Hello,
So I am reading this book and the main character mentions Osenberger - a man who started a funeral business and became successful, thus being able to bury a deadman for 5 dollars. Was there a similiar thing in real life at that time? And how was the 'funeral' actually done?
disclaimer I haven't actually read The Catcher in the Rye, but I was curious and I found a few things.
I think the $5 price tag has to be taken with a grain of salt. As I understand it, TCR is set around the late 1940s or early 1950s which would mean that $5 is equivalent to about $50 now. Obviously, quite a bit of inflation, but $50 for a funeral still seems pretty cheap. For further comparison, the average salary for the 1950s was $2,992, so for an average middle class person a $5 funeral would definitely be an insult. In 1949 New York a "Traditionally fine funeral" would have started at $250, according to this ad.
Another thing to take into consideration is the vastly different price of burial for an infant/young child versus an adult. As an example, these burial records from 1950 TX show an infant's funeral costing as little as $15, but adult burials going as high as several thousand dollars.
Speculatively, I would also assume they were using less chemicals, less fancy coffins, and that burial plots would have been much cheaper. All of these factors could potentially bring the price down much more than what we consider the norm today.
But, in conclusion, I think the $5 price tag discussed here was probably just hyperbole on the speaker's part. Hope this helps sate your curiosity!
edit I should add that as far as I know by the 40s and 50s funerals were much like they are now. They took place in the funeral home and/or at the burial site. A coffin, flowers, nice suit, etc. were all included in the cost of the funeral. Back in the 1800s, on the other hand, visitation and mourning usually took place in the family's living room. Grandpa would be arranged on a table in the living room of the family's house and people would stop by to visit before he went on to his final resting place. I'm definitely no expert on funerary practices though, so I'm not exactly sure when the shift took place.
If you want to read about American funerals in the decade after this book was written, check out The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford.
I think in the context of the book, Holden is emphasizing that he thinks people are phonies and uncaring, and as an example, they try to save money on funerals, spending virtually nothing and praising the business acumen of this uncaring mortician.