Caulfield Called Away From the Field
"I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be," Holden explains to Phoebe (173). The only job Holden can see himself doing is saving children from falling off a cliff or growing up because Holden idealizes the innocence and no shame children possess; and he, himself, wants to return to that state of mind. Holden's wanting to preserve the purity of children, shows his "coming of age" because he soon realizes his roles and responsibility and how the inevitable is adulthood.
As Holden watched a little boy and "his parents [who] paid no attention to him," walk down the street, he saw that the little boy, despite not being noticed, "just kept walking next to the curb [and] singing" (115). Holden was "feel[ing] better" by this sight because he saw that this little child was in his own world (115). No matter what was going on, cars driving by him, parents not concerned about him, the little boy could escape to this imaginary world and not care about anything else. And when Holden saw this mindset-illusionary world-of a child, he longed for it because he wants to escape and leave the hustle and bustle of the city, and his depression. He enjoys the thought of working in a far off ranch, and his summers in Maine with Jane because those are the exact places that create that illusionary world.
Holden also is preoccupied with children because he himself has not matured, and is in the insecure stage of finding oneself. Holden can relate to children because they have a positive outlook on life, because they don't know what to expect. They haven't been molded or influenced by any evils of the real world. They aren't guarded or fake. And with Holden calling every adult or peer a "phony" the audience sees both Holden's hate for the world he has to grow into and his love for the world and bond with children-with purity.
Thus, Holden feels obligated to be the keeper of this purity: "I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all" (173). Holden can't see himself holding any real profession, but he has found a "self"-defined duty to keep children running in the fields and not growing up. Holden wants children to live out their life of innocence and be natural, so they don't see the real world that he, himself, has been trying to avoid.
phonies and all he hates. By being in the stage where he is, he manages to avoid change, control his world with his own hands, yet. creates a paradox between what he is, and what he wants to be. Possibly the main reason why Holden doesn’t want to become an adult. is his perception of ”phoniness” and hypocrisy surrounding adult.
A dream Holden has shows that he want to be a guardian for children: “Anyway I kept picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye... And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (173). This dream displays his desire to be a hero for all children because they are guilt-free and do not deserve any harm. He wants to save the children.
Holden’s childhood was far from ideal, with Allie dying, his dysfunctional parents and the revelation that he had some “perverty” stuff happen to him when he was a kid. Due to this, he isn't ready to step into adulthood and leave his childhood behind. This is why Holden is mostly alienated from adults and connects more to the innocence of children like the girl at the park and his sister, Phoebe. However, Holden is disillusioned with both adulthood and childhood. He already knows how it feels to be an adult; drinking alcohol, being independent, living by himself and caring for Phoebe, but isn’t ready to immerse himself in it.
Holden says "What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all." (page TBD) This quote goes well with Holden resisting to grow up. Holden says this when he's standing over the ledge and looking down on the children. Holden believes that it is important to maintain a child's innocence and we see this throughout the book. Constantly Holden is helping children and making sure they are doing well and are okay. We see this a lot when Holden talks about his sister Phoebe. Holden does not want to grow up and he proves that when he says that adults are phony and then Holden will look at a child and he will think that he wants to save that child from growing up because he doesn't want that kid to become a phony like the rest of the adults. In the song When We Were Young by Adele she says You look like a movie/You sound like a song/My God, this reminds me/Of when we were young/Let me photograph you in this
Thesis statement: The relationship Holden and Blanche have between family and people in society leads them to an inner turmoil, which eventually results in their psychological breakdowns.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an enthralling and captivating novel about a boy and his struggle with life. The teenage boy ,Holden, is in turmoil with school, loneliness, and finding his place in the world. The author J.D. Salinger examines the many sides of behavior and moral dilemma of many characters throughout the novel. The author develops three distinct character types for Holden the confused and struggling teenage boy, Ackley, a peculiar boy without many friends, and Phoebe, a funny and kindhearted young girl.
James Bryan notes that Holden is “is poised between two worlds, one he cannot return to and one he fears to enter”. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden embodies the limbo between childhood and adulthood by trying to maintain both “worlds”. For example throughout the novel Holden behaves like an adult but still behaves like a child and tries to preserve his innocence and the innocence of children. He also embodies both worlds by often contradicting himself, which shows the limbo of both worlds.
