Preview

Critical Lens Essay On Catcher In The Rye

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
545 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Critical Lens Essay On Catcher In The Rye
Critical Lens Essay

“Good people... are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure”. This quote from William Saroyan means that wise people acquire their insight from experiences, especially unsuccessful ones. I agree with the quote and the idea of people being knowledgeable because of the hardships and journeys they had endured. The two novels Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger both support the idea of gaining wisdom through experience. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford realized who she was through her failed marriages. Characterized as headstrong, affectionate and independent, Janie attempts to find love, God and purpose throughout the novel. After her
…show more content…
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

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Throughout the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God the main character Janie Crawford fell into many relationships throughout her life, but three of those many made a drastic change in her life. Accordingly, with her first marriage to Mr. Logan Killicks who was a man, that she did not want to marry at such a young age. Janie’s second marriage being to Mr. Joe Starks, whom she loved so dearly, was subsequently cut short. Out of all of Janie's marriages, one made the most impact on her love and life. A man named Vergible Woods, changed her love life forever.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Catcher In The Rye Summary

    • 1259 Words
    • 6 Pages

    "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.…

    • 1259 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Their Eyes Were Watching God was precisely articulated so that it naturally created a bit of hope inside the reader. The reader wanted Janie to finally find love as well as find herself. This feeling amongst the reader first emerges when Janie is forced to marry Logan Killicks. “Janie and Logan got married in Nanny’s parlor.” (Hurston 21) Janie just wants to have someone in her life, something to ward of the recurring loneliness she experiences. But even the reader knows that Logan Killicks is not the answer. This in itself creates anticipation. The reader at this point knows something will happen and may speculate what could occur. Essentially all that evolves out of this relationship is Heartbreak for Janie. Her…

    • 921 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Holden explains, “I act quite young for my age sometimes.” He also wants others to hold on to adolescence like he does(represented by his hand on the glass reaching for his childhood). This is shown when he tells Phoebe he wants to be “the catcher in the rye”. In which he would protect the kids playing in the field of rye and he would “catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff.” The field of rye where the children play is symbolic of childhood and youth, while falling off the cliff represents entering the mature world of adulthood. Thus, by wanting to catch the children, Holden’s viewpoint of the adulthood and growing up is revealed, as he wants to protect the children, and himself, from the harsh reality(Allie’s death, loneliness, broken record, failure) which is adulthood by holding on to one’s childhood. Holden’s wish to protect the children from “falling” into adulthood is also shown when he prompts Phoebe to ride the carousel after she retorts “I'm too big.” Phoebe riding the carousel represents her staying in the world of adolescence, and thus is the reason Holden “felt so damn happy all of sudden” when he saw her on the…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden believed he could help kids, saving them form losing their innocence. He wanted to be the “catcher in the rye.” But he now knows he can’t, kids have to grow up. We all grow up and there is nothing we can do about it. He finally accepts that, he come face to face with himself. Holden is growing up. He accepts the hard cold truth about adulthood. Eventually kids will learn they have to grow up and they will finally acknowledge it just like Holden did. For once Holden is happy, before he was unstable but he has an emotional release. The carousel shows adulthood, you have to let them make mistakes to…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    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…

    • 1991 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Bishop Long takes his spot back at the podium. He speaks haltingly, starting out slow. "I know all about it... I know all about what you're up against..."…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Their Eyes Were Watching God, a historical fiction novel written by Zora Neale Hurston in 1937, focuses around Janie Mae Crawford, an African American woman, and her evolution as a character. The story is told as a flashback by Janie to her best friend, Pheoby Watson. The novel begins with Janie returning to Eatonville and realizing that Pheoby is the only one there whom she can trust. Janie starts off by explaining how her Nanny raised her after her mother abandoned her, and how Nanny is conservative and therefore, she chooses Janie’s first husband for security reasons. Janie also discusses her three marriages to Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods in detail and the hardships she had to overcome with each relationship.…

    • 1549 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    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)…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine what it feels like to be a teenager. Is a teenager considerate and open minded? The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger talks about a teenager named Holden Caulfield who tells his story about a school named Pency Prep in Pennsylvania, away from his sister and parents. Throughout most of this book, Holden explains his inner thoughts regarding everyone he knows, and most of them are judgmental. Holden is considered to be a typical American teenager in this novel. First of all, teenagers like to express their thoughts. In Sylvia Plath’s article “Sylvia Plath at Seventeen”, she begins saying,“As of today I have decided to keep a diary again―just a place where I can write my thoughts and opinions when I have a moment. Somehow I…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I understand you have many things to consider at your point in life, but you are over thinking many things. In you conversation with Sally you mention the word “phony” often when you describe most of the people you have met. You said: "I hate living in New York and all. Taxicabs, Madison Avenue buses, with the drivers and all always yelling at you to get out at the rear door, and being introduced to phony guys that call the Lunts angels, and going up and down in elevators when you just want to go outside..."(pg 130) This type of thinking is just meaningless, your critiquing people and things without finding an answer to how to feel better. You are isolating yourself from many others by thinking you are the only one that…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In one way or another, every person has felt repressed at some stage during their lives. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a story about one woman's quest to free herself from repression and explore her own identity; this is the story of Janie Crawford and her journey for self-knowledge and fulfillment. Janie transforms many times as she undergoes the process of self-discovery as she changes through her experiences with three completely different men. Her marriages serve as stepping-stones in her search for her true self, and she becomes independent and powerful by overcoming her fears and learning to speak in her own, unique voice. Zora Neale Hurston effectively shows Janie's transformation throughout the book by means of language and her development…

    • 2499 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The novel starts out with Holden telling the reader the flashback of three days he spent alone in New York City last winter. He was kicked out of Pencey Prep, the latest in a long string of exclusive boarding schools, and wanted to leave the school before his parents found out. Before Holden leaves, he is warned by his teacher that he is heading down a bad path, foreshadowing his later troubles. As Holden leaves his dorm, he shouts “Sleep tight, ya morons!”, and cries, although he doesn’t know why (Page 52) . Throughout the book Holden often has reactions like this, hating people but still wanting to be close to them. He takes the train into New York City, and heads for a hotel after being too scared of talking to his parents to call his little…

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays