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Symbolism essay on catcher in the rye
A deeper look at the catcher in the rye
Symbolism in catcher in the rye essay
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The number of ways this song can be interpreted and connected to Catcher In The Rye is almost endless. The lyrics to “Jumper” showcase suicide, depression, and mental health, all of them being major factors in Holden’s life. When I read through the lyrics to this song, a couple of questions came to mind. What does the ledge represent? Who is being pushed off of it? What is causing them to want to ‘jump’? One theory I have is a situation in which Holden is the person who is writing the song and he is reflecting back on his own life. Within the first chapter of Catcher In The Rye, we learn that Holden is telling the entire story as a flashback narrative after he has been check into a mental health clinic, or something of the sort.The lines “
“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. 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 - 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 do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.” (173) Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye because he wants to save himself and other children from falling into the phoniness of adulthood. The symbols of both the baseball mitt and being the catcher in the rye are used to portray a deeper meaning about Holden and his emotions and actions. He becomes depressed when thinking about kids becoming adults or when he thinks about his
2) I think the author chose to use this quote to show that Holden believes the "children in the rye" represents childhood and when they "go over the cliff", meaning grow up, he wants to save them. In other words, he doesn't want to grow up, he wants to stay young and innocent.
Salinger does not tell us anything about why Holden is in the psychiatric hospital, he just jumps right into Holden’s narration. The themes of “The Catcher in the Rye” are isolation, avoidance, and the fear of growing up. The plot revolves around Holden and the people he interacts with. Holden is a mess of a lot. He is like a lot of kids who find that growing up can be scary.
An image he has created in his mind as someone who overlooks children playing in a rye in order to save them shall they fall off the cliff at the end of the rye. Holden’s only dream serves as a parallel of his life, showing his inability to strive for anything real as it simultaneously reveals his fear of falling from childhood or innocence. Childhood is associated with innocence in Holden’s eyes as he sees all things beyond it as something you need to be saved from. Holden believes he needs to save these children before they fall from their
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.
All throughout our life, things come along that mean something to us. I’m not talking about people. I’m talking about symbols; objects that are used to represent something about ourselves. Symbols are everywhere in literature. In particular, symbols are in a book called The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. This book is about Holden, a sixteen-year-old prep school student who, after getting kicked out of four schools and pretty much failed at life, runs away to find himself, and what his purpose is in life. His brother, Allie, dies of leukemia, and his most prized possession is his baseball mitt. This is not an ordinary baseball mitt. This mitt means something to Holden, and it really contributes to the message of the story. Allie's mitt contributes a lot to the novel because it’s represents innocence, it represents goodness, and represents what it means to be a catcher in the rye.
Salinger uses “Catcher in the Rye” to convey the main character, Holden, to be afraid of children losing their innocence and tries to prevent it as much as possible. The symbol of “catcher in the rye” represents a man, who Holden believes is himself, standing in a field of rye that is overlooking a dangerous cliff. Children are playing in the rye unaware of how close they are to the edge, or adult hood in this case, and Holden is there to catch them before they fall off the cliff into adulthood and lose their innocence. “‘I have a feeling that you’re riding for some
Holden plays the role of the catcher in the rye by physically catching the children before they fall off the cliff proving that we all end up falling. Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to be, Holden responds, “if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them…I’d just be the catcher in rye and all” (Salinger 173). The cliff is symbolic of loss of innocence. Holden’s role of the catcher in the rye allows him to physically catch children before they fall off the cliff, therefore saving their innocence before they fall into adulthood. When the children fall off the cliff, it is much like the fall into adulthood, we fall in not looking where we are going and not knowing what to expect. Not only has Holden become obsessed with trying to preserve the innocence of children, but he also ends up having a nervous breakdown. Holden says to Phoebe, “I know it’s crazy…I know it’s crazy” (Salinger 173). Salinger’s use of repetition emphasizes the word crazy, therefore; foreshadowing that Holden will have a nervous breakdown and go crazy. Not only has Salinger’s use of repetition foreshadowed that Holden will go crazy, but so has Mr. Antolini....
J. D. Salinger was successful in keeping my interest in “The Catcher in the Rye” by the way he would repeat how “lonesome” and “rotten” and “depressed” Holden felt as well when he would repeat “I almost wished I was dead.” This kept my interest because it shows how unhappy and uncomfortable Holden was with everyday life. I found it quite interesting. Another way Salinger kept my interest was by showing just how easy it was to escape from the real world or just run away from situations. Throughout Chapters 7, 8, and beyond, Salinger shows how Holden easily goes from place to place without having anybody tell him differently; I liked the thought of “traveling incognito.” Although Salinger was able to keep my interest, in some ways he wasn’t quite
There are always pieces of literature that we will not forget in our life times. We are told that we should not have to rely on the arts to tell us what to do. If there is one memorable reading from academic career, it would be “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger.The role of the unreliable narrator who would lead and guide readers throughout the story was a major theme and you were not always sure what their truth was and what really happened. A lot of times these same ideas can be applied in a world such as ours, where there is not even proof of the future, only the past exists. Even if it is tainted with misunderstandings and delusions, if the people themselves believe in it, the past is the truth to them. Then there is this idea of what is good and bad and it is not that simple because no one can live in the world honestly. In all aspects we make our own truth.
In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the most important part of Holden’s coming-of-age passage is when he meets Phoebe in front of the museum before he will run away. Holden discovers his purpose when Phoebe cries about him running away and thus he matures from aimless teenager to supportive reassuring big brother. Sometimes wandering is a necessary step to finding purpose. For example, the status quo of going to college is not a fit-all solution; and as a result some graduates take a gap year before college to travel, explore new hobbies, work, and find their true passions. It was necessary for Holden to leave Pencey Prep early because it leads to him to discovering that he needs to be with Phoebe instead of out West alone.
... The cliff represents losing innocence and maturing and its Holden’s purpose to catch or save the children before they fall off the cliff or lose their innocence. Since children are in a rye field and can’t always see where they are going it is Holden’s job to protect them from falling or growing up. Holden ends up realizing that it is just a dream and can’t come true. Holden is forced to come to the realization that innocence must be discarded.
The growth of a child from childhood into adulthood has many unforeseen and unknown consequences that can often cause developmental issues caused by a traumatic childhood experience. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye experiences many of these hardships through firsthand experience due to his traumatic childhood, primarily, the death of his brother Allie. J.D Salinger seemed to understand the loneliness that can be brought about by childhood; that loneliness can often lead to negative impacts throughout the entire life of the child including isolation and depression. Other writers such as Laurence Steinberg have written explanations to the problems that can arise from adolescence. J.D Salinger uses characterization and narrative perspective
This story, The Catcher in The Rye is about a main character named Holden who goes through some very tough times as a child. The first big idea/ theme the book is about is Holden not wanting to grow up and have to deal with reality. He wants to stay a kid. He does not take change well at all, and is very stubborn. He still wants to be that little child who is innocent and has no worries in the world. An example of this is when Holden calls himself, “ the catcher in the rye,” and then explains a bunch of children that he is trying to save and not let them run off of a cliff. This is significant because all throughout the story he is trying to find himself
Albert Einstein once said “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” The majority of the people in this room can probably relate to that. Everyone has someone who doubts them, however your ability of doing things is a matter of believing in yourself and although we are tested on our academic abilities throughout school, we are also tested socially. School is more than an academic environment but it is a place where we find ourselves and find those who will stay with you through thick and thin.