Rest of the essay

Life is hard. People struggle; every day provides old and new challenges and sometimes it is hard to find the energy to face them. Phillip K. Dick once said, "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." In other words, the writer suggests that, in spite of our attempts to avoid our circumstances, we will eventually have to deal with ‘how things are’. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, and The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, are two novels that explore what happens when an individual tries to avoid the reality of his life. In Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester goes to great lengths to hide the ugly truth of Bertha Mason, his mad wife, from both his beloved, Jane Eyre, and himself, believing that Jane will participate in his self-deception. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield uses a drunken weekend alone in Manhattan to mask the unresolved grief caused by the death of his brother, Allie. Using characterization and conflict, Bronte and Salinger explore what happens when a person hides from the truth.

Bronte uses the character of Mr. Rochester to illustrate the price one pays for avoiding reality. His heart smitten by Thornfield’s governess, Mr. Rochester believes he can hide the truth of his married life from Jane. With a wife stashed in the attic, he courts Jane and eventually proposes. His brusque and hurried manner on the day of the wedding suggests that he is not entirely content with his lie, but he proceeds nonetheless, hoping to avoid the truth, until his wife’s brother stops the wedding. Mr. Rochester’s attempts to escape the reality of his circumstances fail miserably but he still refuses to face the truth.

The conflict that ensues between Jane and Rochester illustrates two opposing views on how to deal with life’s challenges. Mr. Rochester desperately tries to convince Jane to be a willing participant in his deception. He suggests they run off to France. Jane, a realist, knows that she cannot live a lie; she has invested too deeply in her integrity. She deals with the situation as it is, resolving to leave Thornfield and her beloved Mr. Rochester, to face life’s harsh realities alone. Once fate buffets Mr. Rochester, ironically blinding him, he can begin to see clearly and he is humbled as a result. It is only once both characters face their respective realities that they can be reunited.

Through characterization, Salinger explores what happens when his protagonist, Holden Caulfield, tries to bury his grief in academic failure and a dissolute lifestyle. Holden is kicked out of Pencey and spends the weekend before Christmas break avoiding his parents in his hometown, Manhattan. Holden’s journey is rife with internal conflict. The first person narration continually returns to Holden’s memories of his brother. After his meeting with Sonny, a prostitute, lounging in his hotel room, Holden remembers a time when he refused to let Allie join him on a bike ride. Through this memory, symbolic of Holden’s unresolved grief, Holden attempts to undo the past. He tells his deceased brother to go get his bike. It is only once he sees his sister, Phoebe, reaching for a golden ring on the carousel in Central Park, that he realizes he must deal with reality as it is and not how he wishes it could be.

Life presents challenges and people rightly try to avoid them. But as Phillip K. Dick’s quote suggests, reality is persistent. Both Mr. Rochester and Holden learn this, as we all must, the hard way.