that was it..." to "tell me lies", is a large slab of text completely void of punctuation. This lack of punctuation is indicative of Francie's lack of thought process. The febrile recollection of events is suggestive of how Francie cannot control his flow of memories.

This insight into his mental instability is structured to be preceded by a scene highlighting his flippant attitude towards violence. This is indicted by the aggressive but casual use of expletives, "got three of the bast**ds". His response "what do you think of that boys" is reminiscent of comic book clichés. This comical approach to violence is worrying considering his increasingly sinister preoccupation with the Nugents. The anaphora of "if only", suggests he pins all his problems upon the actions of the Nugents. We worry he may retaliate to being victimised by the Nugents in the same way he lashes out at flies.  His unhinged behaviour towards Mr Purcell indicates he could be fully capable of this.

The outsider who chooses to reject society loses our sympathy, whereas the outsider who is rejected by society gains our sympathy

1. Plan first

Character interactions
Meursault- rejected by judge, appears 'slumped' 'no longer interested'... he has been rejected because he wouldn't renounce his own beliefs. SYMPATHY
Context- Camus viewed the government as ultimately self serving and corrupt.

Holden- rejects Mr Spencer, 'shoots the bull' 'terrific liar' 'I want to help you if I can'. LOSES SYMPATHY. Is offered help, resorts to digressions and lies. COWARD
Context- Salinger born into a middle-class family, Ivy League bourgeois. Disillusioned.

Language and imagery
Meursault- Rejects society and patent signs of grief. Simile for coffin. ALIENATES READER
Context- Camus challenges society. Deep seated expectations for human behaviour.

Holden- Minimisation of language, the use of 'sort of'. SYMPATHY. Acts as a shield.
Context- Depression misunderstood in the 1950s. Stoicism, a by-product of the war.

Structure
Meursault- Ambiguous, does he reject society at end? Use of the active voice. The indifferent world his 'brother'. HEROIC/SYMPATHY FOR HIS FATE
Context- Camus' absurdist philosophy. The world is chaotic. No pattern in life/higher order.

Holden- Bildungsroman structure? Epiphany experienced? Able to 'miss' people. Rejected by society? Thrown into mental hospital. SYMPATHY
Context- Salinger unable to experience this. Recluse for most of his life.

An outsider figure which rejects a society which is characterised to be corrupt or exploitative is likely to engender our sympathy. We feel the rejection is reasoned and we emphasise with the figure. However, it would be erroneous to think an outsider figure which is rejected by this society can only alienate a reader. We should learn from the scores of genocides which have tarnished human history that the 'threat' posed by outsider figures is often contrived. When considering the figures, 'Holden Caulfield' and 'Meursault' we must analyse in detail both the society and the figure themselves.

The character interactions between Meursault and the judge engender our sympathy as it exhibits the corruption of judicial system. The cross which is "brandished" at Meursault is symbolic of how religion and the notion of a higher order is always invoked on the side of authority. The judge is depicted as "thrusting" his religious beliefs aggressively on Meursault. The verb choice here presents Meursault as a victim. The judge appears defeated, "weary" and "no longer interested" when Meursault repeatedly says "no". We sympathise for Meursault here as he heroically stays loyal to his ideals despite being rejected by society as result, even purged from it. Camus exposes the tyranny of the law and the church, a tyranny that was paramount in the 1930s, this exposure intensifies our sympathy for Meursault. Conversely in The Catcher in the Rye we find Holden's rejection of Mr Spencer alienates us. Unlike Meursault, Holden isn't facing adversity, he is simply being asked to "apply himself" and is even offered help, "I want to help you, if I can". We find Holden overindulged and spoilt when he rejects Mr Spencer, as he confronts him with the grim reality of his situation. Then again, Salinger was acutely aware of the superficiality of the bourgeois Ivy League system. Salinger is rebelling against the conformity to education. It was forced upon the youth of the 1950s, not for their development but as a 'weapon' the Cold War.

