Quest for Self-Identity and Construction of Adolescent Identity; Intertextual Study of A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man and The Catcher in The Rye
Keywords:
self-identity, adolescent identity, intertextuality, Post-structuralism, Postmodernism, Self-ReflexivityAbstract
The present study is a comparative analysis of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), by James Joyce and The Catcher in the Rye (1951), by J.D. Salinger. This study attempts to establish thematic intertextuality between these two novels on the grounds of self-identity and adolescent identity. Julia Kristeva's concept of intertextuality as an analytical framework has been applied to draw parallels between the novels. The protagonists’ familial dynamics and social, religious, and political milieu have been used to analyse the quest for self-identity and adolescent identity as they cast off all these constraints and shape their new identity. Throughout the novels, Stephen Dedalus and Holden Caulfield struggle to forge amicable bonds with people and places in their immediate surroundings. Their inherent romanticism makes it difficult to come to terms with the drab realities of life. The protagonists explore various escape routes to emancipate themselves from the constraints of mundane reality. They take refuge in the world of physical pleasure but find no solace. They further turn to religion but feel disillusioned by it. They try to find comfort in the family circle but feel even more isolated. Thus, the motifs of self-identity and adolescent identity are dominant in the chosen novels, analysed under the intertextual theory by Julia Kristeva.
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