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.…
His concern is symbolic of the fact that he cannot save all of the children in the world from danger. He sees that the phoniness around him and the faults within him are irremovable, and that he will just have to manage to live in the flawed society as it is. So the two sides of Holden are protection and violation of innocence. He tries to preserve innocence in others, and then to appreciate people’s independence in exploring the world. He says “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (211). The quote means that people learn from experience. So he is saying maybe the only way people will learn is by facing the harsh truths of society. His realization is significant because Holden himself needs to face the harsh truths of…
Even though the novel written from Holden Caulfield’s perspective it's still shown he is not a perfect character he struggles with finding happiness and a place in society. Several characters try to give Holden advice throughout the novel pertaining to his happiness it's clear he dislike and wants to reject society, however, that is unrealistic and many people looking out for Holden also disagree with him. His teacher Mr.Spencer says “ life is a game boy life is a game that one plays according to the rules” (Salinger 11). Meaning he can’t reject society rather he must find his place in it and accept the rules society has already established even though he may not agree with them. His other teacher Mr.Antolini understands that Holden needs to hit a low point in order to grow from and tells Holden “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.”(Salinger 209). Meaning that Holden should find something he is passionate about to live for rather than using it as an excuse to die for because to die for a cause is to waste your life while to live for one is to have a life with purpose and would give Holden a place in society. However, he cannot protect the innocence of people by…
Nitpicking is the epitome of the typical teenager as they are found to be so critical of ideas and use the word “hate” often. Salinger’s iconic creation, Holden Caulfield, recalls an eventful three day journey that demonstrates his strong opinions towards such natural flaws that apply to society in the novel The Catcher in the Rye. In his encounters with friends, family and strangers, Holden reveals to the reader about multiple things that he hates. Unavoidable occurrences draw his negative attention, which explains the numerous times he faces such experiences that he hates. All throughout the novel, it is clear that Holden hates his childhood; the division in society and…
Holden purposely alienates himself from others and doesn’t hold many close relationships. He displays lack of interest in his education. It is not straight forward, but Holden believes he has no future, does he even want one? Detachment is also represented when he fails out of every school he is sent to. He rebels against those who wish for him to have a decent life. Mr. Antolini was one of those who cares and stated “ the mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one” which Holden takes advantage of . Holden is particularly introverted (Salinger 188). He wanders the city, passing hundreds of by standards, he is still all alone. Sure he wants to talk to people but he doesn’t know how to hold a proper conversation. He is a constant critic of others actions although his actions make him come off as an arrogant pest, therefore Holden isolates…
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.…
Just like the lake in a midway transition, Holden is between childhood and adulthood, and cannot seem to let go of his younger years. This is regularly proven when something goes wrong and he does something more adult in Holden's mind view such as repaying the prostitute. After the events, he often thinks he deserved it or just wanted to end it all. It can be regularly seen when something does not go the way Holden intended, he will often verbally beat himself up about it which shows Holden does not have very good self-esteem at this age. Interestingly, Holden also mentions "I didn't give much of a damn any more if they caught me. I really didn't. I figured if they caught me, they caught me. I almost wished they did, in a way." This can be interpreted to mean perhaps Holden wanted to transition into adulthood, but the grief of Allie's death was holding him back too much. Although at the end of the book, Holden has a realization about adulthood. During the carousel scene with Pheobe, Holden realizes Instead, of trying to catch kids or his own self from going into adulthood, he should allow them to make their own mistakes. He says, “I was sort of afraid…but I didn’t say or do anything…If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (232). Comparatively, it took a while for Holden to come to this realization. Moreover, it also helped…
The quote is significant because Holden does not get along with his peers. Holden is surrounded by phonies in his prep school. Holden especially does not like Stradlater, but despite their problems and flaws, he acts with basic kindness towards…
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield learns to cope and accept the death of his brother, Allie. He does this by being unable to verbally express the loss of his brother and this leads to a suicide attempt. After his death, Holden continually fails in order to maintain the positive image of his brother. He then divulges to Phoebe that he wishes to catch children before falling off a cliff, and these children are a supplement for Allie as he was unable to save him. The novel ends with Holden accepting that he is unable to save people from falling and can not save people from the pain he knows all too well. Throughout the novel, Holden learns to accept that everybody must fall at some point and he can not prevent it, which leads…
"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..."…
Holden is still trying to get a grip at maturity as he is regardless a rebellious teenager, just as shown though our adolescents today. This kind of behavior and attitude grasps onto most high schoolers as they are trying to grow up faster. Most are missing what’s behind them and aren’t realizing what they have left. “Sometimes I act a lot older than I am--I really do--but people never notice it. People never notice anything” (Salinger 22). Holden has been trying to get away from the life he has, and wants to be grown up for all the freedom they are allowed to have. There comes a point in everyone's life where they just become…
Throughout the story Holden has been given many opportunities to show his mature side. He helped children by marking out the graffiti at his sister's school. He also talked to his sister about wanting to be The Catcher in the Rye is because he wants to help kids who are rushing into their adulthood and not enjoying their childhood. He wants to catch them before they make the jump into adulthood. Holden himself is a very unique character. He occasionally shows that he cares even though it is thought that he doesn’t care about anything. Holden often tries to hide his nice side in order to portray as if he doesn’t care. All of these are shown in the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger he goes into detail to…
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…
This is seen for the first time when Holden goes to the house of his history teacher Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer tries to reach out to Holden and provide guidance to him. Mr. Spencer says, “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules” (Salinger 8). Holden disagrees with him and becomes frustrated. He then refuses to engage with Mr. Spencer, not giving him his full attention, and becomes eager to leave. Holden sees him as being senile, phony and pathetic. Holden’s negative attitude prevents him from forming intimate relationships with others. Later, Holden’s judgmental attitude is seen when he meets the three girls in the Lavender Room of his hotel. He says, “At the table right next to me, there were these three girls around thirty or so. The whole three of them were pretty ugly...” (Salinger 69). After calling the girls ugly he then decides that he enjoys the company of one of the girls because he finds her cute. However, he becomes disgusted with all three of them because he thinks they are superficial and do not care about anything important. This shows that Holden is quick to judge based on appearance and his critical nature. Next, his critical nature is seen when talking about his brother, D.B.. Holden criticizes his brother for pursuing his career in screen writing. He says that D.B., “...went out to Hollywood and prostituted himself”…
Significance to the story: The significance to this passage is that it almost foreshadows what Holden goes through throughout the story. It’s something that Holden doesn’t seem to understand. Even though he’s cocky enough to think that he understands, he really does not and it gets him into a lot of trouble.…