The Perception of the World in The Catcher in the Rye
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden views the world as an evil and corrupt place where there is no peace. This perception of the world does not change throughout the novel. However as the novel progresses, Holden gradually comes to the realization that he is powerless to change all of this.
During the short period of Holden's life revealed in this book, Holden does succeed in making us perceive that the world is crazy. Shortly after, Holden leaves Pencey Prep and checks in to the Edmont Hotel. A sleazy hotel of sort, Holden spends several nights there. Holden describes the Edmont Hotel as a place filled with "morons and perverts." His current situation tends to deteriorate from this point on. As more as he looks around this world, the more depressing life seems to him.
Around every corner Holden sees evil. He looks out on a world that appears completely immoral and unethical. The couple of days that the reader spends with Holden they can see that he is placed in the in the vicinity of Manhattan. The city is decked with decorations and holiday splendor of the upcoming season, however, much to Holden's despair seldom yields any occasions of peace, charity or even genuine cheerfulness. Holden is surrounded by what he views as drunks, perverts, morons and screwballs. These convictions which Holden holds fluctuate very momentarily during only one particular and very memorable scene in the book. The scene is with Mr. Antolini. After Mr. Antolini patted Holden on the head while he was sleeping, Holden jumped up and ran out thinking that Mr. Antolini was a pervert as well. This is the only time during the novel where Holden thinks twice about considering someone as a pervert. After reviewing Mr. Antolini, Holden finally realizes that maybe he wasn't making an unwelcomed pass at him. Maybe he just liked patting guys heads as they slept. This is
really the only time in the novel where Holden actually considers a positive side. This event does not create a significant change. As Holden himself says, "It's not too bad when the sun's out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out." The sun is a reference to righteousness through the common association of light and goodness. Although this insight seems positive, Holden's perception of the world still remains the same.
Around every corner Holden sees evil. He looks out on a world which appears completely immoral and unscrupulous. The three days that the novel covers place a distressed Holden in the vicinity of Manhattan. The city is decked with decorations and holiday splendor, yet, much to Holden's despair "seldom yields any occasions of peace, charity or even genuine merriment."3. Holden is surrounded by what he views as drunks, perverts, morons and screwballs. These convictions that Holden hold waver very momentarily during one particular scene in the book. The scene is with Mr. Antolini. After Mr. Antolini patted Holden on the head while he was sleeping, Holden jumped up and ran out thinking that Mr. Antolini was a pervert as well. This is the only time during the novel where Holden thinks twice about considering someone a pervert. After reviewing Mr. Antolini, Holden finally concludes that maybe he was not making a "flitty" pass at him. He wonders if he just like patting guys heads as they sleep. This is the only time in the novel where Holden actually considers a positive side to something. However, this event does not constitute a significant change. As Holden himself says, "It's not too bad when the sun's out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out."4. The sun, of course, is a reference to decency through the common association of light and goodness. His perception of the world remains the same.
Since Holden relies on his isolation to sustain his detachment from the world and to keep intact a level of self-protection, he frequently sabotages his own efforts to end his seclusion. When Mr. Spencer explains that “life is a game that one plays according to rules” Holden reveals that he feels imprisoned on the “other side of life” where there are no “hot-shots”. Here, Mr. Spencer is lecturing Holden on his failed attempts at schooling and illuminating key aspects of Holden’s character. After hearing this advice from Mr. Spencer, Holden immediately goes on the defensive and internalizes his thoughts of not belonging in this world. This event shows Holden’s failed attempts at trying to find his way in this “phony” world that he feels is against him and leaves him feeling alone and victimized.
Throughout the novel, J.D, Salinger develops Holden’s character with numerous situations. Holden makes the reader question his rectitude through his perspective of those around him, his sexual desires, his general attitude, and his chronic lying. Because Salinger permits the audience to know how situations proceed from Holden’s perspective, the audience has an alternative side of Holden available to evaluate. Without the varying traits Holden presents, The Catcher in the Rye would not thoroughly depict Holden as a suffering individual. Thus, Holden’s character is morally ambiguous and crucial to the overall development of the novel.
