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The catcher in the rye summary essay
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Analysis of the catcher in the rye
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In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield has devised this idea that adulthood is a time of phoniness, while childhood is a time of purity and innocence. Holden dislikes phonies and since many of the adults in his life he has categorized as phonies, he is afraid of growing up and becoming a phony himself. Throughout this novel, Holden consistently calls people phony which is his way of expressing his fear of growing up. Holden’s portrayal of phony is a person who will try to impress others in a public situation or someone driven solely by money and power. Holden constantly criticizes people that fit under his views of a phony throughout the book and shows a strong disliking towards them. Holden expresses that he has lost respect for his brother, D.B., when he says “Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute (4).” Holden calls his brother a prostitute because he is troubled by the fact that he is using his writing talents in Hollywood for the movies, instead of for writing books. Holden believes that his brother is doing this just for the money, which groups him with all the other adult phonies in his life. Here, Holden is not accepting that an adult should do something based on the profit, but this is the reality of the adult world, where you must make …show more content…
Holden tries to hold on to the childish belief that human behavior should be driven by a happier existence alternately than materialistic notions. He is disturbed by his brothers sudden desire for success, but clearly
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.
Holden uses the word phony to identify everything in the world that he rejects or encounters with. People are too talkative, too quiet, or dissimilar. Holden, himself, believes he is this perfect person, but no one believes that he is. This is why Holden believes he is surrounded by "phoniness." For example, Ossenburger of Pencey Prep, emphasizes that "he talked to Jesus all the time, even when he was driving his car." Holden thinks this is a load of crap and asserts, "'that killed me. I just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs" (17). Holden sees why he would pray to Jesus, only to send him some more dead bodies to get more business. Not only do phonies bug Holden, but liars and crooks. Another example is Sunny and Maurice, the elevator boy. Maurice offers Holden a prostitute for the night, "Innarested in having a little tail t'night" (90)? Holden decides to take up on this offer, and later that night, as promised Sunny knocks at his door. After entering the room, Holden cannot make a decision to sleep with the prostitute, an example of Holden clinging on to his childhood. He instead pays the prostitute for her trouble getting to his room, but after leaving, she barges back in with Maurice, complaining of how little she got. Maurice roughs up Holden and gets to his money, where Holden thinks more deprecate towards phonies and liars. Realizing what a real phony and liar people bound to be growing up, he decides to avoids the real world
Page 38 is a typical example of how Holden values the qualities of purity and innocence. He attempts to throw a snowball against a car and fire hydrant, but quickly refrains from doing so, “the fact that he does not throw the snowball is “an attempt to preserve innocence (graham 2007:39). I strongly agree with this statement, as Holden’s fear of change is highlighted throughout the novel, which in turn paints a clear picture to the reader of Holden’s deepest desire, which is to preserve the innocence of childhood that gets hopelessly lost in the“phony” world of adulthood. Holden’s constant referral to adults as being “phony” is rather ironic as he says that one “wouldn’t” know If one was “being phony” this clearly means that he himself does not realize weather or not he himself is phony.
Holden’s dislike for adult phonies causes him to not want to enter adulthood. Holden fears that if he enters adulthood, he will become a phony, which he loathes. While Holden is listening to Mr. Spencer’s lecture, his mind wanders: “If a boy’s mother was sort of fat or corning-looking or something … then old Haas would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile and then he’d talk to someone else’s parents. I can’t stand that stuff. It drives me crazy” (14). Holden’s great hatred for phonies is displayed here. Later on in the book as Phoebe asks Holden why he got kicked out of school, Holden r...
The term “phony” reoccurs over the course of the novel; Salinger informs the reader, “you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever… sickened by human behavior.”(189) Initially, Holden is portrayed as an extremely judgmental individual; however, the reader cannot help but ignore the underlying truth to what Holden observes around him. Overall, Holden is disgusted by the superficial and hypocritical world that is evolving around him. Holden Caulfield encounters numerous “phony” people. Many of his acquaintances have traits that make them easily capable of being labeled as pretentious, much like Ward Stradlater and Carl Luce. Yet, there are other individuals that the common reader would not consider “phony”, for instance the actors of the play. He describes the actor as doing more showing-off than real acting, and makes them appear conceited. Additionally, when he is conversing with other viewers, he also believes they are superficial in the way they are discussing the play. By Holden’s quick perceptions of people, Salinger presents Holden as a hypocritical, disapproving villain. Alternatively, Holden describes people for what they really are and wishes that the world could be a much simpl...
