Transition In Catcher In The Rye

1133 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: A catcher in the rye characterization of holden

The Catcher in the Rye
The transition from a teen to an adult is one of the major steps in life. This major transition can be really scary. Some people are so scared of becoming an adult, that they try to keep their inner child alive. One person in the book The Catcher in the Rye is Holden Caulfield, Holden is the main character in the novel written by J.D. Salinger. A prominent theme in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye is the painfulness of growing up. As this theme is going on through the novel, Salinger weaves in symbols that Holden happens to use and talk about throughout the novel.
One of the many symbols that Salinger uses in the novel The Catcher in the Rye, was Holden’s “Red Hunting Hat”. This red hunting hat helps Holden feel like …show more content…

Once Holden left school, he had gotten into a cab and started a conversation with the cab driver. Holden had asked the driver, about what happens to the ducks in the Central Park Lagoon when the pond freezes over, during the winter. Whether or not someone comes and picks them up and takes them somewhere or if they fly away. The cab driver was getting so annoyed with Holden’s questions that he ignored Holden, until they got to the hotel. When Holden gets to the hotel and checks in, he then heads for his room. As he enters the elevator, the operator strikes up a conversation, which leads to a deal with a prostitute. Holden agrees and accepts the generous offer of five dollars for the prostitute, instead of the regular ten dollars. The operator was to send Sunny to Holden 's hotel room. Sunny comes to the room and Holden just wants to talk with her and do nothing else. After a bit of talking with Sunny she falls asleep and when she awakes, she asks for her ten dollars, but Holden refuses and just gives her the five bucks that he thought he owed her. Sunny leaves and two guys show up later to get the other five dollars, Holden refuses to give the rest of the money and was brutally attacked. After they beat up Holden, they took the five dollars that they came for and left.
The next morning,

Show More
Related

  • Symbols In Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye follows the journey of a young boy, Holden Caulfield, from adolescence to adulthood. There are a number of symbols that Salinger uses to help to portray the various stages that Holden goes through as he matures into adulthood. The snowball incident, his sense of fulfillment when at the museum, and his run in with a pimp, are all representations of how Holden is deeply obsessed with innocence thoughts and how reluctant he is to give them up.

    Read More

  • The Catcher in the Rye: Holden Caulfield's Coming of Age Story

    2363 Words  | 5 Pages

    It takes many experiences in order for an immature child to become a responsible, well-rounded adult. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story represents a coming of age for all young adults.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - The Metamorphosis of Holden in Sallinger's Catcher in the Rye

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    In J.D. Sallinger's Catcher in the Rye, is based on the sullen life of Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old teen-ager is trying to find his sense of direction. Holden, a growing adult, cannot accept the responsibilities of an adult. Eventually realizing that there is no way to avoid the adult life, he can only but accept this alternative lifestyle. What Holden describes the adult world as a sinful, corrupted life, he avoids it for three important reasons: His hatred towards phonies and liars, unable to accept adult responsibilities, and thirdly to enshrine his childhood youth.

    Read More

  • Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

    1148 Words  | 3 Pages

    Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.

    Read More

  • Catcher In The Rye Red Hunting Hat Quotes

    487 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Catcher In The Rye, Holden's red hunting hat symbolizes his true self by how he wears it, how it is aesthetically connected to him, and how it develops through the story with him.

    Read More

  • Holden Caulfield Quotes

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is seen by some critics a a drop out student destined for failure in life, but I see him as a symbol of an adolescent who struggles to adapt to the reality of adulthood.

    Read More

  • Free Catcher in the Rye Essays: Holden as the Typical Teenager

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Holden Caulfield And Holden Caulfield

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by JD Salinger, touches on the themes of innocence, death, and the artifice and the authenticity in the world, while following the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, through his weekend trip to New York City. As the story unfolds, Holden, as narrator, becomes more vulnerable to the reader, and starts to express his feelings surrounding the death of his brother, Allie, as well as his feelings about himself. Holden is faced with a truth that has haunted him for many years: adulthood. Many of the qualities Holden exhibits, which he sees as negative, are those of the average person: struggle, loneliness, deep sadness. He is one of many classic protagonists that encourages the reader to relate to them on

    Read More

  • Examples Of Maturity In Catcher In The Rye

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Growing up is not easy. The desire to slow down or stop the process is not unusual for adolescents. Resisting adulthood causes those who try to run away from it to eventually come to terms with the reality of life: everyone has to grow up, and fighting against it makes it much harder to accept in the end. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield often tries to resist the process of maturity in an effort to avoid the complicated life he might face as an adult, making him an unusual protagonist for a bildungsroman; this struggle, however, opens Holden’s eyes to the reality and inevitability of growing up, helping him realize that innocence does not last forever. Holden’s preference of a simplistic lifestyle is evident throughout the novel, but stands out especially when he visits the Museum of Natural History.

    Read More

  • Use Of Symbolism In The Catcher In The Rye and The Great Gatsby

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Catcher In The Rye”, J.D. Salinger uses Holden’s red hunting cap, the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History and “kings in the back row” as symbols whose meanings help tell the story. Holden’s red hunting hat stands for Holden’s disapproval of adult society and phonies. Although, Holden and his hat are out of place in New York, he loves this hat because it demonstrates his difference and independence from other kids his age. He becomes more and more attached to his hat because he feels like a catcher in the rye when he wears the hat. Holden cannot let go of his hat, like he cannot let go of his childhood.

    Read More

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

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he expresses this attitude through his dialogue, tone, and diction.

    Read More

  • What Does Holden's Hat Symbolize

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    Holden Caulfield, the teenage protagonist of Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, struggles with having to enter the adult world. Holden leaves school early and stays in New York by himself until he is ready to return home. Holden wants to be individual, yet he also wants to fit in and not grow up. The author uses symbolism to represent Holden’s internal struggle.

    Read More

  • The Catcher in the Rye: Stuck In Adolescence

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    Holden returns to school and goes to his bedroom in the dorm. In his room quietly reading, his neighbor Robert Ackley came in. Holden describes him as a pimply, insecure, annoying boy with a bad dental hygiene. When Holden’s roommate Stradlater who was “madly in love with himself” (27) arrived home after the football game, Ackley abruptly left. Stradlater tells him that he has a date with a friend of his, Jane Gallagher. Jane is someone that Holden really cares for and because he knows the way Stradlater is, Holden became worried for her. “It just drove me stark raving mad when I thought about her and Stradlater parked somewhere in that fat-assed Ed Banky’s car”. (48) Holden became depressed and lonely, so out of the blue Holden decides to pack his things and leave for New York a few days earlier. On the train to New York, Holden meets the mother of one of his schoolmates. Not wanting to tell his whole life story, he told her his name was “Rudolf Schmidt”, the name of th...

    Read More

  • Thesis On 'Catcher In The Rye' By J. D. Salinger

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is full of lessons to be learnt and symbols to be deciphered. One of the most important lessons Holden Caulfield is given, is that changes are inevitable, and the process of transition from childhood to adulthood is a painful component of life. Throughout the novel, Salinger uses various symbols to show Holden’s attempts to oppose coming-of-age.

    Read More

  • Catcher In The Rye Transition Into Adulthood Essay

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Transition In Catcher In The Rye

Open Document