Camus' use of laconic and dispassionate language presents Meursault as amoral as he seems indifferent to his own mothers death. He uses the memorable simile "like a pencil box" to describe his mother's coffin. Meursault is later condemned to death for having "buried his mother with the heartlessness of a criminal". Thus, Camus challenges us not to condemn Meursault for reacting in this way. He challenges our deep-seated expectations for human behaviour. The extremity of his punishment for not displaying patent signs of grief at his mother's funeral ultimitaly elicits our sympathy. While find the language of 'The Outsider' leaves Meursault's emotion or lack of emotion unconcealed, in 'The Catcher of the Rye' Salinger's minimisation of language masks the intensity of Holden's emotions. Holden rejects revealing his emotion complexity, perhaps not trusting us and society. He uses the vernacular phrase "sort of" continually, saying even that he felt he was "sort of disappearing". This is method of protection as Holden is denies confronting his mental instability. While this deliberate distancing of himself should alienate us, we find we are instead sympathetic to Holden. The 1950s was a time when mental health issues were dealt with only with drugs. Sufferers were either misunderstood or stoic. We empathise with Holden as he is clearly trying to reach out to us with his use of direct speech, "you can't imagine", but he ultimitaly conceals his problems.

We find the structure of 'The Outsider' is constructed to crescendo with Meursault's final and only character development. In this final scene we are unsure whether he rejects society or is rejected. He has spoken in the passive voice for the majority of the text, so it is shocking to see a final flourish of the active voice, "I opened myself... to the tender indifference of the world". This indicates he resigns himself to the cold indifference of society, he goes as far to call it a "brother". Does this mean he accepts (not rejects) society and courageously relinquishes himself to the irrationality of life? This is evidently an expression of Camus absurdist belief; that life is chaotic and without meaning. He didn't view this concept pessimistically, and reject society as a result, he instead often encouraged his students to maintain an integrity and honesty in the face of this "indifference". We are sympathetic to Meursault that he is being purged from society as his courageous attitude to death is so enlightening. Similarly in 'The Catcher in the Rye' we find the novel is structured to show Holden experiencing a major character development in the final chapter. He no longer rejects society, finding himself capable of "missing" people. We finally realise that he has rejected society consistently throughout the novel because he is afraid of suffering a loss like that of his brother. In a retrospective novel, the present tense sentence "he's dead now", stands out. He is clearly traumatised by this loss and thus fears intimacy. His rejection evokes our sympathy. Salinger was unable to undergo a similar 'development' he lived a recluse for the remainder of his adult, he clearly feared human interaction in a similar way.

The Butcher Boy: How effective is McCabe in presenting Francie Brady's relationship with the Nugent family?

The extract begins on page 51 with the words “Then off went Philip waddling with the bread with her beside him in the headscarf” and ends on page 54 with “Detective Inspector Philip Nooge of the Yard here”.

The relationship between the Nugents and Francie is paradoxical. Francie's longs for their acceptance but his detachment from reality means he alienates their family to the nth degree. McCabe stresses this tension through his construction of the first person narrative in a stream of consciousness style. It means we experience Francie's inability to distinguish between his fantasies and the exterior reality. This is observed with the personification of the fire in the Nugent's home. He imagines it says "come on in," and "reached out" to him. This engenders pathos as we grasp Francie's longing for the stability of their family home. This is intensified with McCabe's tableau of the insider and outsider. It is made clear that Francie is a voyeur and intruder to their family home, as he spends the scene either taking "a look in the window" or only "slightly inside the hall". The spatial organisation of the text makes obvious how Francie is rejected by the Nugents.

McCabe stresses the lack of thought process in Francie's actions with the disintegration of the grammatical structure. From "I made sure..." to "...a big grunt." is completely void of punctuation. This febrile recollection of events is indicative of how Francie loses control of his actions when encountering the Nugents. Mrs Nugent is denied autonomy in this scene, with her direct speech absorbed into his own. "She said what do you want", this lack of speech marks is suggestive of Francie's egocentric narrative. So engrossed in the moment, Francie fails to observe the patent signs of Mrs Nugent's discomfort. He notes that she goes "pick pick" at her clothes peg, without any apprehension she feels uncomfortable in his presence. His focus on physical sensations and sounds indicates his lack of emotional complexity.

