Expository Essay Questions The Catcher In The Rye
The Catcher in the Rye Essay - Question #3
Many authors that write about the depressing life of a teenager try to make the character’s everyday life exciting. Unlike in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye the main character Holden Caulfield, a high school drop out, stays humorous throughout the novel even though he has to deal with many troubles and personal issues.
Throughout the novel, Holden is confronted with many topics he considers as disturbing, yet he finds reasons to stay humorous and positive about himself.
For example, when Holden gets kicked out of school.
“Do you have any particular qualms about leaving Pencey?” “Oh I have a few qualms, all right. Sure… but not too many. Not yet, anyway.”
In this scene, Holden is asked if he has any concerns about …show more content…
getting kicked out of school. He tries to escape the question, as he doesn't even feel bad for having to leave a school for the third time.
While talking to his teacher about being expelled from his current school Holden tries not to think about it.
“It takes me a while to hit me. All I’m doing right now is thinking about going home Wednesday.”
Here, the teenager is trying to escape from reality and cheer himself up by thinking about the upcoming holidays when he finally gets to go home and see his family.
After talking badly about a very religious boy he knew, Holden brightens up when he gets into his room at Pencey.
“It was pretty nice to get back to my room, after I left old Spencer, because everybody was down at the game, and the heat was on in our room, for a change.”
The imagery of Holden being happy to be alone in his room shows his lonesomeness and his making himself an outsider and the fact that he thinks critically of everybody.
Through the above-mentioned examples it becomes evident that Holden Caulfield’s humor is more like cheering himself up after something disturbing happens.
Although this might not be true, Holden shows his short temper when somebody refuses to go along with his plan.
“Stop screaming at me, please,” she said. Which was crap, because I wasn't even screaming at
her.
During this incident it becomes clear how ironical Holden is by saying he wouldn't be yelling at her even though she tells him to stop.
In this scene, Holden’s mood changes when Sally refuses to go with him, as he gets very ironical.
“I mean after you go to college and all, and if we should get married and all there’ll be oodles of marvelous places to go.” “No, there wouldn't be. There wouldn't be oodles of places to go to at all. I was getting depressed as hell again.”
Here, the young Caulfield gets angry like a small child, suddenly saying the opposite of what he was before which is very ironic.
After this scene Holden wants to stop arguing and says something mean to her.
“You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth.”
This quote once more shows the irony of Holden, as he himself is “a royal pain in the ass” as he changes his mood very quickly and whines about how nobody agrees with him, which is actually the fault of himself due to his strange personality.
In conclusion, Holden has his very own humoristic style, which Salinger made present throughout the whole novel.
Many authors that write about the depressing life of a teenager try to make the character’s everyday life exciting. Unlike in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye the main character Holden Caulfield, a high school drop out, stays humorous throughout the novel even though he has to deal with many troubles and personal issues.
Throughout the novel, Holden is confronted with many topics he considers as disturbing, yet he finds reasons to stay humorous and positive about himself.
For example, when Holden gets kicked out of school.
“Do you have any particular qualms about leaving Pencey?” “Oh I have a few qualms, all right. Sure… but not too many. Not yet, anyway.”
In this scene, Holden is asked if he has any concerns about …show more content…
getting kicked out of school. He tries to escape the question, as he doesn't even feel bad for having to leave a school for the third time.
While talking to his teacher about being expelled from his current school Holden tries not to think about it.
“It takes me a while to hit me. All I’m doing right now is thinking about going home Wednesday.”
Here, the teenager is trying to escape from reality and cheer himself up by thinking about the upcoming holidays when he finally gets to go home and see his family.
After talking badly about a very religious boy he knew, Holden brightens up when he gets into his room at Pencey.
“It was pretty nice to get back to my room, after I left old Spencer, because everybody was down at the game, and the heat was on in our room, for a change.”
The imagery of Holden being happy to be alone in his room shows his lonesomeness and his making himself an outsider and the fact that he thinks critically of everybody.
Through the above-mentioned examples it becomes evident that Holden Caulfield’s humor is more like cheering himself up after something disturbing happens.
Although this might not be true, Holden shows his short temper when somebody refuses to go along with his plan.
“Stop screaming at me, please,” she said. Which was crap, because I wasn't even screaming at
her.
During this incident it becomes clear how ironical Holden is by saying he wouldn't be yelling at her even though she tells him to stop.
In this scene, Holden’s mood changes when Sally refuses to go with him, as he gets very ironical.
“I mean after you go to college and all, and if we should get married and all there’ll be oodles of marvelous places to go.” “No, there wouldn't be. There wouldn't be oodles of places to go to at all. I was getting depressed as hell again.”
Here, the young Caulfield gets angry like a small child, suddenly saying the opposite of what he was before which is very ironic.
After this scene Holden wants to stop arguing and says something mean to her.
“You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth.”
This quote once more shows the irony of Holden, as he himself is “a royal pain in the ass” as he changes his mood very quickly and whines about how nobody agrees with him, which is actually the fault of himself due to his strange personality.
In conclusion, Holden has his very own humoristic style, which Salinger made present throughout the whole novel.