Free Essays - Catcher in the Rye

773 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The catcher in the rye overview essay

J.D Salinger gives his personal vision of the world successfully through his persona Holden Caulfield in the ‘Catcher in the Rye’. Caulfield struggles with the background of New York to portray Salinger’s theme – you must live the world as it is, not as you would like it to be. There by exposing Salinger’s vision on the world. Salinger went through many of the experiences Holden went though. Salinger much like Holden had a sister that he loved very much, in the novel Phoebe is the only person that Holden speaks highly of; both men also spent time in a mental institution; Holden is telling the story from inside a institution; they were both kicked out of prep school and most importantly they were both a recluse from society. This is why Salinger uses Holden as his persona all though out the book. The ‘catcher in they Rye’ is almost like an autobiography for Salinger. He is using Holden as his persona to let us, the reader, dive into his thought pattern and find out some of the thoughts that he kept locked up in there. Salinger’s view of the world is lived out thought Holden – his persona. The novel is Holden’s steam of conscience as he is talking to a psychoanalyst “what would an psychoanalyst do…gets you to talk…for one thing he’d help you to recognise the patterns of your mind”. At the start of the novel it is addressed directly to us “if you really want to hear about it”. This gives us a sense of reality as though it is us that is the psychiatrist. We see the random thought patterns of Holden’s mind as he starts to feel more comfortable, Holden goes off on to many different tangents while he is talking. Salinger is using Holden as a type of easy way out to confess his view of the world. This view is portrayed though two main aspects of the novel. Firstly theme - you must live in a world as it is, not as you would like it to be. Holden can’t seem to accept the world as it is and finds New York extremely “phoney”. Holden has a great disliking for the movies, he finds them the phoniest of them all “I hate the movies like poison” and he cant believe that people actually make time to go to the there.

Show More
Related

  • Holden Caulfield Grief Quotes

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in The Rye Salinger writes about the main character Holden Caulfield and his life. Holden is a teenager who comes from a wealthy family, he loves his family and lives very happy until the death of his brother Allie. After his brother died Holden becomes troubled, being kicked out of school again and again developing a negative view of the world. Holden throughout the book shows anger,denial, and acceptance over the loss of his brother.

    Read More

  • The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger as Holden Caulfield

    424 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger as Holden Caulfield. & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is home to the protagonist Holden Caulfield.  There is no coincidence that he holds a striking resemblance to the author of the novel himself.  Salinger seemed to have a similar childhood as Holden describes in The Catcher in the Rye.  Both men also seemed to have a certain fascination with younger children, especially younger women.  J.D. Salinger based one of his most famous characters, Holden Caulfield, on personal experience.   & nbsp;     Holden's story in The Catcher in the Rye begins with Holden at his school, Pencey Preparatory, which is a boarding school.  He was sent there by his parents, who seemed to be withdrawn from his life.  Similarly, Salinger's parents sent him to Valley Forge Military School, where he had a neighbor who always seemed to be barging in, showing a resemblance to Salinger was also born in New York to upper-class parents.  It seems as though Holden Caulfield's childhood is an identical match to that of J.D. Salinger's. The. & nbsp;     Salinger had a deep love and fascination with young children, especially young women.  In the 1970s, Salinger maintained a close connection with an eighteen year-old girl, Joyce Maynard, who eventually moved in with the author. J.D. Salinger continued to have many relations with younger women, much like this one.  His fascination with young women is reflected in Holden, who has a similar mind-set.  Even as a seventeen year-old, Holden is infatuated with his perception of Jane Gallagher as a little girl.  It is this picture of innocence that Holden is in love with, and not what Jane is like now.  The concept of, "the catcher in the rye," the cliff.  Salinger used Holden to vent his love, and passion for children.   & nbsp; Holden is almost an identical representation of what J.D. Salinger is truly like.  His adoration for young women is shown in Holden's love for Jane, and in the concept of, "the catcher in the rye. "  Both show similarities in their childhoods, from growing up wealthy in New York, to being sent away for school.  J.D. Salinger used Holden Caulfield to expose his personal life, and possibly his personal feelings. & nbsp; & nbsp;

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Catcher in the Rye Still Relevant Today

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger is unique. The novel is written from the perspective of a teenager who lives in New York in the 1950's. From the context in the beginning and the end of the book, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy" (page 1), "I could probably tell you what I did after I went home, and how I got sick and all, and what school I'm supposed to go to next fall, after I get out of here, but I don't feel like it" (page 213), we can infer that Holden Caulfield, the aforementioned teenager, is in a mental hospital. However, he tells the story through flashback of a three-day period sometime before Christmas the year before. This is unusual because most novels cover much more time than three days. This is one reason why this novel is so unique. Although the novel is spread over only three days, we learn so much about the protagonist, and many other characters, because all Holden's thoughts and feelings, especially about other characters, during these three days is portrayed, nothing is left out.

