Catcher in the Rye Essay: Holden and His Phony Family

Over the period of the book, Amir seeks redemption and interest of his father. As Amir’s father speaks with his business partner, and friend Rahim Khan he states how different Amir is from his father, “ He’s always buried in those books or shuffling around the house like he’s lost in some drea... ... middle of paper ... ...ons. Assef also bullies Amir, and Hassan. Both Amir and Ralph feel regret, and remorse at the death of Piggy, and the rape of Hassan. Both Hosseini, and Golding have characters that go through changes similar to one another, that change the way they are as a person, and the actions they take.

Holden only speaks of his father with criticism and judgement toward his profession as a lawyer. Since he is not accepting of this father’s conformity with society, Holden is left without a father figure he can truly call ideal. Baumbach states that Holden seeks out Mr. Antolini as a substitute father. He sees Mr. Antolin as his last resort after all the other adults in his life, including his father, failed him. He hopes a substitute father will be able to pick him up before he is fallen (463).

In other words, Holden wants to be an adult yet can’t face life or reality. Maybe the reason why he thinks everyone is a phony is because he is an even bigger phony he just feels better about him knowing that everyone’s a phony as well. Or maybe Holden doesn't realize himself as a phony cause he thinks something set him apart from all the other phonies that surrounds him. Holden perceives himself as a good guy wit... ... middle of paper ... ... fact he speak to a number of adults to answer his peculiar question and “touchy" topics. Most likely Holden’s parents are conservative folks that disapprove with Holden’s behavior.

Krakauer uses a letter McCandless wrote to show how he felt about his parents offer to buy him a new car and pay for law school. The letters tone showed how much McCandless despised his parents and rebelled against them. McCandless acts surprised in the letter that his parents would dare make such an offer to him. He states “I’m going to have to be real careful not to accept any gifts from them in the future because they will think they have bought my respect” (Krakauer 21). The remark he made shows that he believed his parents could buy his respect.

He didn’t know any other way of parenting besides the cold, divisive parenting he received from his father. Because of this, a rift formed between Henry and his only son Marty, much like the one that existed between Henry and his father. Now, with the recent passing of Henry’s wife Ethel, the void between them has re-emerged and it is larger and more pronounced than ever. This is due to the fact that Ethel was the glue that filled in the cracks and crevices between Henry and Marty, but with her gone Henry and Marty fight and argue more than ever. “Henry could see the confusion in his son’s eyes, more like shock really.

He was a tyrant of sorts, with a wicked temper and little appreciation for his son's creative side. Much of Kafka's personal struggles, in romance and other relationships he believed, came in part from his complicated relationship with his father. In his literature, Kafka's characters were often coming up against an overbearing power of some kind, one that could easily break the will of men and destroy their sense of self-worth. Kafka seems to have derived much of his value directly from his family, in particular his father. For much of his adult life, he lived within close proximity to his parents.

In “Notes of a Native Son,” Baldwin uses this weaving of narration and analysis to show his inability to see how his father’s personality had impacted and molded his own personality. In “Notes of a Native Son,” Baldwin’s mastery of weaving narrative and analysis is blatantly obvious. The premise behind the essay is the relationship between Baldwin and his father. The essay takes the reader through trials and tribulations in Baldwin’s life, including the spats between him and his father. Their relationship was, safe to say, slightly aloof.

In the novel Salinger uses several characters like Holden, the title of the book, and his own experiences to show themes in society that occur in our everyday lives. Minimal characters in many books go unnoticed unless scrutinized, and then their potential of having a major theme is reconsidered. The way Salinger glances over key actions in the book may be mimicking the way humanity is oblivious to good and bad. The former peer of Holden, Ackley represents the hypocrisy of people. Holden constantly bombards Ackley with insults and criticizes him, yet he does the same actions, “He stuck around till around dinnertime, talking about all the guys at Pencey that he hated their guts…” (Salinger 35).

And the way a family interacts with a specific person can affect that person for the rest of their life. It is a two way relationship which is often complicated and confusing, especially to Holden. Holden’s family is obviously very important to him. The novel opens with talking about his parents and his brother. Holden negatively criticizes them to hide the fact that he truly loves them.

J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, stresses the importance of a father figure that can diminish fears of growing up and aid in the journey into adulthood. Protagonist Holden Caulfield fears entering into adulthood due to its phoniness and impurities, so he examines potential father figures he thinks can help to ease his anxieties and to assist him in his passage into the adult world. Carl Luce has the knowledge on matters of sexuality that Holden needs, but he refuses to aid him, so he rejects him as a father figure. Furthermore, Holden pursues Mr. Antolini for shelter and his wise advice; however, Mr. Antolini’s alcohol abuse causes him to act inappropriately with Holden and scares him out of his home.