person that he ever showed it to was a girl named Jane Gallagher, who he also had a close relationship with.
person that he ever showed it to was a girl named Jane Gallagher, who he also had a close relationship with.
Holden agreed to do the composition for Stradlater about a descriptive thing such as a house. However, since he ‘couldn't think of’ anything Stradlater wanted, Holden chose to write something that was barely related to the topic, a baseball mitt. There is a saying that writing reflects the writer’s personality. Holden’s essay revealed a lot of himself. He didn't care about the topic; instead, he just followed his random thoughts.…
The cap, first mentioned in chapter 3 when Holden returns to his room after visiting his professor, embodies several of Holden's internal struggles. The color red, a color that does not easily go unnoticed, points to one of Holden's biggest fears, which is disappearing, as he grows older. This fear stems from the death of his younger brother Allie who died at the age of 11. The colour of the cap also reflects Holden’s younger brother and sister, Allie’s and Phoebe’s red hair. The color red also symbolizes Holden's strong feelings towards growing up. The appearance of the hat "with one of those very, very long peaks" is different than a common baseball cap (Salinger 17). Holden is drawn to this because part of him yearns to be different than his…
Holden has been through many difficult times in his life, especially after he lost his little brother Allie Caulfield who had pneumonia, but there are these main symbols that describes Holden as a person, his past and most importantly these symbols gives special meaning to his life. In the Catcher of the Rye, J.D Salinger highlights Holden’s journey of growing up by showing the three symbols and they are the lake, Carossel and the red hunting hat.…
When Holden first talks about his Brother Allie’s death, he starts to talk about how Allie was the nicest most intelligent one. He talks about how Allie’s baseball mitt “had poems written all over the fingers and the pocket and everywhere” (38). Allie writing the poems on his glove so he has something to read in the outfield shows that Allie was just being a kid. He was being carefree; he wrote the poems on the glove so he would keep from being bored. Holden also thinks of Allie when Sonny leaves. He starts to think of a time when they were just kids when he would not let Allie come to Bobby Fallon’s house with him. Holden then starts to talk to Allie telling him to “get your bike and meet me in front of Bobby’s house” (99). He says that he thinks…
Throughout the story, Holden isolates himself from everyone else. One way he isolates himself is by wearing a red hunting hat, which he bought all by himself in New York. A red hunting hat alone is an odd and unique hat for a teenager to wear, but Holden even wears it in a weird fashion. Today’s teenagers strive to be different from each other, and one way they express themselves is through their clothes. Another reason for Holden’s isolation is his impulsiveness throughout the whole story. In the beginning of the novel, Holden thinks that his roommate Stradlater took advantage of Jane and gets into a fight with him. After getting a hard hit in the face, Holden tells Stradlater “to go wash his own moron face – which was a pretty childish thing to say, but [he] was mad as hell” (45). Today’s teenagers often get into fights and become impulsive because of the anger built up from their fights. After Sally refuses Holden’s request to run away with him, he becomes annoyed and calls her a “royal pain in the ass” (133). He quickly regrets it, but he is unable to take back what he said. Holden’s inconsiderate words show the trouble he has communicating with others, and give a reason to why he is isolated and friendless. Even today’s teenagers have situations when they say careless things and lose a possible friend. On the night that his little brother, Allie, died, he slept in the garage and “broke all the goddam windows with [his] fist, just for the hell of it” (39). The loss of a loved family member is something everyone can relate to at least once in their lifetimes, and surely it will be a painful experience that will drive one to do impulsive things. Everyone will, is, or has been a teenager in their lives so they are able to relate to…
Allie 's baseball glove reminds Holden of his deceased younger brother who died of leukemia. The idea that his brother died often torments Holden and when he thinks about it, his prospect on life changes. Holden feels a lot worse about Allie 's death because he was one of the few people Holden thought was not a phony in a place where everyone around him was. Also, the Museum of Natural History is important to Holden. Every time he went, there would be something different about him but the place would remain intact, nothing would change, everything was in the exact same place where it was the last time he was there. This place is symbolic because it reflects Holden 's desire for things to stay the same way they are, whether they are in a crystal case or on the floor. In addition to that, Holden wishes things would be less complex and maybe he would be able to solve the problems in his…
