RAĐANJE POBUNE IZ DUHA POPULARNE MUZIKE: MUZIČKE REFERENCE U ROMANU LOVAC U RAŽI
THE BIRTH OF REBELLION OUT OF THE SPIRIT OF POPULAR MUSIC: MUSICAL REFERENCES IN THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

Summary/Abstract: The paper provides the results of a literary and cultural study focused on the importance of popular music in shaping and defining the identity of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as on his relationship with the dominant culture of the world he inhabits. Particular attention is paid to the formation and expression of Holden’s rebellious character, as observed through his relationship towards different manifestations of popular music in the novel. These include excerpts from musicals, compositions from dance halls, and the imaginary song entitled “Little Shirley Beans”. This song provides a representative example of the adoption described by Hebdidge (1979). This process, which Hebdidge describes in Subculture: the Meaning of Style, suggests the transformation of a style from popular culture into a subcultural style. Holden strives towards such adoption in all his contacts with elements of popular music, which announces the social and cultural rebellion that would stem from rock and roll music and rock culture several years after the publication of The Catcher in the Rye. The anticipatory capability of Salinger’s prose has proven to be a valid source for examining the mechanisms at work behind the influence of popular culture.

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