Catcher in the Rye :: essays research papers

â€Å"The Member Of The Wedding† and â€Å"The Catcher The Rye† are both similar novels in the way adolescents want to belong to a group of people but there is one major difference. Frankie is looking to grow up so that she can fit in with the people around her while Holden wants to avoid adulthood completely as he sees the adult world as being false and corruptible. In â€Å"Member Of The Wedding Frankie feels like she doesn’t fit in to a child’s world. This is due to a number of reasons. She wishes now to belong to a more adult society. Frankie feels alienated from the rest of her friends. When they play underneath the arbour Frankie doesn’t â€Å"fit† because she is too tall. She resents this and sees her friends as â€Å"ugly screaming kids†. Frankie attempts to befriend the older girls but they say she â€Å"smells† and when they talk about sex Frankie doesn’t understand referring to this as â€Å"nasty lies†. Here we see Frankie excluded from the adult world that she desires to belong to. Frankie also feels excluded from her family. Her father won’t allow her to sleep in the same bed as him anymore. He says that she is â€Å"too big† now. He is rarely at home and when he is he hardly speaks to Frankie. She attempts to converse with him but he just â€Å"grunts† at her. Eventually when he does talk to her he doesn’t say much. After the wedding he shows a lack of understanding towards his daughter. She needs him but he tells her to wait until they are at home because then he will punish her for her behaviour. Berenice is the mother figure in her life but she returns to her own home and family in the evening. She feels excluded from Jarvis and Janice too because when they arrive home for a few days they invite Frankie’s father but not her. She feels this isn’t very fair as she is also part of the family. This heightens Frankies isolation and also heightens her desire to belong to a group. Frankie wants to â€Å"belong† to the navy and then decides to give blood to the Red Cross. She is refused on both accounts because she is too young. She thinks the â€Å"freaks† and â€Å"criminals† are trying to make eye contact with her so she can join their group but Frankie does not want that.