According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of feminism is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” While this definition should be the goal for humankind, feminism also encompasses many other problems with society that cannot be explained through one simple definition. One of these problems happens to be the stereotypes associated with women. For example, in the American 1950’s, an almost normal way of treating women was simply by brushing them off in intellectual conversation, believing women were only valued for their maternal instinct. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden reaffirms similar stereotypes to this, including weakness, stupidity, and the objectification of a woman’s body for sexual
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Feminism is a broad movement, dealing with many issues, one of which being negative stereotypes associated with women. Salinger uses Holden’s character as an excuse to reiterate many of these presumptions through Sunny, Jane, and Sally. The only truly strong female character in the novel is Phoebe, and that is only because Holden looks at Phoebe through the eyes of a big brother trying to guide his baby little sibling. The only reason Phoebe is not objectified to any one of these stereotypes solely depends on the fact that Holden sees her as an innocent child, not as a girl or an object. With every other women/girl Holden meets, he views them as corrupted playthings that could not be fixed, and figures he can go ahead and corrupt them more. This attitude is why feminism is a strong movement, even today. An attitude that no one can be fixed after being corrupted is one of sole stupidity. Since Salinger gives no backstory to Sunny, no depth to Sally, and no strength to Jane, females in the novel are not given the chance to show why they are in the positions they are in. Salinger gives them no chance to express their thoughts, feelings, and positive traits in the way that Salinger allows Holden to. The blasé attitude toward women in the novel is derogatory, and explicitly goes against the whole definition of feminism and the goal in mind-
Feminism is a broad movement, dealing with many issues, one of which being negative stereotypes associated with women. Salinger uses Holden’s character as an excuse to reiterate many of these presumptions through Sunny, Jane, and Sally. The only truly strong female character in the novel is Phoebe, and that is only because Holden looks at Phoebe through the eyes of a big brother trying to guide his baby little sibling. The only reason Phoebe is not objectified to any one of these stereotypes solely depends on the fact that Holden sees her as an innocent child, not as a girl or an object. With every other women/girl Holden meets, he views them as corrupted playthings that could not be fixed, and figures he can go ahead and corrupt them more. This attitude is why feminism is a strong movement, even today. An attitude that no one can be fixed after being corrupted is one of sole stupidity. Since Salinger gives no backstory to Sunny, no depth to Sally, and no strength to Jane, females in the novel are not given the chance to show why they are in the positions they are in. Salinger gives them no chance to express their thoughts, feelings, and positive traits in the way that Salinger allows Holden to. The blasé attitude toward women in the novel is derogatory, and explicitly goes against the whole definition of feminism and the goal in mind-