This explains his obsession with innocence and childhood which are destroyed by the waves of change. He expresses this with his description of his favorite part about the museum. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. . . . Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you” (Salinger 121). Here Holden uses the word “you” to make it seem as if he does not change, everyone else does. Holden idealizes this stagnant scene in which everything remains constant. He enjoys this simplified view of the world because life transform into a stable concept instead of the hurricane of disaster he has witnessed with both people’s corruptness and losing his brother. His inability to change perhaps is also linked with his depression from his younger brother’s demise- the inescapable whisper that whistles through his mind. Holden views all of
Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist in the book “Catcher in the Rye”, is usually described as an uncouth, impolite, inappropriate character, who has little to no respect for anyone but himself. However, after I completed the book, I realized that while Holden did a poor job of establishing his positive characteristics to the readers, his behavior often proved he was a respectable, honest human being that was often misjudged. My opinion is that Holden possessed contrasting characteristics that were both undesirable and admirable qualities. I believe that because the book was written in the first person point of view, Holden is often judged based on his thoughts and not on his actions. Throughout the entire book the reader was given a perspective
In a conversation Holden has with his sister Phoebe, she asks him what he would want to be. In response, Holden says, “... I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. ... I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t know where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them ... I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (Salinger 224-225). Holden reveals his desire to be the protector of innocence and the reader sees that he would rather live in his own fantasy of innocence, than face the reality of the world around him. In his dream world, Holden wishes to be someone who protects children’s innocence. Similar to a child, Holden oversimplifies real life and has his own fantasy of what he wants to do. Lott and Latham stated in regards to Holden and his journey while finding his identity and say, “... the heroes also experience disillusionment with themselves and with the world around them as they move from innocent idealism of the very young to a more realistic acceptance of personal limits and social imperfections” (24). During the novel, it is obvious that Holden is stuck between the worlds of adolescence and adulthood. Holden 's obsession with innocence causes difficulty in accepting the responsibilities of adulthood. Everything is considered “phony” by Holden, except for what is still innocent. Holden is completely fixated on all forms of innocence and wishes to stay in
The lack of nurture that Holden receives from his environment and the conflict he engages in with it are yet another factor that brings Holden down. Person versus Environment contributes greatly to his descent. Holden is shipped between schools, being kicked out of one only to be expelled from the next. To Holden, the environment that he is surrounded by at Pencey represents the phony, cruel world of those who run it. He is unable to connect with anyone in this school, The disgust and disinterest he has with the institution is shown in the quote, “Pencey was full of crooks.” (pg. 6). As well, he is seen incessantly attempting to defy social norms. Holden battles his environment, flunking out of school and showcasing the opposition he has towards
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
Holden doesn’t like the complexity of life and relationships. This is why he distances himself from his family and friends. After Holden is expelled from his school, he tries to stay away from his parents for fear of their reaction, even though learning of his expulsion is inevitable. He visits his sister Phoebe in their home multiple times throughout the novel because due to her young age, his sister and his relationship is simple. "For instance, within Holden, the desire to reject others conflicts with the desire to be accepted by others: he doesn't want to lend Stradlater his coat, but his overt actions belie this covert, warring want: he despises Ackley, but he invites him to see a movie; he hates movies, believing them to foster phoniness in society” (Mitchell). Holden struggles to “catch” others because he believes he is not accepted by others.
In the Story Catcher in the Rye Holden has a “ideal” view of the world that contradicts his perception in reality. Holdens “ideal” view of the world is that everyone contains childhood innocence and no one should try to break that innocence so people can just be who they want to be and not get made fun of or attacked. In Holden's mind he thinks that everyone thinks like he does and his view of reality is that all the phonies try to break childhood innocence so his reality trys to break his ideal world he has in his head. This unique way of thinking causes Holden to run into internal and external conflicts because not everyone thinks like he does.
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.
I disliked “Catcher in the Rye”. There seems to be no actual, concrete plot to this novel. The novel is essentially a really long flashback of the three days Holden spent in New York. Nothing memorable happens in the novel; I think that the novel is basically an endless repetition of Holden complaining and whining about everyone else. I personally could not bring myself to sympathize with Holden, much less empathize with him. I feel like the novel is just a long rant by an immature teenage boy who thinks he knows everything about humanity and their ‘phoniness’. At first, I found the novel’s style of writing quite unique and even enjoyable, as Holden seems to be talking honestly and openly to me. However, as I read the book, I found his sarcastic, cynical voice to become quite annoying. Holden is a complex central character. He is judgmental, criticizing everybody, often labelling people as “phony”. He is pessimistic, and sees nothing in a positive light. Holden does not care much about anything, and he seems to hate everyone except for himself and his sister, Phoebe. This is seen when he says “One of my troubles is, I never care too much when I lose something... Some guys spend days looking for something they lost. I never seem to have anything that if I lost it I'd care too much.” and “I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn't have to have any goddam stupid use...
Holden is driven crazy by phoniness, an idea under which he lumps insincerity, snobbery, injustice, callousness, and a lot more. He is a prodigious worrier, and someone who is moved to pity quite often. Behrman wrote: "Grown men sometimes find the emblazoned obscenities of life too much for them, and leave this world indecorously, so the fact that a 16-year old boy is overwhelmed should not be surprising" (71). Holden is also labeled as curious and compassionate, a true moral idealist whose attitude comes from an intense hatred of hypocrisy. The novel opens in a doctor's office, where Holden is recuperating from physical illness and a mental breakdown.
Throughout the novel Holden seems to be excluded from any group. He feels alienated from the rest of society, but I believe that Holden stays bitter on purpose. He keeps a cynical, sarcastic outlook on life so as to escape his true feelings. This is not uncommon for people who have trouble accepting their problems. 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. (Pg 125) “… I told her I loved her and all. It was a lie of course…” His bitterness is a shield against his reality, a reality he doesn’t like at all. Yet at the same time Holden really wants to communicate with people. (Pg 66) “ I damn near gave my kid sister Phoebe a buzz…” He is torn between the two ways to act and cannot reach conclusio...
One morning when he was walking up Fifth Avenue he starts to feel as he will not make it to the other side of the street. “I thought I’d just go down, down, down…….”. He then starts talking to Allie and ask him to protect him from going down and disappear. He thanks Allie when he reaches the other side of the street safely. By this time it is quite clear that Holden does not think clearly anymore and is emotionally in a very deep and dark place. He decides to just say goodbye to Phoebe and hitchhike to a sunny and pretty place where nobody knows him. He will also pretend that he cannot hear or speak and he will marry a deaf-mute woman as well. “If we had any children, we’d hide them somewhere”, thus protect them and their innocence from the evil world and the cruelty of adulthood. The Asian Social Science Journal did an analysis on the adolescent problems in The Catcher in the Rye and their conclusion is as follows: “Holden 's enemy is the adult world and the cruelty and artificiality. I see this to be Holden physically at war with the adult world. He is the protector and even the leader of the army of the youth, fighting to preserve their