Compare and Contrast

The Catcher in the Rye and The Old Man and the Sea are very different books but they do have a couple of similarities. I surprisingly enjoyed both of them.  The main character in The Catcher in Rye by J.D Salinger is Holden Caulfield. The main character in The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway is the old man Santiago.

I am going to start with identifying the similarities in the novels. There are not very many but I still think they should be named. Both books were very quick reads and works of fiction. By being short and interesting I was able to get through The Catcher and the Rye and the Old Man and the Sea in a few just a few days. Both of the protagonists do not care what people think of them. Holden is a depressed teenager who has been kicked out of four schools. He obviously does not care about his education. The Old Man is known as unlucky and crazy through his town. He does not let that get him down. They also have a character that they care about. Holden cares about Phoebe, his little sister. The old man has the boy.

There were many differences between both books. To begin with the main characters. Holden is a very upfront, blunt, and rebellious character.  The old man, on the other hand, is mellow and kind of shy. He is very kind. Their ages are also very different. Holden is a teenager in school and Santiago is an old man working as a fisherman. The authors used different techniques when writing these novels. J.D Salinger used more humor and suspense while Ernest Hemmingway used details and a slower story pace.

I think both authors got what they wanted out of their novels. Hemmingway focused on a lesson while Salinger focused on relating. In the end I think both authors did an extraordinary job with books that will be read forever.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print.