Through a Critical Lens: The Catcher in the Rye and The Crucible Essay

In every work of literature, there is one character, which always does wrong, which in some way, shape, or form comes back around to get them. The quote Whosoever does wrong, wrongs himself. by Marcus Aureluis best relates to Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger and The Crucible by Arthur Miller. This quote means when someone does wrong, it will come back around and strongly impact their life, and even the lives of others. It is an agreeable quote. It is relevant and true. It can relate to fictional works of literature or real life. This implies to people who do wrong, because it will come back around to haunt them. Holden Caufield and John Proctor both make mistakes that eventually lead to their downfall. They both ruin their reputation, and relationships with their friends and family. John Proctor has an affair with a young girl, named Abigail, which ruins his family, and their relationship. Holden Caufield makes a series of wrong decisions, which gradually messes up his life and affects those who are close to him.

Holden has a hard time dealing with everyday life, and feels that everyone around him is phony. This is one of the reasons for his mental break down. Holden sees the world as corrupt and wants to protect the childrens innocence. Holden cannot find a place for himself in the world. All of this leads to his downfall, consisting of his parents abandoning him, him not fitting in, and nobody wanting to be around him. A symbol from this novel is Holdens red hunting hat. Its a symbol of Holdens individuality. The hat is bizarre looking and shows his desire to be different from everyone else, but he is also very self-conscious of the hat. The presence of the hat reflects Holdens need for isolation versus his need for companionship. Holdens point of view also affects his life greatly. He views people as boring and phony. This causes people to see him as weird and insane. No one wants to be around him. This makes him lonely and isolated, which negatively affects his life.

John Proctor had a scandalous affair with a young servant, Abigail Williams. This ruins him. He has a wife who finds out about the affair and fires Abigail. Eventually he confesses the affair, publicly calling Abigail a whore. This leads to his downfall. John Proctor gets arrested and is accused of doing witchcraft. This ruins his reputation. The theme reputation exemplifies this quote on John Proctor. He completely destroys his by publicly announcing his affair with Abigail Williams. This messes up his family and his overall life. The setting of this novel takes place in Salem, Massachusetts around the 17th century. The community is superstitious and gullible. They all accuse their neighbor of something. The Puritan society also relates to the witchcraft.

Whosoever does wrong, wrongs himself. This means when someone does wrong, it will come back around and strongly impact their lives and may even affect other peoples lives as well. It is agreeable that Catcher in the Rye relates to this quote. Holden Caufield screws up his life by isolating himself from everybody. His depression also takes part in his lonliness and overall downfall.