Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Holden Caulfield Catcher in the Rye character analysis
Analyzing holden caulfield
Holden Caulfield Catcher in the Rye character analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Thesis: Holden Caufield is a hostile, negatively charged character that suffers from depression which stems from a desire not to grow up and a lack of closure in his brothers death."If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like . . . "(pg. 1) These first words that Holden Caufield communicates during his tell of events that brought him to his breakdown, show the pent up hostility that still lingers. This pattern of speech, the constant expression of negativity, is a character trait of Holden that shows his inner anguish.
Holden also feels a continual need for affirmation of what he just said with phrases such as, "He really would."(pg. 25) or "It really isn't." (Pg. 89) This continual need for approval shows a lowered level of self-assurance. This lowered self-assurance probably stems from his self-awareness that he is an unreliable source. The reason he is unreliable is due to his deceitful narrative of occurrences.
This is seen repeatedly as Holden builds an individual up as good or righteous such as Stradlater, (pg. 25) then tears him down later. (pg 43) This inability to give truthful accounts of individuals could stem from his constant digression from the point at hand. Holden freely admits to this trait on page 183 when he says "The trouble with me is, I like it when somebody digresses. It's more interesting and all.""Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone."(pg.
122) This phrase Holden made while discussing how things were different each time he went to the museum, stems from an inability to accept that he must grow up. The thought of growing up has driven Holden into bouts of depression as inhis discussion on page 133, " It'd be entirely different. I said. I was getting depressed as hell again." This nonconformist desire has led Holden to have illusions of grandeur as a fictional savior, "The Catcher in the Rye."(pg. 173) The catcher in the rye is undoubtedly a metaphor, for keeping children from falling into the same norm as adults.
The inability of Holden to accept growing up and the depression caused by it has made Holden suicidal, "what I really felt like, though, was committing suicide.
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 also has a negative perspective of life that makes things seem worse than they really are. In addition to Holden’s problems he is unable to accept the death of his brother at a young age. Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality hold him back from moving into adulthood. Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child.
He disregards most people because he thinks they are ‘phonies’ - materialistic, shallow and insincere people. To Holden, almost anyone who falls under that category is a phony and isn’t someone he wants to spend time with. However, because of Holden’s trauma, the reader can’t quite trust him. He sees the world through so many layers of protection, he is an unreliable narrator.
In the novel Holden is what you would call an unreliable narrator. The definition of unreliable is - a person or thing that cannot be counted on or trusted. You cannot trust Holden if you know that he lies all the time. Since the reader knows that he is a habitual liar you may never know the difference from when he is telling the truth or when he is telling another one of his stories. Holden goes in and out of mental lapses throughout the novel that affected his mind and psychological state greatly.
Holden Caulfield is a typical depressive teenager that exhibits negative views about growing up. Depression is made up of many categories of symptoms, such as emotional, physical, behavioral, and how one perceives life. These symptoms, take over Holden, due to his lack of knowledge on how to control his feelings.
In Psychology Today, Dr. Alex Lickerman asserts that there numerous reasons and implications that cause us to lie in his article, “Why We Lie.” Dr. Lickerman infers that the most common motive to lie is to protect ourselves. He claims that we lie often in order to “avoid suffering painful consequences, shame, embarrassment, or conflict.” Holden admits to being a compulsive liar early on in the book. Salinger includes several instances of Holden lying, including when he speaks with Mrs. Morrow on the train while speaking about her son (54), and also while Holden converses with the nuns at the station, claiming that he had plenty of money to donate (110). However, what stands out is when he attempts to lie to Phoebe about being kicked out of Pencey. Phoebe knew him too well and was able to force the truth out of her brother. While Holden lied to Mrs. Morrow and the nuns in order for them to not get involved in his personal issues, as well as boost their self-esteem, he lied to Phoebe so she would not be disappointed. Phoebe’s opinion is one of the few that Holden cares about. Hall also points out that individuals even lie to themselves about fears and desires (106). As mentioned earlier, Holden has been lying to himself by trying to avoid adulthood as he is starting to believe he does not need to grow up. Holden fears that my growing up, he will be leaving Allie behind, even
Holden seems to always be finding himself upset with something, someone, or someplace, and this does not change even at the very end of the book. While Holden Caulfield would have most-likely been looked at differently in the 1950s like in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, his behavior can be explained by the death of his brother Allie. He is not suffering from any mental illnesses, such as depression or bipolar disorder, but is instead just grieving losing his brother in an extreme way. Everybody grieves differently, and for Holden it includes not wanting to let go of his childhood, making radicalized decisions, and blaming his problems on the world around him. In the 1950s, Holden would
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.
Revisiting the issues brought up by Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird, it seems clear that majority of Americans do not live in a racist society as the one portrayed in Maycomb. After centuries of facing prolonged struggles of activism and change, open hatred and prejudice against Blacks has become unacceptable and often taboo in today’s society. Even though there may still be underlying tendencies of prejudice that could affect jurors decisions in present-day trials, the heavy cascade of anti-Black sentiment and overtly racial norms that had previously prevailed in America has greatly diminished. Black defendants by far have an improved opportunity of receiving a more fair and impartial verdict in the modern legal system than they did in the 1930’s.
Sexual abuse is a growing concern in society today. So many people are hurt by the actions of other people when they abuse them, especially in a sexual manner. The Catholic Church is also now being targeted for sexual offenders. Priests have been charged with sexually abusing young boys that are involved with the church. The church has been looking the other way on this issue for many years. The children as well as their family are being hurt and its time something was done to prevent the further exploitation of young boys in the Catholic Church.
Body modification by definition is deliberating altering the human body. Most people at one point has altered his or her body at one point whether is to dye his or her hair or to get piercings or getting a tattoo. Since there are many different types of body modifications, most people do not think about extreme body modifications such as piercing in the genitals, splitting the genitals, horn implants, body suspensions, and many more. Body modifications can be deviant and they do lead people to perceive those individuals as criminals, and body modifications can effect on a person’s life.
There are several issues at play as this scandal continues. In this paper I hope to look at the actual scandals involving retired priest Paul Shanley and defrocked priest John Geoghan. These two men served as priests in the Boston community for over 20 years under the leadership of three different Cardinals. Throughout their years of service they had sexual relationships with males ranging from the age of 4 to 26. Only within the past year were legal steps taken against them. John Geoghan was tried and convicted and Paul Shanley’s case is still under investigation.
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.
Growing up, little girls idolized the Barbie dolls they play with. They are taught from a young age that she is who they should aspire to look and be like, so why wouldn’t girl try to be like her? For 16 year old Lolita Richi, being Barbie, or as similar to a doll as she can be is her ultimate goal. She has become known as “the youngest ‘Human Barbie’ yet to emerge” and believes that she has the “most doll-like beauty yet” (Winter). Richi has dedicated her life in Ukraine to trying to perfect this look through the use of body modifications. Body modification, which is also known as body altering, is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or physical appearance. This can be done through makeup, piercing, tattoos, surgeries and in many other ways. Richi sticks to the non-permeant forms of body modification.
There are many different ways that one could modify their bodies. An example of a more simple and common body modification would be the piercing of one’s ears. Ear piercing is so common nowadays that some even think of it as tradition to get their daughter’s ears pierced at a young age. It has become a common staple of femininity and beauty around the world. An example of a more drastic and uncommon body modif...