Historical+Information

NATHAN/IRVING You are responsible for finding all the information you can about life in 1949. Here are some things you might want to think about: what was it like being a teenager in 1949? Holden's use of language is very distinct in the novel-- is this the way most teenagers spoke at the time? How did they dress? What did they like to listen to? What was the median income? What was the median income for people like Holden's parents? You can include recordings of popular songs, pictures, links, anything you want, as long as it’s connected to life in the late 1940s. LIFE AN ADOLESCENT IN 1949 Being an adolescent in 1949 was difficult. With values and lifestyles being questioned, it was the norm for a person to question the way life worked and how our government dealt with problems. As people blamed the educational system for their lack in the space race. The adolescents became their experiments and the education system was changing on them. The pressure of getting a higher education was rising to that of their predecessors but most jobs did not even require a high school diploma. In fact, 58% of the population even finished high school.Holden's language stood out in the novel as he was corrected by multiple characters. His excessive use of "goodamn" was conveying his frustration he had and was just a mean to output that frustration. INCOME The generation alive during 1949, the year which Catcher in the Rye takes places lived through the World War II and the Great Depression. "During the postwar years, the gross national product rose to $500 billion, compared with $200 billion in prewar 1940". The prosperity caused a stimulus and the middle-class flourished and values were unquestioned. New ideas and perspectives on life brought by Holden were though to be ridiculous and traditional values weren't questioned.

HOW MUCH THINGS COST IN 1949 Yearly Inflation Rate **U.S.A.** //-0.95%// **UK** //2.6%//

Average Cost of new house $7,450.00

Average wages per year $2,950.00

Cost of a gallon of Gas 17 cents

Average Cost of a new car $1,420.00

Minimum Hourly Wage Rate 70 cents per hour

Bacon per pound 50 cents

Dobbs Hat $8.50

Kitchen Table and Chairs $100.00

Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Stirling

Average House Price 1,911 // **The 1949 Dodge that was very popular during 1949** //

Life and Style " In 1940 the average income per year was __$1,725.00__ and by 1949 was __$2,950.00[|*]__ " Minimum Wage was $.43 per hour. Since the U.S had not long ago came out of World War II, many of the people were shook up by the past occurrences but life went on. The WWII interim had a great influence on how people ate, entertained, and dressed. One of the many styles that came up during the war due to low availability of materials were the "Zoot Suits". For women, they had Swing Skirts which were made to look great when jitter-bugging. This is what a typical Zoot Suit would look like. And here is the Swing Skirts for women. Teen Lingo As seen in "The Catcher in the Rye", Holden's vocabulary consists of a lot of slang/curses. Such curses would be "hell", "goddamn", "bitch", and many more were used predominantly by guys. Although they'd be weary when speaking around girls. Also due to the fact that most parent's may have been drafted during the war, many kids were brought up without proper regulation, paving the way for delinquent teens. Here is a list of a few slang words that would have been used by a teen in the 1940's.

The Type of Music being listened in the early 1940's consisted of "Big Bands". But the Band was there only to compliment the singer, such as Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman who successfully led such bands at the time and who later in the decade would go solo. With Music Being a past time for teenagers, the introduction of a new dance in the early 1940's called the "Jitterbug" was the modern dance of that era. With fast paced Jazz and Jive, the music was popular among the masses. The dance also allowed for individuality to show in the dance floor. Here's an instructional video on "How to Jitterbug" (Quite amusing and catchy) : [|How to JitterBug :]] Also, Here are a few top chart "Pop" music in 1949: (Going in order from #1) ** Ghost Riders: This was the Number One hit song in that year. I found this interesting being that the song refers to cowboys which are thought to be in the country, which are out West. Perhaps this has some correlation between Holden's insistence to go out West and live life being "free". [|Ghost Riders in the Sky] Ive Got a bunch of lovely cocoanuts: [|I've got a Bunch of lovely Cocoanuts.] "A" You're Adorable (The Alphabet Song): [|"A" You're Adorable.] Troubles Blues: [|Troubles Blues.]
 * **Slang of the 1940's*** ||
 * **Slang** || **Meaning** ||
 * ameche || to telephone ||
 * b.y.t. || bright young things ||
 * bag || to shoot down a plane ||
 * barouche || car, jalopy ||
 * brainchild || someone's creative idea ||
 * bunny || to chat ||
 * city slicker || dandy from the city ||
 * corny || unimportant, passe ||
 * cosy || comfortable ||
 * creep || despicable person ||
 * eager beaver || enthusiastic helper ||
 * fuddy-duddy || old-fashioned person ||
 * gobbledygook || double talk, long speech ||
 * gone with the wind || run off (with the money) ||
 * grandstand || to show off ||
 * grotty || new but useless ||
 * hi-de-ho || hello ||
 * in cahoots with || conspiring with ||
 * lettuce || money ||
 * old hat || out-dated ||
 * pass the buck || pass responsibility for ||
 * pennies from heaven || easy money ||
 * This list is from [|this website.]
 * Music