McCabe emphasises Francie's awareness of his social inferiority in the light of their trappings of middle class wealth with the anaphora of "high up". While his tone is contemptuous and mocking, it is evident that Francie's draws parallels between his father and the success of Mr Nugent. This tension is accentuated further with the use of colloquial language, "the big briar stuck in his gob", McCabe is highlighting the gap between their social backgrounds.

McCabe writes Francie's language in a tragi-comic vein as to underline Francie's escapism. His speech is extremely misplaced, he says, "ah its for the kids really". This pattern of speech is typical of an adult, not a child starting a conversation under the premise to go for "a few kicks". While his misconceived manner of speaking is comical, it ultimitaly elicits pathos as Francie is desperately seeking Mrs Nugent's acceptance. This is part of a greater pattern of escapism. Francie assumes a more mature identity and gives Mrs Nugent the comical nickname "Mrs Nooge" to create distance from reality. The unreliability of  his narration is due to his desire to escape from the grim reality that he is unwelcome, as evidenced by Mrs Nugent's aggressive tone, "what do you want".

McCabe's use of pig imagery is most disturbing of all. This imagery was intended to insult Francie in a previous scene, we now see, however, how he treats it as a badge of honour. He gets down "on all fours" and "gave a big grunt", laughing while doing so. Francie finds it entertaining to dehumanise himself as it undermines the Nugent's contempt for him. While he believes it would "cheer Mrs Nugent up" we already have an indication that Francie despises her. This is observed in his tone, "Cupids bow lips! What a joke!", it is aggressively contemptuous. All in all, we can conclude that Francie and the Nugent's relationship is toxic. Francie longs to be accepted by them, however, whenever they reject him due to his inappropriate behaviour, we find he lashes out in retaliation.

The Butcher Boy: How does McCabe present the encounter between Francie and Dr Roche?

The extract begins on page 126 with the words, “There you are again, Francie, Lord bless us . . .”   and finishes on page 128 with ‘It didn’t look like that at all.’

Dr Roche is an example of a figure of authority who Francie must encounter. However, unlike the other figures of authority in the text, Francie is unable to undermine his position. McCabe's use of the first person narrative is effective in conveying Francie's inability to challenge Dr Roche. The stream of consciousness style means we hear Francie's robust thoughts, "I'm in charge here". However these thoughts do not materialise as speech, "that is what I wanted to say." Instead we find, as seen through the increasing use of expletives, "what the f***" and "sh*** talk", that Francie struggles to hold his composure in front of Dr Roche. The ironic discrepancy between Francie's fantasy and the reality appears comical. However Francie is ultimately reduced to a figure of pathos here. His tone becomes increasingly desperate and defensive, "what's wrong with that", "don't ask!". He is clearly unnerved by Dr Roche's silence, "why he just stands there." 

McCabe's pattern of sharp, short sentences suggests their conversation is interrogative to Francie. It quickens the pace of the exchange. The stream of consciousness means their interaction is interspersed with Francie's paranoid thoughts, "he was trying to trick me". We find that, as the interaction continues, huge slabs of the text appear without punctuation. From "there was beads on my forehead..." to "Uncle Alo", we find little punctuation. McCabe is stressing how Francie has little control over his memories. The febrile recollection of events indicates Francie lacks thought process. He focuses on every minute action of Dr Roche, on the "twirl twirl" of his watch for example. This use of onomatopoeia underlines Francie's intense absorption in the moment and his suspicion perhaps of Dr Roche's every movement.

McCabe adds to the sense of Francie's discomfort with his use of hyperbole. He uses the simile, "as big as berries" to describe the beads of sweat gathering on forehead. This tendency to wild exaggeration highlights Francie's deep anxiety in encountering Dr Roche. As with other figures of authority, Francie creates a nickname for Dr Roche, "black eyebrows Roche". This nickname indicative of how Francie evidently struggles to look Dr Roche directly in the eye. It is Francie's attempt to distance himself from Dr Roche. He not only gives himself alternate personas, but also attempts to give other people alternate identities too. It is suggestive of how Francie endeavours to escape the reality of the uncomfortable encounter with Dr Roche. It engenders further pathos for Francie as fails to pick up upon the premise of the conversation - Dr Roche needs to see his father because he severely ill.