In the quote,Mr. Spencer lectures Holden about the importance of in life and how life is a game. The conversation demonstrates key aspects of Holden’s personality. From the quote, we can see Holden’s contempt for adults, which he shows by silently insulting Mr. Spencer. He also illustrates this personality by calling adults phonies. Mr. Spencer can also have the Mentor archetype because he tries to help Holden prepare himself for the…
Throughout the novel Holden is left out by the world. He mentioned to Mr. Spencer he feels like he's confined on the other side of life. Holden attempts to fit into a world where he feels he doesn't belong.…
Holden’s relationship with phoebe in chapter 21 is coles holden cares alot about phoebe. Holden always tries to protect her. Holden is so comfortable around her because she not hard on him, she understands him, and she always there for him.…
"The Catcher in the Rye" opens with Holden Caulfield at Pency Prep, his high school, where he has just been kicked out for failing almost all of his classes. Holden, as a lost and frustrated teen, goes to his room for his last night before planning to run away from Pency Prep for some "alone time" before telling his parent he was kicked out of another school.…
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Salinger was drafted into the army, serving from 1942-'44. His short military career saw him land at Utah Beach in France during the Normandy Invasion and be a part of the action at the Battle of the Bulge. Salinger continued to write, assembling chapters for a new novel whose main character was a deeply unsatisfied young man named Holden Caulfield. Salinger did not escape the war without some trauma, and when it ended he was hospitalized after suffering a nervous breakdown…
1. Discuss the significance of, "I felt so lonesome all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead." (p.51) No one understands him, and he keeps thinking about Jane and he realizes that’s he doesn’t have any real friends…
Similar observations are made by academic writer and author Sarah Graham in her book entitled Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. In this book, Graham addresses a variety of reading techniques, themes, and comparisons/contrasts in regards to Salinger’s most popular novel, but she specifically addresses the main theme of Holden’s attempt to escape the phony 1950’s materialistic focused society surrounding him. Graham begins her take on this theme of escaping society with a chapter on Holden’s rebellion: “Developing the theme of rebellion, Holden’s visit to Mr. Spencer confirms that he is opposed to the conventional ideas that school and society encourage in order to promote stability” (34). During this visit to Mr. Spencer’s house that Graham…
From the beginning of the novel, Holden tells his story in a bitterly cynical voice. He refuses to discuss his early life, he says, because he is bored by “all that David Copperfield kind of crap.” He gives us a hint that something catastrophic has happened in his life, acknowledging that he writes from a rest home to tell about “this madman stuff” that happened to him around the previous Christmas, but he doesn’t yet go into specifics. The particularities of his story are in keeping with his cynicism and his boredom. He has failed out of school, and he leaves Spencer’s house abruptly because he does not enjoy being confronted by his actions.…
The song “All I Want” by Kodaline refers to Holden’s feelings toward Phoebe near the end of the book. For example, when Holden is delusional, he thinks he is going to die of pneumonia and says, “...so finally what I figured I’d do, I figured I’d better sneak home and see her, in case I died and all” (Salinger 156). Holden’s one wish before he dies (or so he thinks) was to go see his kid sister Phoebe. Holden has a very close relationship with his sister, and they are both very fond of the other. This mindset is displayed by the members of Kodaline when they sing “‘cause if I could see your face once more/ I could die a happy man I’m sure” (Kodaline). While “All I Want” is admittedly about a romantic relationship and not one of a sibling nature,…
At the end of Holden’s paper he wrote a note that says “I know this paper is trash, so don’t feel bad about flunking me”. Again with Holden’s trait of acting like he doesn’t care Holden actual likes Mr. Spencer. However, he does get annoyed with Mr. Spencer after he starts throwing paper into a trash can and missing and Holden has to get off Mr. Spencer’s uncomfortable bed. Mr. Spencer does this a couple of times before Holden decides to leave. On Holden’s way out of Mr. Spencer’s room, he hears him say something, but you can’t quite make out what he exactly said. But what he thinks Mr. Spencer said was “Good Luck”. After this Holden returns to the dormitory where we are introduced to his neighbor Ackley and his roommate Stradlater. During his time here, Holden hears about Stradlater date with Jane Gallagher, a girl who Holden used to date and still has slight feelings for. During the time of Holden hearing of this, he grows nervous about their date and when Stradlater returns Holden questions him about the date. Holden wants to know if Stradlater had or tried to have sex with Jane. This is another example of Holden cared about something though he…
He also details that the events occurring last winter were what inspired him to reach out for help. By doing this, Holden is contrasting the vast majority of the actions he makes throughout his madman experience. One of his main grievances with the people around him are that they are, as he frequently claims, “phony.” To Holden, just about everybody can be called a phony, particularly those his age and above. Of the many people he has opportunities to form relationships with, Holden only appears to care about two people: his deceased brother Allie and his younger sister Phoebe, both of whom are prepubescent children. These relationships exist to emphasize Holden’s lack of ability to let go of the past and develop as a person over the course of the book. He has an unhealthy admiration of their childlike innocence, which prompts him to act as immaturely as possible. Subsequently, he tries to show his maturity by making exceptionally poor choices such as getting drunk and hiring a prostitute. Whenever his actions have consequences, he blames the “phony” world around him instead of himself, which motivates him to alienate himself from others. Salinger’s main goal in characterizing Holden is to show how…
Everyone has had a dream job since they were small, it might have changed over time but it was always something they loved. In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger we meet Holden whose dream job is to be a catcher in the rye. Holden states that in his dream job he would “catch everyone if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t see where they’re going I have to come out of somewhere and catch them.” (Salinger, 173)…
Three seconds remain in the tied basketball game. The point guard shoots and scores right before the buzzer sounds off. I bet for a long time, that player worked hard in the gym to practice and perfect his shooting for game time situations like that. It just goes to show that nothing great can ever be achieved without hard work. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In The Rye, however, does not quite understand this saying. In the story, Holden does not apply himself to his education at Pencey Prep, which results in his expulsion from school. Throughout the story, Holden, as well as a few other characters, represent the terms expressed in Freud’s Theory of Personality known as the id, superego, and ego.…
He hasn’t started being the catcher in the rye yet, but he has the power to save the youngsters. Overall, Holden is a normal teen like the others. Teenagers like to convey their thoughts, take risks, be kind towards others, and experience things. They want to reveal what they are thinking in an honest way. Furthermore, the advantages including the enjoyment from doing things is important to them, so they do whatever it takes to get them. Teenagers are eager in what they want to do, but don’t start until later. To conclude, a typical teenager like Holden has these…
J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is about a young Holden Caulfield’s growth into maturity. Caulfield begins the novel as an inexperienced boarding school student attending Pencey Prep, a private boarding school located in Pennsylvania, who is struggling academically and socially. After getting kicked out of yet another boarding school, Caulfield travels to New York City before going home. After staying in New York for the time period between when he got kicked out and when he can return home Caulfield learns the struggles of living in the adult world. As he experiences New York, it opens his eyes to the painfulness of growing up and he wants to escape it. A major theme in this story is keeping innocence, which is portrayed through Caulfield’s theory about the catcher in the rye, his need to protect his sister, and the red hunting hat.…