The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger is a story about a young man named Holden Caulfield. In the novel, Holden first gets expelled from school, meanders around the city, and finally his parents are informed of his expulsion. For the duration of the novel the reader has a full insight into his thoughts and feelings. This leads the reader to choose whether they believe he is a misfit or if society is the problem. As evident by examples in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye the author shows Holden as the misfit because of his failure to tolerate “phonies”, his inability to understand everyone grows up, and his neglect towards his education.
Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, adults and the world they inhabit are portrayed as corrupt. They are unobservant, skeptical and belong to a world filled with impurities. Holden does not possess the mentality of an adult, nor the innocence of a child, he is stuck in a perpetual halt somewhere between the two. While Holden struggles to find his place in society, Salinger expresses his disdain towards the concept that is adulthood. Salinger keeps Holden in suspended development in order to oppose the idea that innocence ends when adulthood begins. Becoming an adult shouldn’t require forgetting who you once were and the morals you possessed, as “all things truly wicked start from innocence (Ernest Hemingway)”.We were all born unadulterated, it’s our surroundings that made us evil. In order to survive the innocence you have to first outlast the
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
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.
For example; Stradlater (Holden’s former roommate), Mr. Antolini (Holden’s former teacher), Sunny (the prostitute), and even his other brother DB Caulfield. DB represented the phoniness the Holden hates because he was a writer in Hollywood. He writes for movies, lives in a fake city filled with fake people, and Holden sees him as a sell-out, nothing compared to their young brother Allie. The only way you were not a phony is if you were a kid. Holden loved kids because of their innocence: genuine, caring, and naturally kindhearted. This is why when he talks with Phoebe about one thing that he likes a lot, he reveals that he wants to be the “Catcher in the Rye.” He pictures a lot of children playing in a big field of rye around the edge of a cliff. Holden imagines that he would catch them if they started to go over the cliff and save “thousands of little kids.” Him imagining himself stopping kids from going over the edge is his way of stopping kids from falling into “adulthood” and losing their childhood
Although Holden’s age is a large contributing factor as to why he feels the way he does, he is still a phony because his thoughts and feelings do not justify his dishonesty and hypocrisy. In The Catcher in the Rye, the author JD Salinger uses words such as “phony” and “bastard” to project Holden’s stern feelings onto the reader. By using colloquial language, readers are often intrigued by the uniqueness injected into the main character’s voice. However, the use of the word “phony” goes much deeper than that. In order to truly understand Salinger’s choice of language, it is important to nail down the most accurate definition of the words he uses. All throughout the book, Holden meets many people who he claims them to be “phony”. For example, when Holden is on his way back to New York, he meets his classmates mother on the train.
Throughout the novel, Holden uses very specific vocabulary words, and this couldn't be more apparent than his personal favorite word to use, phony. From the beginning to the end of the book, Holdens calls something (or someone phony) no less than 33 times. But why? The answer is that Holden uses this word, along with moron, stupid, or Ivy league whenever he feels alone, rejected by society, or rejected by someone
Holden constantly referring to others, throughout the book, as being phony. In The Catcher in the
The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, interacts with many people throughout J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, but probably none have as much impact on him as certain members of his immediate family. The ways Holden acts around or reacts to the various members of his family give the reader a direct view of Holden's philosophy surrounding each member.
In Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, while the narrator Holden thinks about and discusses Catholicism and having faith the word “bastard” or “phony” is always integrated into his ideas. Salinger’s repetition of the words “bastard” and “phony” in scenes discussing religion effectively characterizes Holden as someone with little faith, and a person with belief in only concrete ideas. While Holden reflects on his time at Pencey, he thought about the person that donated to the construction of his dorm Ossenburger. Holden had a vivid memory about a speech Ossenburger presented to his dorm about always praying to Jesus even while he was in the car. Holden considered Ossenburger stupid for relying on Jesus to keep him safe, “He said he talked to Jesus all the time. Even when he was driving his car. That killed me. I can just see the big phony