    Read More

  • Dramatic Effect in Act Three Scene One of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    1630 Words  | 4 Pages

    As soon as you read the opening lines of Act3, Scene 1 you can tell

    Read More

  • The Ways that Shakespeare Makes Act 1 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet Dramatically Effective

    1951 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Ways that Shakespeare Makes Act 1 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet Dramatically Effective

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Act 3 Scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet as Dramatically Effective

    1791 Words  | 4 Pages

    Act 3 scene 5 of Romeo and Juliet is one of the most dramatic of

    Read More

  • William Shakespeare's Use of Dramatic Devices in Act 3 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Shakespeare's Use of Dramatic Devices in Act 3 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet

    Read More

  • Holden's Pessimistic View of the World in The Catcher in the Rye

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Holden is a pessimistic, remote, and miserable character and he expresses this attitude through dialogue, tone, and diction. Throughout the book he has remained to be a liar, a failure, a loner, and lastly, a suicidal guy who feels like he has no purpose in life. Perhaps Salinger expressed his perceptions and emotions of his teen years in this book and it was a form of conveying his deep inner feelings of his childhood. Readers can see this clearly shown in The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger.

    Read More

  • 5 Paragragh Essay: The Catcher In The Rye

    589 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word “phony” to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who are“phony”, it is the young main character. First, Mr. Spencer, Holden’s ex- history teacher, is not described as phony, but according to the adolescent, his choice of words are. Secondly, according to our main character, Ossenburger is not the generous philanthropist he portrays himself to be, but rather a greedy undertaker. Lastly, the protagonist could quite possibly be the authentic phony. All in all, the main character’s use to describe many other characters in the book is with the single word phony, when in fact the word phony would be the most probable word to describe the lead character.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - The Importance of Honesty in The Catcher in the Rye

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    "`I'm just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?'"( pg. 15) In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year-old who is disgusted at all the phony people in the world. For example where artists sacrifice their art for fame and mothers cry fake tears in movies. The importance of not being phony and being honest is the theme that Salinger presents in this story. Holden had difficulty fitting in at school and around the real world.

    Read More

  • How Did Jd Salinger Become A Recluse

    464 Words  | 1 Pages

    Salinger decided to live alone is because of a huge depression. I think he wrote The Catcher in The Rye with Holden representing his life with a little more story behind it, for the book to become interesting. Holden would be a figure that kind of mirrors J.D. Salinger himself. The attributes of being lonely, depressed, and not being able to have normal human relationship with people in his life could all be reflecting Salinger’s life. This would be why the book got so much attention; because the book seemed so realistic and dramatic, and in the end, it was basically summarizing J.D. Salinger’s sad

    Read More

  • Holden Caulfield Depression

    1601 Words  | 4 Pages

    In J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, it can be inferred that the main character, Holden Caulfield, is Salinger himself. The whole book is Salinger’s narrative told through the lens of Holden Caulfield. Everything that Salinger felt was told through a teenage boy which made the book controversial since the author is an adult talking about adult issues and things you wouldn’t expect a teenager to talk about during this time period. For example, the theme of depression is displayed in Salinger’s novel which during his time period, was considered an “adult disease” but not only did Salinger write about depression, he wrote his life experiences through Caulfield. So to perceive the significance of Holden’s character, it is vital to know

    Read More

  • 1950's Culture Exposed in The Catcher in the Rye

    1360 Words  | 3 Pages

    J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is a remarkable book that gives readers a unique and perhaps gloomy perspective of the 1950's through Holden Caulfield, a cynical and peculiar teenager. Through The Catcher in the Rye Salinger describes important aspects of the 1950's. Salinger emphasizes several key characteristics of the 50's and criticizes them through Holden. In addition, Holden Caulfield is a very interesting character with several traits that put him at odds with society.

    Read More

  • The Catcher in the Rye: Salinger's Autobiography

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    The common adolescence struggle of self-identification is found in both J.D. Salinger and Holden Caulfield’s lives. Salinger was born in New York into a well-to-do family (Klingenberger 18). Growing up, he had a hard time in school and “found school uninspiring and struggled with grades. he attended a number of private prep schools before his father sent him to Valley Forge Military Academy just outside Philadelphia” (Klingenberger 18). His lackadaisical attitude towards life and academics heavily influenced his creation of characters with similar qualities. Salinger’s most famous character, Holden, struggles with the same challenges. Holden and Salinger both feel the need to give up because they are afraid of failure. “Do you ever get fed up… I mean, did you ever get scared that everything was going to be lousy unless you did something?” (Salinger 130). His motivation to amount to something bigger than himself is miniscule, which proves to be a problem for him as the book progresses. Salinger’s ability to take his experiences with teenage depression and relate it back to his novel The Catcher in the Rye is his own form of therapy, especially with his struggles overcoming P...

    Read More

  • Conflict in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, portrays many different ideas in an everyday society. These ideas and thoughts are expressed through the protagonist in the novel, Holden Morrissey. Holden views many things in society as fake or “phony” at an idealistic point-of-view. This contributes to many conflicts and biased thoughts throughout the novel.

    Read More

More about Free Essays - Catcher in the Rye

Open Document