Question

PLEASE ANSWER!!!!!!! A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is its ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Using "The Catcher In The Rye", write an essay in which you explain the sources of this "healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude." Evaluate how such sources make the novel a superior work of literature.

Answer 1

In "The Catcher and the Rye" there are significant parts that reveal a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Harold  participates in these parts by showing he loves adulthood but he also is unable to adapt to it. He first experiences this confusion when he goes to a hotel and flirts with older women that take advantage of his money. He enjoys pretending to be mature but then sees he can still be fooled. Harold also displays this theme when he dates Sally who likes his company. He pushes her away because he unconsciously still struggles over his failures. The confusion of pleasure and disquietude Harold presents are important to the novel because it highlights the author's points about adulthood. The theme stresses adulthood should be taken one step at a time.