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s outlook in life is either the innocence of childhood or the cruelty of adulthood. He believes that the innocence of childhood is very valuable and it should be protected from the cruelty and phoniness of the adult world. Therefore Holden has a desire and is compelled to protect a child’s innocence at all costs. This is revealed when Holden tells Phoebe that he wants to be the catcher in the rye. Holden says to Phoebe, “What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they’re ru...
To begin with, Holden’s love for the innocence and purity of childhood makes him very hesitant to transition into an adult life. Generally, he finds children to be straightforward, easygoing, and simply pure in every way. This is because they always say what they mean, and never try to set a false façade for...
Holden fears adulthood because it brings responsibilities and trouble. He believes all adults possess an aurora of "phoniness." His disgust of everyone around him reveals his fear of growing up. Holden exhibits insecurity, so to make himself feel better, he exercises the power to condemn people for the way they behave. Holden believes hypocrisy is evident in every adult he sees...
Throughout the book Holden admits he doesn't like change. Holden fear of growing up , becoming an adult and thinking of of it disgust him. For example the museum, Holden like it because the exterior of it did not change and says the only thing that would change would be you.In the text Luce says “Same old Caulfield.When are you going to grow up already?”(144). Holden wants things to stay how they are and how his life is. Holden considers adults phonies and he doesn’t want to be consider phony as well. When he describes the museum he says the best part about it is that it never changes, only you do.Holden bonds with his sister taking her to the zoo, museum and the carousel.He wants to Phoebe to experience what he did and to get the memories alive. “What I have to do, I would have to catch everyone if they start to go over the cliff- what I have to do, I mean if they are running and they don't look where they are going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That is all I have to do. I would just be the catcher in the rye”(173). This quote show how by holden is catching them from falling down the cliff which symbolizes stopping them from adulthood. “Thousand of little kids and nobody’s around- nobody big , I mean except me”(173). This quotes implies how young innocent kids won't be exerted by adults
The book, Catcher in the Rye, has been steeped in controversy since it was banned in America after its first publication. John Lennon’s assassin Mark Chapman, asked the former Beatle to sign a copy of the book earlier in the morning of the day he murdered Lennon. Police found the book in his possession upon apprehending the psychologically disturbed Chapman. However, the book itself contains nothing that might have lead Chapman to act as he did. It could have been just any book that he was reading the day he decided to kill John Lennon and as a result, it was the Catcher in the Rye, a book describing a nervous breakdown, that caused the media to speculate widely about the possible connection. This gave the book even more recognition. The character Holden Caulfield ponders the thoughts of death, accuses ordinary people of being phonies, and expresses his love for his sister through out the novel. So what is the book Catcher in the Rye really about?
We see during the novel that Holden wants to be able to protect innocence in the world, however by the end of the story he lets go of that desire. This is a point of growth for Holden. He finds that it is impossible and unnecessary to keep all the innocence in the world. While with Phoebe Holden says, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye...I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (173). In this moment Holden wants to be able to preserve all the youth and innocence in the world. He doesn’t accept that kids have to grow and change and that they can’t stay innocent forever. Later on in the story when Holden is with Phoebe at a carousel again he thinks, “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” At the end of the novel Holden realizes and comes to terms with the fact that kids grow and lose their innocence. He moves from his want to be the “catcher in the rye” to...
He even condemns people he doesn’t know as phonies, such as the man that his
Which is the kind of world he wants to live in. Holden expresses his desire to preserve the innocence of others when his sister Phoebe tells Holden that he doesn't like anything, and that he has no ambitions of what he wants to be when he is older. Holden then explains that he wants to be the catcher in the rye. He says that he imagines little children playing on top of a hill and that his job is to protect children from falling of the hill. This symbolizes catching children from losing their innocence and falling into the adult world. Holden tells Phoebe, “I know it crazy, but that is the only thing I’d like to be” (172). This unrealistic desire is contributes to why Holden is struggling to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Critics of the novel have said Holden would like to suspend time stating, “Holden's desire to protect children shows his desire for suspending time, for inhabiting a space of young people conserved endlessly” (Yahya 3). Not letting go of childhood memories or accepting the harsh realities of adulthood are damaging when transitioning from