Holden Caulfield is J.D. Salinger’s main character in The Catcher in the Rye. We learn several interesting things about Holden, however, while learning the these we are not experiencing or seeing what Holden is. We learn about it through Holden’s perspective throughout the entire story like, for example, the death of his younger brother, Allie or the time James Castle committed suicide by jumping out of the school window. Most of these experiences have a significant meaning behind them and we find these out by reading the book. We get to know Holden in a personal way. While reading, comprehending, and understanding Holden’s emotions towards the encounters he has with the characters in this book, which makes it very interesting.…
"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.…
“I close my eyes, and this image floats beside me.A sweaty toothed mad man with a stare that…
Holden's journey through the novel was a journey in which he searched for a purpose and a sense of finally finding that “ride or die” person he desperately needed in his life. Like many teens, he had to deal with “phony” people and felt strong emotions for someone he did not really talk to and even though students currently don’t have sleepovers at their english teachers house, “The Catcher in the Rye” is still a book that should be discussed and read in schools. This novel is still…
The Catcher in the Rye, a novel by J.D. Salinger is a story about a depressed prep student, Holden. Holden has been kicked out of countless prep schools. He gets kicked out of Pencey before winter break; the only option is to go back home. As he travels home he goes through rounds of alcohol and has trouble with women. Once he reaches home he talks to Phoebe; his younger sister. Phoebe asks Holden what his dream job was; saving kids from losing their innocence. While spending time with his sister, Holden realizes you have to let kids grow up even if they make mistakes along the way.…
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.…
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…
Catcher in the Rye is a fictional novel written by J.D Salinger. The protagonist in the novel is Holden Caulfield. Throughout the novel Holden begins to exhibit signs of depression. His depression is driven by the death of his younger brother. In everyday life normal people experience breakdowns, they cannot handle what is being thrown at them. Holden Caulfield attended a prep school known as Pencey, where people are not used to this kind of behavior. Holden exhibits many signs of psychological weakness. He often puts himself at risk and is in a very fragile emotional state which leads him to making impulsive decisions. Holden's behavior favors his stay in a “rest home.”…
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and the movie Into the Wild are very similar in the way that both main characters, Holden and Chris are undergoing a coming of age. Holden is a boy who lives in New York and went to Pencey Prep before getting kicked out for falling most of his classes. Chris is a college graduate who abandoned both his mother and sister who have to suffer with living with their abusive father. However, both of these characters are afraid of being apart of the social norm because they try to expunge their problems, expecting that to resolve it. These two characters have made some controversial decisions in their lives that they probably shouldn’t have. ”The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one,” this quote is crucial because it covers the lifestyles that the two main characters chose to live. This intriguing quote applies to these…
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…
Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in Rye speaks to core of being an outsider, but beyond the anti-hero, anti-establishment persona that Holden reflects, Salinger wrote a portrait of a boy deeply troubled by the end of simplicity. Past the cynical nature and the reclusion from people, Holden is a little boy saddened by the death of his brother. Holden was never able to get closure over Allie’s death and because of this he has never been able to move on. To remember his brother and a simpler time Holden treasures innocence and has remained a child himself in many ways. Through the uses of metaphorical landscapes, a relatable anti-hero, and the setting of a repressed post-war American society Salinger depicts the journey of a young boy fighting, resisting the transition from childhood to adulthood. Holden Caulfield’s cynicism and reclusion are his defense mechanism, they warn of phony and slobs alike, but leave him lonely. He is both a figure for the youth and old alike, because Holden’s disdain of hypocrisy, longing for innocence, and his need for acceptance transcend age groups, these are human emotions that bother any age group. At the end of the novel, Holden says “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do you start missing everybody” (Salinger 214). There are times when Holden comes off as neurotic, but in this case he meant that you will the way life used to be if you remember it. At the end Holden realizes that Allie’s death and his longing to go back to his childhood were holding him back, keeping him from applying himself. Many readers come away from that last line and feel that there is no happy ending for Holden, but the negative tone of the comment is less of a warning and more of a new being for Holden, meaning that Holden’s dream of being the catcher in the rye can can…
In the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye” written by J.D.Salinger, it can be agreed that the main character Holden is not the least bit normal. The perception of Holden is easily identified, he is a lonesome and complicated character. So much so, that he constantly refers to himself as a “madman”. Yet, despite his desire to detach himself from society, he still takes the effort to communicate with others, especially females. Jane Gallagher and Sally Hayes are the most prominent female characters presented in the novel. They are also possible to love interests; as they do have a fairly large impact on Holden and his behavior. They both reflect different time periods of his life. Although, the book does end rather abruptly with no future envisionment; One of these characters, whether it Jane, whether it Sally, is the better contender for the abstruse and isolated person that is Holden Caulfield. This can be inferred through how Holden refers to each female, his interactions with both of them and which person would best help Holden in his current situation.…
In the Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, was the narrator of the novel. The novel is about a teenager lost in the adult world and trying to search for his real identity and some company to keep him occupied. Through his journey, he had trouble communicating and finding people to be with. He finds everyone around him, especially his friends, “phonies”. In his opinion, children are caring, genuine, and kind hearted, whereas adults are “phonies”, self-centered and abusive to little children. In fact, the only person to put a smile on his face is his sister, Phoebe. She brings joy to his brother, Holden, because they have a special communication with each other and it reminds Holden of when he was a kid. In addition, the affectionate of love is also…
1. Holden Caulfield, the main character in the novel The Catcher in the Rye, despises phonies, people depicted as corrupt and hypocritical characters, and though Holden appear to not be a phony, there are instances when he definitely does seem to be one. Holden loathes phonies for their hypocritical and superficial personalities, which he thinks is evident in almost all adults. He explains his hatred for these people when he elaborates on his reasoning for leaving Elkton Hills: “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. . .Mr. Haas, that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life. . .He’d be charming as hell and…