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 author’s main purpose was to introduce the persona of the character Holden Caulfield from his perspective. He reveals his dominant trait by refusing to mention his early childhood that involves personal details about his parents. Instead, he focuses on his experience in Pencey Prep and discusses its impact on him.…
Holden Caulfield--a character from Catcher in the Rye--can only be described as a sympathetic character. Although Holden acts in a way sometimes that will make you feel unsympathetic towards him, we know he has mental problems causing him to end up in a hospital. Holden tends to lose his temper occasionally giving him the feel of an unsympathetic character; when you find out his condition it makes you feel otherwise.…
Holden’s first contradiction becomes clear in the first few chapters of the book. When it comes to attending movies, he claims that he does not enjoy the company of Robert Ackley or going to see movies. Yet, he attends a show with Ackley. On Friday night, while Stradlater was on a date with Jane, Holden made his own plans. Holden,…
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger portrays the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, from two very different sides. On one hand, Holden is passionate about the protection of innocence, and he attempts to shelter all kids, especially his younger sister Phoebe, from any knowledge which might compromise their innocence. On the other hand, Holden is repeatedly revealed to be experienced and knowledgeable in society. He constantly swears, drinks, and smokes, sharply criticizes everyone he sees, and generally does not conform to society. Because Holden lost his own innocence so early in his life, he becomes fascinated with the idea of guarding it in others. Salinger shows Holden protecting the innocence of people many times throughout the novel. Some examples include Holden’s anxiety about Jane, Holden’s protection of Phoebe, and Holden’s general frustration…
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.…
The first reason for Holden’s flaw is his craziness. He acts this way because he is not normal like others. Something that he repeats constantly throughout the novel is, “He is the biggest phony.” This quote shows how Holden thinks and acts towards others. Holden acts this way because who falls in love too quickly with Jane and Sally. He also thinks this way because Jane and Sally equal perfection and he isn’t perfect like them or anybody else. Finally his thoughts are what can he do to be perfect like everyone else because he seems to be the only that is crazy. Therefore, Holden acts and thinks differently from everyone else because he is insane.…
Holden on numerous occasions does actions that contradict what he tells the reader. One example of this is when Ackley says, “‘Listen,’ he said, ‘if you're gonna smoke in the room, how 'bout going down to the can and do it?” to which Holden responds, “I went right on smoking like a madman. All I did was sort of turn over on my side and watched him cut his damn toenails...You were always watching somebody cut their damn toenails or squeeze their pimples or something.” (Chapter 6) This quote is explicit evidence of Holden’s hypocrisy. In this excerpt, Holden talks about Ackley’s lack of boundaries and disgusting hygiene, while Holden smokes in Ackley’s absent roommate's bed. Holden accuses Ackley of invasion of personal space, as Holden invades Ackley’s personal space. The irony of this scene is comical. Holden’s hypocrisy creates more distrust between himself and the reader. Consequently, this devastates any chance Holden has of being a reliable…
Often times, who one surrounds themselves with, even for a short period of time affect a person’s life for years to come. In Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger captures the story of Holden Caulfield, who throughout his travels to New York, is compelled by his thoughts of characters who are never introduced to readers. The absent characters are as impressed upon him as much as he is affected by those who are among him in the city. The situations in which the characters are introduced are often when Holden is faced with uncomfortable or adult situations. He reminds himself of those who once surrounded him, while recollecting the memories, Holden is affected by the innocence of the situation. This allows for the theme of innocence and his somewhat childish actions across the events of the novel.…
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.…
Stradlater is perceived as a phony because of the way he acts in front of certain people, Holden constantly attempts to act and seem older and more mature than he truly is and he constantly puts on that act to be taken seriously. Holden wants to believe he is an adult and loves to act as if he is superior to everyone else, when in reality, he is just a teenage boy. When given advice about something, he does not even take it into consideration because like a lot of teenagers, Holden believes he knows what is best. While trying to be an adult, Holden believes he is mature enough to do anything, including hiring a prostitute for his room even though he says no in the end and realizes he is not ready for…
After being with Mr. Antolini, Holden had an anxiety attack. He said, “When something perverty like that happens, I start sweating like a bastard. That kind of stuff’s happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid.”(PDF 95). He vaguely explained why he was sweating and freaking out. It was because at at least twenty points in his life he was sexually abused. The reaction that Holden has, for example the sweating, is a normal side effect to having gone through what he has. For children who have been sexually abused, one of the biggest things that they lose is trust. Especially with family members, the main reason trust can be lost with family is because the victim can blame them for not protecting them or because their abuser was family. By losing trust with the people in the world, one can turn to substance abuse. For Holden he did this, he drank many times till he was completely gone. Also, depression and suicide behavior is common. Both of which Holden encountered. Some could argue that Holden has every right to act the way he does and that it is normal and right to run to substances to cope with what happened. But, no matter what kind of traumatic abuse one goes through in their lives, it is not one’s fault. It is necessary to understand that the person/persons that abused you need to be held accountable for what happened, not oneself. It is never too late in life to begin the healing…
“Nothing can bring a sense of security into the home except true love.” (Billy Graham). In the book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden, the main character, is looking for something. He is very depressed and always feels insecure about almost everything he does in the novel. Throughout the novel, Holden is looking for companionship, friendship and acceptance from others.…
“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (Salinger 234). These two sentences alone, from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, explain a lot about Holden Caulfield’s character and his actions throughout his journey. One of Holden’s many struggles is his lust for human connection, but he never allows anyone to get close–breaking it off before they can leave him. When someone gets close enough to see what Holden is really like, Holden sabotages their relationship by lying, insulting, or simply leaving them. He does this because of his fear of experiencing what he felt when Allie was taken from him.…
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield views the world as an evil and corrupt place where there is no peace. "His anger turned to relentlessly unforgiving social scorn." (Coles)This perception of the world does not change significannot…