Holden Caulfield has a dominating dilemma throughout The Catcher in the Rye, his need for companionship and his longing for isolation. Adding to this confusion, he is caught between wanting to preserve the innocence of a child and wanting the independence of an adult. A cheap and simple red hunting hat, with no significance to anyone else but him, is the symbol for these conflicts. The hat is inseparable from J.D. Salinger’s portrait of Holden for a good reason: it is a symbol of his uniqueness and individuality. The hat is a bizarre visual that stands out because it is not part of the fashion at the time. It shows that Holden desires to be different from everyone around him. At the same time, he is very self-conscious…
Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, has a rather pessimistic view of adulthood and characterizes adults as phoney. In the novel, Salinger criticizes teenagers’ obsession of protecting their youth through the use of symbolism, thereby demonstrating that adulthood is inevitable, and fearing it is ultimately self-destructive.…
While facing the aspect of school, a topic Holden would rather avoid, he was tasked with writing a composition for Stradlater. He relayed the fond memory of his younger brother’s baseball mitt in extreme detail. This began an opening into Holden’s past, beginning with Allie. Allie became an image of innocence to Holden, “But it wasn't just that he was the most…
In the article “Op-Ed: Save Salinger Archives From Salinger” Mr. Rosenbaum says allie, “A poetry lover who covered his baseball mitt with verses, who died of leukemia at age 10.”(2). He had a positive impact on Holden though. He has helped his creative aspect in life. He has helped him write, for example he has wrote about his brother Allie’s baseball glove in an essay for a friend. In “A Reader's Guide to J. D. Salinger “ Robert Milter explains how Allie is “Holden's Deceased's younger brother, Who remain frozen in the threshold of adolescence.…
Often times, a death might bring unexpected negative consequences to the grieving people, and cause them to act out or adjust differently to life without them. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, was the most afflicted in his family by his brother’s death, and he faces the ongoing repercussions of it. Shortly after Allie's death, Holden need a psychanalyst to help him cope, but never fully moved past his brother's passing. Therefore, the death of Allie affects Holden’s depressive behavior, his transition between childhood and adulthood, and finally, his realization of growing up is essential in life.…
There are a few things that define one as an adult: maturity, responsibility, and integrity. Does Holden Caulfield have any of these? J.D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” follows the life of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old protagonist, who is on the road to becoming an adult and is trying to find all of the three terms above. Holden is living in a world with people that he classifies as morons or phonies. The self realization that he cannot save children from becoming morons or phonies is the key to becoming an adult in Holden’s case, yet there are still symbols that Holden encounters that slowly but surely matures him, makes him responsible and helps him obtain integrity.…
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, the author, J.D. Salinger, takes the reader through Holden Caulfield’s struggles with adolescence as he makes his way through New York City in the 1940’s. Salinger shows how Holden attempts to go on an unrealistic quest to save children from a sudden loss of innocence. Holden’s wake-up call comes in the form of his little sister, Phoebe, who unintentionally illustrates to her big brother that reaching for the gold ring isn’t always a scary thing, but a part of life that everyone must go through. The author uses symbolism to create Holden’s idea of becoming “The Catcher in the Rye,” a way of preventing others from the abrupt loss of innocence. Holden’s idea is challenged by his interactions,…
While some people enter adolescence holding on to remains of innocence, others have lost all traces of it. The later is the case with Holden's roommate Stradlater. He lies, cheats and takes advantage of other people for his own benefit. He infuriates Holden when he made fun of Allie's poem. "For Christsake Holden. This is about a goddam baseball glove."(P.41) Stradlater plays the "game" to gain popularity from his peers. Another person…
Salinger uses Allie’s glove to prove that growing up is less difficult with healthy coping mechanisms and communication skills. When Holden’s brother, Allie, died, Holden “...slept in garage [the] night he died… broke all the windows for the hell of it” (39). Breaking windows is a not healthy way of dealing with emotions. If he were to communicate, he could handle his emotions in a healthier way. To help hold on to Allie after he died, Holden kept his old baseball glove. He described it as “...he had poems written all over the fingers.. The pocket everywhere… [I] can’t make a fist anymore” (38-39). In modern culture, poems are forms of expression using words that are used to express emotions, thoughts or ideas. Holden wearing the glove is a symbol of him trying to conform to be like his brother. The fact that he can’t fit into the glove because of his hand shows that Holden can’t conform to the qualities of brother, who communicates. As well, the poems are that are on Allie’s glove are in “...green ink… something to read when nobody was at bat…” (38-39). The color green is a symbol of new life and new beginnings. Since Holden can’t fit his hand into the glove, it is symbolic that he can’t start to communicate his thoughts which is unhealthy. To conclude, Holden shows that growing up is less difficult with healthy coping mechanisms and…