Rabbit Angstrom and Holden Caulfield: A Comparison of Literary Greats

The disposition of John Updike's most fully-formed character, Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, is recounted meticulously in Rabbit, Run. More so in this inaugural Rabbit novel than in the others, Rabbit's shortcomings are the direct cause of his struggle and render him incapable to cope with, and adapt to, the real world due to its perceived venality. The underlying cynicism of Rabbit, stemming from his perception of the world, coupled with his heretic and impetuous behavior parallel the demeanor of Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Although his narration is more sardonic than Salinger's, Updike conveys his message in the Rabbit novel much as Salinger does in his novel.

The direct correlation between Holden and Rabbit is shown in the very first chapter of The Catcher in the Rye where, speaking through Holden, Salinger writes, "I don't even know what I was running for - I guess I just felt like it" (Salinger, 1951). This is the true motif of Rabbit, Run in its purest and most literal form; Rabbit constantly runs from his problems and is reliant on impulse to give him direction. Mr. Antolini, Holden's English teacher, tries to warn Holden about the consequences his thoughtless actions will produce, "This fall I think [Holden is] riding for - it's a special kind of fall, a horrible kind.... designed for men who...were looking for something their own environment couldn't supply them with" (Salinger, 1951). Reverend Eccles plays an almost identical role in Rabbit's saga by mentoring Rabbit throughout the book and constantly encouraging him to go back home and straighten out his life before it becomes too late (Updike, 1960). Both Eccles and Antolini's attempts prove futile, however, as Holden suffers the terrible fall in the form of a nervous breakdown and Rabbit's story ends with him again running away from life; thus avoiding all of the problems that invariably come along with it..

The root of both characters' inability to acclimate in the real world is their refusal to relinquish their childhood and progress to adulthood. Rabbit is still in his mind a teen-age basketball star and wants nothing more than to stay in this sheltered high school world. Holden wants to live in a world where his sister is always riding on the merry-go-round.

The impulsive actions by the characters in both books produce ill effects; Rabbit's impulsive behavior negatively affects everybody around him and Holden's irrationality nearly alienates him from everyone he truly cares for in his life. Both characters have been hurt by life in the past leading to their distrust of humanity; Rabbit is rendered obsolete, from a past life of basketball notoriety, by a world moving too fast for him to keep up, while Holden has lost his younger brother to cancer and now watches as his older brother drifts further and further into a life of celebrity. In both cases, the characters feel worthless, vulnerable, and very much alone.

The similarities between John Updike's Rabbit, Run and J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye are in no short supply, the most striking being the immaturity of both the main characters and their resultant refusal to adhere to the standards of the adult world. The prose in both works is also analogous because of the inherent cynicism throughout; both characters exhibit no trust in humanity and are fearful of the world for entirety of the books. Most importantly, the authors leave the readers with the message that the character will not succeed; Holden never bringing himself to leave his metaphorical playground and Rabbit forever remaining in his high school gymnasium.

WORKS CITED

Salinger, J.D. "The Catcher in the Rye." Little Brown and Company. Boston. 1951.

Updike, John. "Rabbit, Run." Alfred Knopf Publishing Company. New York. 1960.