Preview

The Importance Of Lying In Catcher In The Rye

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
171 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Importance Of Lying In Catcher In The Rye
In conclusion, Salinger depicts different reasons for Holden’s compulsive lying to his family members and female characters. Holden lies to women to gain their attention and he can not have a genuine relationship with anyone without lying, but he lies to his family because he cares about them. Also, he wants to protect them and hopes that his lying will avoid their disappointment towards him. At the end of the novel, Holden is given an opportunity to redeem himself; he learns that his negative views towards life made him shut down important people relationally. Holden has to find an alternate way of expressing his emotions without fooling others or himself because he will end up losing very ones that care about him. Lying does not make Holden

Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Character Analysis: Holden Caulfield
    • 122 Words
    • 1 Page

    Character Analysis: Holden Caulfield

    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.…

    • 122 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden D. Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye
    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Holden D. Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye

    First and foremost, Holden is an unreliable narrator partly because he is a pathological liar. The most important characteristic of a reliable narrator is trust worthiness. Holden has shown time and time again that he can be incapable of telling the truth. For example, Holden states, “I liked her, though. I was beginning to feel sort of sorry I'd told her my name was Rudolf Schmidt.” (Salinger Chapter 8) In this quote…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Holden Caulfield's Journey
    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Holden Caulfield's Journey

    Holden Caulfield is a teenager who is struggling to fit into adult society. This is evident from very early on in the book when Salinger immediately characterises Holden as a very judgmental and cynical person. Examples from the very first page include when Holden refers to his brother D.B as a prostitute because he writes scripts for movies. He then continues “I there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don't even mention them to me”. He doesn’t even give his brother the benefit of the doubt over his occupation, and it is through phrases like this where Salinger creates the characterisation of Holden as a judgmental and stubborn personality. This is further continued throughout the novel where Holden continually uses the phrase “phony”, to refer to other people. He perceives the world as superficial, whereas it is his views on society that are lacking depth. This immediate characterisation of Holden by Salinger…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Holden Considered A Memoir
    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why Is Holden Considered A Memoir

    Holden lies so much throughout the book, you almost start to think that the whole thing is a lie. He even states in the book that he is a very good liar, and when someone asks him a very simple question, he usually will answer in a lie just because he can.…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield Reliability
    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Holden Caulfield Reliability

    To begin, Holden exhibits his unreliableness as a narrator through his constant need to fabricate a new reality. After making up an excuse to leave an old teacher’s house, Holden highlights what a great liar he is. “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful” (Salinger 16). Consequently, Holden compels the audience to believe that he is a compulsive liar, seriously compromising his credibility. Who knows Holden is not constantly lying to the audience throughout the book? Ultimately, Holden finds joy in the act of lying, the whole book is Holden’s creative outlet where he can create new realities to help him cope while he resides in the mental hospital.…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Alienation Of Holden Caulfield In 'Catcher In The Rye'
    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Alienation Of Holden Caulfield In 'Catcher In The Rye'

    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…

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Catcher In The Rye: A Literary Analysis
    • 1991 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Catcher In The Rye: A Literary Analysis

    He sees adults and friends who succumb to these norms, and he outwardly looks down upon them and call them phonies of society. As an author, J.D. Salinger created Holden Caulfield as a character to challenge the expected norms of this time period, and as a whole, the novel addresses the challenge of accepting societal norms and diverging from norms to create a different lifestyle. For Holden, although many other reasons attribute to his refusal to accept society, he mainly believes that the 1950’s American Dream culture valuing marriage, family and education is not one that he wishes to be associated with. It is also crucial to note that by the end of the novel, Holden ends up in a mental institution, the location from which he narrates Catcher in the Rye. This element of the novel is crucial to our understanding of Holden as a character; he seems to have rejected the values and views of the post-war era so intensely, he is literally unable to function and has been…

    • 1991 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Examples Of Struggles In Catcher In The Rye
    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Examples Of Struggles In Catcher In The Rye

    He was also sort of a nasty guy. I wasn't too crazy about him, to tell you the truth.” Holden most likely hung out with people he did not like so that if he got kicked out of school he would not miss anyone he would leave behind. Throughout the book Holden also stated many times how he wanted to go out West and live in a cabin in the woods. The details in his fantasy of living in the West were constantly changing since he sometimes wanted to live in a cabin with Sally but other times he wanted to live as a deaf mute showing how he is not able to even commit to an imaginary future. At the end of the book Holden is walking in the street and can barely make it to each side of the road while he thinks about his dead brother Allie. This symbolizes Holden’s life since he only focuses on the present and struggles to make it through day-to-day life since he cannot commit to a future. Holden’s little concern for his future makes it more apparent that he cannot devote himself to a certain life style and even had a hard time maintaining a certain attitude due to the fact that he constantly reassured himself and said things like: “really” or “for…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Catcher In The Rye Critical Lens Analysis
    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Catcher In The Rye Critical Lens Analysis

