Holden is a very mysterious person, very moody. He could be smiling then he’ll start crying. If he likes something, he’ll start hating it once something happens. He calls other “phony”, but he doesn’t realize what he’s doing. Sometimes he’s real and expresses himself like a normal human being, but most of the time he a fake person surrounded by fake people. One example of Holden being weird and fake is he says he hates movies, but then he goes on a date, he takes his girl to watch a movie! Some people think that he’s normal and that’s what every teenager goes through but in reality Holden is just…
In Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield deals with society in an unusual way. When his brother Allie died, four years before his story, he decided to break windows with anger. Doctors observed this action physically and mentally. I think that the doctors help him cope with his feelings for Allie because they try to fix any problems he might have. Also, when he was expelled from Pency Prep, he rented a hotel for the night. He should have stayed at the school until they picked him up in a few days, but he didn’t. While at the hotel, this 17-year-old boy orders a prostitute, since he was depressed, but decides he is not in the mood for sex when she arrives. In addition, Holden also smokes a lot and is a heavy drinker, and this doesn’t help him with his depression. For example, “ I ordered a scotch and a soda, and told him not to mix it,” proves that he drinks under age. I think that when Holden is in NYC he cannot manage and cope with his feelings of his brother Allie because he is so depressed and keeps thinking of his deceased brother. Another method Holden uses to cope with society is to be sarcastic. An example of this is shown when he tells the mother of a kid he finds obnoxious, that he was kind shy, and adaptable in his school, just for his pleasure. A quote from the book that explains this is, “Well, a bunch of us wanted old Ernie to be president of the class.” This way of joking makes him feel better but is a wrong thing to do. A last example of Holden’s actions to deal with society is that he plans to become a deaf mute and live out west .He thought that if he did this it would solve his problems and keep him away from the “crumby” people in society. All of his actions and plans show signs of immaturity in him and that his choice making to deal with things is not very successful.…
Holden Caulfield is a typical anti-hero from the 20th century who features as the main character from the novel, Catcher In The Rye by J.D Salinger. The young teenage boy says that he wants to be the one who stands at the bottom of the cliff and catch the children that are playing in the Rye that may run off the edge accidently. This is a dream, not reality however it indicates that Holden is desperate to preserve childhood. Holden is an anti-hero because he lacks heroic qualities. In the novel, he often refers to himself as a yellow character. He wants to hit someone but he won’t because he is too much of a coward and he knows this. Holden talks negatively about most people, often referring to them as “phonies.” Phonies are people whose surface behavior distort or disguise their inner feelings. Holden can be a phony himself and believes if he puts society down, then he can’t be disappointed. He does however, cherish family, more so his siblings rather than his parents. He is very lonely and tends to push people away. Holden has been suspended from four schools. He underachieves, has a habit of being able to lie easily and has a fragile, mental state that ends up leading to a breakdown where he ends up in an asylum.…
He acts this way because Holden is always alone and have no family to support him except his younger sister, Phoebe. Something that is repeated constantly throughout the novel is, “Jane keeping her kings in the back row.” This symbol shows that Holden cannot separate the past from the present time. Holden thinks this way because he was always necking with Jane when they were young. He also thinks this way because of his immaturity of always wanting to have sex and always wanting to be a kid instead of growing up to is an adult. Finally his thoughts always want to be with Jane, but because of his immaturity Jane doesn’t choose him. Therefore, Holden acts immature towards others because he has been expelled from four different schools and no one is there to teach him his manners and to discipline…
“Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.”(Harrison, Page 46). This quote conveys the three most important concepts used in great fiction literature, by a variety of authors and free-lance writers. Following these concepts, the author ignites interest in his/her work which allows the reader to connect with the story. “Make them wait” this quote describes a significant factor in creating interest and attachment to the characters throughout the novels The Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies. The purpose of this essay will allow the suspension of the book to create a strong bond between the reader and novel stated above. The beginning of The Catcher in the Rye a story told about a young man who gets expelled from his prep school and…
Through his actions, thoughts, and words, we see the major traits of Holden Caulfield. He is judgmental, picking out the faults of almost everyone he knows. Second, he is lonely, always seeking the company of others, and always no getting it. To add on, he is not satisfied with the company that he has since he keeps on looking for other company. Lastly, he is a depressed character, who finds no interest in everyday life, perhaps a cause of why he failed school. Despite all these negative aspects, Holden Caulfield is an interesting character who resembles many of the negative, but realistic, aspect of our…
Holden Caulfield is a phony. Even though the story is being told from his point of view we can conclude that he is fake. Not only is he an impulsive liar but he is a great hypocrite. He has no remorse about any of his actions towards people, and everything and everyone he meets is a phony in his eyes. Holden Caulfield can never say anything truly good about anyone, he always has something to bring them down. Even little things upsets him, like when Mr. Spencer, Holden’s old teacher at Pencey Prep, “started going into this nodding routine”, he said “You never saw anyone nod as much in your life as Old…
Holden Caulfield, the novel’s protagonist, is a pivotal character in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden is characterized as an innocent, apathetic, naive teen who is seeking knowledge of life and the meaning of becoming an adult. Holden’s struggle with seeing the genuine nature of people is something that acts as a barrier for him throughout the novel. Holden is troubled and burdened throughout the story, which causes him to have a warped view on an array of subjects. Holden passes strict judgement on everyone, as he struggles to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Holden appears to be stunned when he sees how different the life of an adult is comparison to that of children. His views on topics such as, life, his future, and sex. Holden approaches each of these subjects with strict views, and feels dejected when he realizes there are more multiple perspectives to these topics.…
Holden Caulfield is a teenage boy living in a society in which he believes to be full of hypocrites and "phonies". Everything with any connection to his life he believes to be a phony. From teachers to his friends, to people he does not even know. Holden always found some kind of a reason to give off the impression that he is superior because they are just fake. He is in belief that he is capable of understanding everything about a person just by looking at them and judging their first impression. Holden seems to almost have an obsession with people being phony. He explains that children are innocent but once they reach a point in their lives where they can almost be taken seriously, he strives to find phoniness in somebody's personality…
Holden Caulfield has difficulty coping in life with his judging, loneliness, depression, and anti-social behaviour. Holden is cynical in life and rarely ever is happy. An anti-social person is described as Persistent lying, using charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or for sheer personal pleasure, intense egocentrism, sense of superiority, repeatedly violating the rights of others by the use of dishonesty and misrepresentation, hostility, significant irritability, agitation, impulsiveness, aggression or violence, poor relationships, irresponsible work behavior and failure to learn from the negative consequences of behavior; according to Mayo Clinic.com. Holden displays all of these symptoms. Things symptoms are also habits of other people, just not serve enough for them considered to be anti-social or carrying one specific trait, like the habit of lying for example. Holden claims these people to be phonies but in fact, he does the same thing. "One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That's all. They were coming…
We also see that Holden’s expectations for humanity are too high, so hardly anyone meets his standards; therefore, he dislikes most people and stays away from them. He only seems to see and pin point out the negative sides of a surrounding or a character for example when Holden talks about Ackley ‘Ackley is dirty, pimply, and all-around unhygienic.‘ this shows him making judgements of other people, trying to find a way…
At the book’s beginning, Holden Caulfield is characterized as jaded from his awful childhood experiences and cynical, with a disdain for all adults and their “phoniness”. With a propensity for exasperating nearly everyone he comes into contact with, Holden is alienated from society. Yet, as the novel progresses, Holden is spiraling downward. He is depressed and all attempts at making a solid connection are repudiated. Contemplating suicide and searching for a way to protect children from reaching adulthood, Holden is quite disconnected from reality. When he takes his sister Phoebe to a carousel, Holden realizes that he cannot save children from maturing. He understands that falling and getting hurt is part of growing up. Sexuality, cursing and other darker aspects of adulthood will be seen by children, as they are part of developing. Poor childhood experiences and alienation hardened Holden’s views on aging. However, once he realizes that maturing is not always a pleasant experience, Holden sees that his efforts in protecting children from adulthood were futile and he becomes temporarily happy before having a mental breakdown. Through his negative experiences and epiphany on adulthood, Holden attains an understanding of maturity and is saved from self…
Throughout the book, it is shown that Holden really dislikes people who pretend to be something that they aren’t, or in his words, “phony”. These types of people were all over at his prep schools, so he really has to learn to focus more on the things that make him happy. It is shown throughout the book that he really likes people who are honest or genuine, as well as small children who still had their innocence. This is portrayed in the quote, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I was so damn happy if you want to know the truth. It was just she looked so damn nice going around and around in her blue coat.”(213). This shows that he really likes how nice and innocent his sister looked while she was going around the carousel; he liked that she was feeling the happiness of childhood. He also really disliked when people were mistreated in his schools. This all shows that the theme of this book was the loss of innocence in adolescence and the importance of being genuine and not mistreating…
One of the needs that holden wants to achieve in the book is social.According to Maslow the social need is “[The] needs for belonging, love and affection”(1). Holden tries many ways to satisfy the need. He starts talking to strangers on the street and he even invites the taxicab men for a drink(60-61). Holden does not have the social need because he doesn 't have many friends and his parents do not pay much attention to him. Holden wants to have friends and feel the need to be loved. The only person that shows love for him is his sister Phoebe. Holden really cares about her and feels that she is the only one that loves him. Also, Holden wants to satisfy the social need because when he goes on a date with Sally he starts to tell her that they should get married and go live…
Holden Caufield is a troubled young man. He has been kicked out of prep school for the third time. He alienates himself from his peers and the world around him. I think Holden fails every class except English not because he is not smart, but because he doesn’t want to be like everyone else or what is expected of him. He feels most people are phony but in a way Holden is a phony too. He says cruel things about people such as Ackley yet he still want to be around and hang out with him. If one dislikes a person so much yet still wants to be in his presence that is a phony trait. He stresses the fact that he hates movies yet he talks about going to catch a movie every chance he gets and he even acts out his own movie scenes. He makes up an entire lie about who he is to Earnest’s mother on the train and tells…