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Psychological analysis of holden caulfield
Character analysis of holden caulfield catcher in the rye
Psychological analysis of holden caulfield
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It is safe to say that the way a person spends their teenage years is the way they begin to define themselves. People are always talking about how teenagers now are so different from the way teenagers were in the 1940s. Their interactions, methods of entertainment, even the way their brains are wired is different. Perhaps teenagers are not the ones changing. It is possible they can remain authentic, despite the fact that society is completely different than it was back then. The Catcher in the Rye is a book written to take place in New York, during the 1940s. The author, J.D. Salinger, writes about a troubled teen attending Pencey Prep, or rather, formerly attending Pencey Prep. He has gotten kicked out of the school and, rather than staying …show more content…
Throughout the book, it seems Holden’s favorite word is “phony.” His experiences have led him to believe that people are not as kind as he used to believe. He is quick to voice his opinion that people only act in consideration of others because they have to. When talking about society, he says “It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques'" (131). He has lost much of the innocence he once had, in fact he might do good to gain some of it back. Holden very bluntly expresses how he feels about everyone to the reader. He has come to the realization that nobody is completely who they say they are. Another way that Holden experiences the emotional truths of things, is when he discovers that when people are being kind to one another, it is usually fake, because they “have” to. Holden rants, "You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write 'F*ck you' right under your nose" (204). Readers can see how truly awful Holden views other people. He does not believe in the “everybody loves everybody” way of life that he once was taught to believe as a child. Lastly, Holden says something near the end of the book that expresses how he feels about humanity, even after his journey. He says, “Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior” (185). Holden shows us that he has finally realized himself what kind of people exist in the world. He has come to the sad truth that our world is
of them, but he doesn’t see he is already a phony. Holden finds hypocrisy in almost everything he sees but does not yet even realize. that he too is part of that corrupt world the minute he stopped being a child and wanted to be an adult. Holden fears becoming an adult in mind and heart, but wants to become one. one in his actions, he said.
Since Holden was isolated from his family, in order to not get hurt again he tries to find hypocrisy in people to stop himself from trusting others. Holden feels isolated after being sent to a boarding school that “was full of phonies” by his parents (Salinger 90). Salinger’s message to the audience with this quote is that when
Holden alienates himself by believing he is better than everybody else. Every time Holden meets or talks about someone he is judgemental. Even when he is talking about someone he spends time with, he cannot help but ridicule them, “I never even once saw him [Ackley] brush his teeth....he had a lot of pimples. Not just on his forehead or his chin, like most guys, but all over his whole face. And not only that, he had a terrible personality. He was also sort of a nasty guy. I wasn't too crazy about him, to tell you the truth.”(Salinger,14 ). Ackley is probably the closest thing to a friend Holden has. Yet he criticizes him is a very nitpicky way, convincing himself he does not like
Holden often talked about how phony people in his life were, however, he was also a phony, which made him a hypocrite. Holden would often mention things he hated that someone did, but sooner or later Holden was guilty of doing the exact same thing. In chapter one Holden is hypocritical towards his older brother, D.B. He says “Now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute.”(Salinger
...oes want them to turn into “phonies.” Holden seeks for a peaceful and uncorrupt world but he cannot obtain that due to the actions of others. Despite Holden’s attitude and outlook on life, he is quite passionate. Although he is a firm pessimist, calling every person he comes across a “phony,” there is an alternate side to him. In his interaction with Phoebe and the other children in the book, he tries to protect them from the rest of society, since children are still naïve and pure. It is justifiable why Holden craves to preserve the innocence of others. For most of us, growing up, we begin to understand more. We start to look at life in a different perspective, different from the one we did when we were young, but as a person who has seen and experienced more in life.
Salinger also depicts Holden's immaturity through the judgment of his peers and elders. Holden's disillusionment of good people alters the true personality of each person he meets. Holden even criticizes his new classmates, whom he has not even meet yet. "It's full of phonies/.../and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day"(131). Just because Holden is uncomfortable in his school, he feels the need to disapprove of everyone. Salinger exploits this immaturity to illustrate the reason for Holden's loneliness and confusion.
that he is trying to hide his true identity. He does not want people to know who he really is or that he was kicked out of his fourth school. Holden is always using fake names and tries speaking in a tone to persuade someone to think a cretin way. He does this when he talks to women. While he is talking to the psychiatrist he explains peoples reactions to his lies like they really believe him, when it is very possible that he is a horrible liar and they are looking at him with a “what are you talking a bout?” expression. Holden often lies to the point where he is lying to him self.
He also dislikes movies. “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don’t even mention them to me.”(2). Holden think that actors are phonies . He also thinks his brother D.B sold out for the financial success of Hollywood. Holden calls everyone phonies because they have a different perspectives and they don’t think like him. It is a way for Holden to separate himself from other people. Holden thinks the world is about to get him. Holden is a hypocrite because he calls people phonies but he said “I am the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It is awful.”(16). This quote show how of a terrific liar Holden really is and how he is not reliable.
Holden had a tough time fitting in at his schools because he thought of almost everyone as phonies. "`It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques' (pg. 131)." He seems to have a history of expulsion and failure at various schools because of his lack of ability to cope with others. Ordinary problems of his had turned into major conflicts with other students. "I hate fist fights. I don't mind getting hit so much - although I'm not crazy about it, naturally - but what scares me most in a fist fight is the guy's face. I can't stand looking at the other guy's face, is my trouble. It wouldn't be so bad if you could both be blindfolded or something. It's a funny kind of yellowness, when you come to think of it, but it's yellowness, all right. I'm not kidding myself. (pg. 90)" Holden got into a fight with his roommate at school because he was going out with his ex-girlfriend. He's afraid that the guy is taking her from him, even though he's not with her anymore. These are problems that are normal, but Holden has trouble dealing with them.
To Holden, everyone is either corny of phony. He uses these terms to describe what a person is if they do not act naturally and follow other people?s manners and grace. Holden dislikes phonies and thinks of them as people who try to be something they are not. He loathes people who showed off because it seems unnatural every time they do not act like themselves. Holden does not allow himself to have friendship because of his dull attitude. In the beginning of the book, the reader knows that Holden is lonely when he separates himself from the rest of the Pencey students by watching the football game from Thomsen Hill and not the grand stands. Holden is not a very sociable person partly because he finds himself better than many others. He dislikes his roommate because of his generic leather luggage. His next door roommate Ackley does not seem to want a friendship with him either. Holden finds Ackely?s zit crusted face ridiculous and doesn?t want him in his room at first. This shows the reader that Holden is a lonely person because he chooses to be lonely and does not want anything to do with people who do not fit into his perception of normal.
Holden's idealism is first brought forth when he describes his life at Pency Prep. It is full of phonies, morons and bastards. His roommate, Stradlater, " was at least a pretty friendly guy, It was partly a phony kind of friendly..." (26) and his other roommate, Ackley is "a very nosy bastard" (33). Holden can't stand to be around either one of them for a very long time. Later, he gets into a fight with Stradlater over his date with Jane. Holden is upset because he thinks that Stradlater "gave her the time" and that he doesn't care about her; 'the reason he didn't care was because he was a goddam stupid moron. All morons hate it when you call them a moron' (44). Holden not only sees his roommates as phonies and bastards, but he also sees his headmaster at Pency Prep as a "phony slob" (3). This type of person is exactly what Holden doesn't want to be. He strives to be a mature adult; caring, compassionate, and sensitive.
On the website, eNotes, user literaturenerd explains, “Holden, from The Catcher in the Rye, constantly calls others phony. He sees people who are insecure, shallow, and too conventional as "phonies". Holden also believes that actors are "phonies" given they "never act like people". Basically, Holden believes most all people are phony- aside from the nuns and Phoebe. Holden, therefore, can be considered a phony. He fails to act like a person at many times throughout the novel” (1). With this statement given, Holden is a phony because he constantly attempts to disregard that he has a mental issue, as well as never facing any problem he has created. He does this by pretending that he is not in a specific situation (failing out of school, suicidal thoughts, etc.) or altogether, pretending to be a different person. Holden enjoys doing this when he is around girls, like when he pretended to have a gun wound at the bar. He does this because he is ashamed of himself, so he thinks of other interesting characters to pretend to
Holden talks about phonies throughout the whole book. He mentions how he hates everyone who is a phony and how most people are. Holden lies about his name because he does not want to give this woman his whole life story. There is no reason to do so. He had no reason to lie, and it makes him a phony by lying. Holden is being a hypocrite by lying and calling other people phonies. He has this view on the world that does not apply to him. Holden has this view about people, but ultimately he is an example of what he preaches.
Many of the times that Holden criticizes people, it is something he does himself. (Pg 13) “. one of the reasons I left Elkton was that I was surrounded by phonies.” Holden himself is many times what he refers to as a “phony”. He knows that he lies and pretends to like people that he would rather not be with.
There is one event that unites all human beings. This event is the process of growing up and becoming an adult. The transition into adulthood from childhood can be very long and confusing. As a kid most of them can not wait to become an adult but once you experience adulthood you miss your childhood. The novel Catcher in the Rye shows how a teenager on the break of entering adulthood can get scared. Through the main protagonist Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of adapting to an adult society. Holden is faced with many problems as some teens