    Through the literary element of characterization, Salinger proves that Holden’s irresponsibility is relevant to the quotation that you are a true man by the way you handle a problem that comes to you. Holden is a lonely person and very compassionate. An example of Holden being irresponsible is when Holden was on the train with the fencing team and he had left the equipment on the train (3). An example of Holden being lonely is Holden’s attachment to ally; you see that Holden is still attached to ally because when phoebe asks Holden what he enjoys he tells her “I like Ally” (171). This mainly shows that Holden still relies on his brother even though he is dead, so Holden’s attachment to ally makes him lonely. An example of Holden being compassionate is when he is at pencey prep still and he says he needs to go say goodbye to Mr. Spencer because he has the grippe and he figured he wouldn’t be able to see him again until Christmas vacation (3). The examples are relevant to the critical lens statement because in all the examples you can see how Holden is turning into a man from childhood. The actions of Holden validate that the best way to see that someone is becoming grown is the way they handle themselves when they are in a…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Holden's Coming Of Age Analysis
    • 2510 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Holden's Coming Of Age Analysis

    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…

    • 2510 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Literary Analysis Of Catcher In The Rye
    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Literary Analysis Of Catcher In The Rye

    Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in Rye speaks to core of being an outsider, but beyond the anti-hero, anti-establishment persona that Holden reflects, Salinger wrote a portrait of a boy deeply troubled by the end of simplicity. Past the cynical nature and the reclusion from people, Holden is a little boy saddened by the death of his brother. Holden was never able to get closure over Allie’s death and because of this he has never been able to move on. To remember his brother and a simpler time Holden treasures innocence and has remained a child himself in many ways. Through the uses of metaphorical landscapes, a relatable anti-hero, and the setting of a repressed post-war American society Salinger depicts the journey of a young boy fighting, resisting the transition from childhood to adulthood. Holden Caulfield’s cynicism and reclusion are his defense mechanism, they warn of phony and slobs alike, but leave him lonely. He is both a figure for the youth and old alike, because Holden’s disdain of hypocrisy, longing for innocence, and his need for acceptance transcend age groups, these are human emotions that bother any age group. At the end of the novel, Holden says “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do you start missing everybody” (Salinger 214). There are times when Holden comes off as neurotic, but in this case he meant that you will the way life used to be if you remember it. At the end Holden realizes that Allie’s death and his longing to go back to his childhood were holding him back, keeping him from applying himself. Many readers come away from that last line and feel that there is no happy ending for Holden, but the negative tone of the comment is less of a warning and more of a new being for Holden, meaning that Holden’s dream of being the catcher in the rye can can…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield Adulthood
    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Holden Caulfield Adulthood

    Towards the end of the novel, Holden has a conversation with his sister, and she asked him what he liked. He said he liked her and Allie but she said that he can't like Allie because Allie is dead. He then proceeds to tell his sister that his dream to be a catcher in the rye. He wants to save the children from transitioning into the inevitable adulthood.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Mental Isolation In Catcher In The Rye
    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Examples Of Mental Isolation In Catcher In The Rye

    Holden is constantly trying to surround himself with other people, but isn’t able to form real connections with anyone. Holden socializes with girls multiple times throughout the book. He makes an effort to engage in conversation with them, but they never seem to want to reach past small talk. This leaves Holden frustrated with the lack of connection made. Holden goes into a club with the hopes of drinking, but is not allowed due to lack of identification. He searches for girls, only to find a group of three who he does not like very much, but dances and flirts with them anyway. He tries to create conversation, only to deem them stupid as a result of their lack of interest in him. When Holden meets up with an old friend, Sally, he rants about New York and the phonies at his school, eventually digressing into a proposal to run away to different states. Sally rejects his proposal and tells him she does not see what he means with his ranting, and he begins hating her, even going on to tell her she gives him a pain in his ass. Holden thinks of the girls in the club as very stupid because he has to force the…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theme Of Loneliness In Catcher In The Rye
    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Theme Of Loneliness In Catcher In The Rye

    As the reader finds themselves far into the book, they start to realize more about Holden and how innocent he can be. Holden calls a prostitute up to his hotel room because he finally wants to lose his virginity and become a man. When Holden is talking to Sunny who is the prostitute he blurts out that he is a virgin. “If you want to know the truth, I'm a virgin. I really am. I've had quite a few opportunities to lose my virginity and all, but I've never got around to it yet (Salinger 103).” After saying this the reader can truly see Holden’s innocence. Also another part of the book the reader can see how innocent Holden is, when he starts to talk about how much the Museum of Natural History means to him. “I get very happy when I think about the Museum of Natural History. Even now (Salinger 133).” Holden is overloaded with these nostalgia memories and innocent…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Theme Of Childhood In Catcher In The Rye
    • 1574 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Theme Of Childhood In Catcher In The Rye

    Throughout the novel Holden fights to protect his innocence from the cruel society around him that is just so… phony. He hates all of society for the phony things it does, he hates sex because that may make him feel that he too is apart of the adult life, and he hates change because change is just a recipe for a child to step into the new life, the older more mature life. The one that comes with responsibilities that Holden is not ready to…

    • 1574 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics