comparative existential reading of salinger’s the catcher in the rye (1951) and murakami’s norwegian wood (1987)

This research intends to compare j. d. salinger’s the catcher in the rye (1951) and haruki murakami’s norwegian wood (1987) and their historical milieu, one from the united states in the mid-twentieth century and the other from japan in the late twentieth century, respectively. these novels depict two characters, holden caulfield and toru watanabe, who struggle with existential issues similar to those experienced by their authors. the research provides a brief and comprehensive review concerning the concept of comparative literature. furthermore, the purpose of this study is to contribute to the analysis of salinger’s the catcher in the rye and murakami’s norwegian wood from an existential psychotherapeutic point of view, mainly focusing on the two main characters’ existential concerns. ultimately, the research concludes that there is a social-historical influence linking the two authors, and the existential anxieties of salinger and murakami are reflected in the characterization of holden caulfield and toru watanabe, the two main characters of the selected novels.