Many readers are able to relate to J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye making it a classic. The characters display a variety of personalities making it very easy for readers to understand and follow the different dilemmas throughout the novel. However the greatest dilemma is Holden’s downfall, not only his alienation from society but himself. He believed throughout the whole novel that he had a grasp on his life all while it continued to slip away. Holden’s estrangement following Allie’s death caused him to become dormant, abrasive to others and cynical. At some point in life every person will become dormant to other peoples words and actions, however in Holden’s case it became his lifestyle. As the story progresses Holden seems to let others …show more content…
He hated the world for taking away his role model and he felt desolate even though he was surrounded by people who cared about his well-being. The immense buildup of emotions only precipitated him to become abrasive to others instead of passive. “I took the bag off of her. I was almost all set to hit her. I thought I was going to smack her for a second. I really did” (Salinger). Holden loved his sister, however the powerful urge he has to hit her is uncharacteristic for him. Before he wasn’t one to lash out on others, except when things went out of his control. When he was no longer in control he lashed out, for example, after Allie died, Holden broke the garage window in resentment. These abrasive outbreaks only cause Holden to hurt those around him and force his estrangement from others as well as society even worse. As most readers notice when the story continues, Holden quickly becomes a loathed character. This critic proves this as well, “A year or so later I read it in my high school English class and concluded that he was a narcissistic wimp” (Bardi). Holden was so focused on his own emotions that he had no apprehension with the way he treated others. This lead to his own failure and separation from those who sought to guide …show more content…
Holden was constantly wallowed in self-pity, hatred, and regrets he had no way of moving on from his past. He counted on Allie even when he was no longer there, “Allie don’t let me disappear” (Salinger). His hope would only diminish every time he would fail again or notice another flaw in the world. Even though he had several opportunities to change his life around he treated each one the same as before, and then was disgraced when he only grew more depressed. This is one of the reasons there is so much controversy surrounding this novel on whether schools should read it, as stated by this critic, “some people complained that the novel’s language was crude and obscene” (Moss and Wilson). Holden is overly pessimistic that for many there is little inspiration in the novel. Readers do not want to act like the main character for the fact they will become alienated from society as well. “The irony, of course, is that Holden himself has already been contaminated by the world he despises” (Rholetter). Holden had so many people who wanted to watch him succeed, however he failed to notice any of them. He had animosity towards others for trying to help him yet at the same time he felt the same way towards the world when he failed once again. There is only so much a person can be helped when they are not willing to be helped. “It made me feel sad as hell-I don’t know
In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in The Rye Salinger writes about the main character Holden Caulfield and his life. Holden is a teenager who comes from a wealthy family, he loves his family and lives very happy until the death of his brother Allie. After his brother died Holden becomes troubled, being kicked out of school again and again developing a negative view of the world. Holden throughout the book shows anger,denial, and acceptance over the loss of his brother.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a popular novel that was originally published in the 1950’s. In the book, Salinger explores various themes through the main character Holden and his interactions with others. Some of these themes include, alienation, loss and betrayal. Holden constantly feels betrayed throughout the novel by several people, including his roommate, teacher, and sister.
After many years of ideas coming and going, one that seems to stay the same is the thoughts of tennagers. In the book The Catcher In The Rye written by J.D Salinger many can still relate to Holden’s story even after a 76 year difference. While exploring the city around him Holden takes the time to try to find himself on a deeper level and try to grasp how growing up really makes him feel. Given the fact that everyone is unique in among themselves the need for self satisfaction is always current meaning many run from the true responsibilities that come with age.
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.
Before we can understand why Holden leaves on his journey at all, we must understand his struggle. Holden cannot find a way to succeed. Even Mr. Antolini says, “This fall I think you’re riding for – it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling” (187). This fall that Holden is heading toward has started with flunking out of school. Holden’s largest failure appears to be his inability to apply himself at school, which makes his life even harder. Also, Mr. Spencer is concerned about his ability to apply himself as he is failing 4 classes and “getting the ax is something he is familiar with” (4). Holden just wants someone to talk to and wants to break his depression by succeeding.
The Catcher in the Rye has been described, analyzed, rebuffed, and critiqued over the years. Each writer expresses a different point of view: It is a story reflecting teen-ager's talk--thoughts-emotions--actions; or angst. I believe it is an adult's reflection of his own unresolved grief and bereavements. That adult is the author, J.D. Salinger. He uses his main character, Holden, as the voice to vent the psychological misery he will not expose -or admit to.
Before this book was written in it's time frame, Holden deals with some struggles that change and impact his life quite a bit. The author portrays Holden's personality through his actions for the audience to understand him. Some of the actions are going back to visit the museum, calling and visiting Phoebe at home, visiting the park, keeping Allie's baseball mitt, wearing the red hunting hat, and asking about the ducks. These examples all play a part in showing that Holden is afraid of change. Holden is starting to grow up and make the transition into an adult, but the audience can tell Holden is struggling. Holden's decisions such as smoking, drinking constantly, buying a prostitute, and staying out late at night show his attempts to face adult life. However, when faced
Holden is biased toward certain words that he sees as phony, but he still uses words that have the same connotation. In addition, he criticizes people who are perverted, yet he holds the same sexual desires even though he has never experienced it before. Finally, Holden tells lies to boost his self esteem however, he hates it when the same type of deceit is performed by other people. Holden goes through life meeting others and setting expectations for them. Unfortunately, those adults never seem to meet his expectations. Likewise, Holden himself can never manage to live up to his own ideals either establishing a character who is never fully honest and
Holden had a tough time fitting in at his schools because he thought of almost everyone as phonies. "`It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques' (pg. 131)." He seems to have a history of expulsion and failure at various schools because of his lack of ability to cope with others. Ordinary problems of his had turned into major conflicts with other students. "I hate fist fights. I don't mind getting hit so much - although I'm not crazy about it, naturally - but what scares me most in a fist fight is the guy's face. I can't stand looking at the other guy's face, is my trouble. It wouldn't be so bad if you could both be blindfolded or something. It's a funny kind of yellowness, when you come to think of it, but it's yellowness, all right. I'm not kidding myself. (pg. 90)" Holden got into a fight with his roommate at school because he was going out with his ex-girlfriend. He's afraid that the guy is taking her from him, even though he's not with her anymore. These are problems that are normal, but Holden has trouble dealing with them.
First, Holden tries time and time again to form a meaningful connection with the people around him, but always fails at doing so. He came very close to it at one point in the story, while on a date with Sally Hayes. However, at the last minute he sabotaged any chance he had, “‘C'mon, let's get outa here,’ I said. ‘You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth,’” (148). This insult was Holden’s defense mechanism: he knew it would piss off Sally, and knew she would leave him after that. Similarly, many young adults go through experiences such as this, where they get scared of becoming too close to people, and break off their relations. On the other hand, sometimes the sheer awkwardness of the situation breaks off the relation for them. It is just more of the confusion that characterizes maturing. Furthermore, Holden’s distinct issues with relationships stem from a much darker place: the death of his young brother, Allie. He adored him, “He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent,” (43). This adoration was what led to the loss being so incredibly crushing. Consequently, Holden developed a deep-rooted fear of intimacy, just in case the ones he love “disappear”, just as Allie did. On a side note, Allie’s passing led to a plethora of insecurities for Holden, even tying into the cause for his
Holden struggles with himself mightily and cannot fulfill his responsibilities. One of Holden’s struggles is that he has a bad attitude towards everyone. For example, at the school he goes to, he hates his roommates and his teachers. In addition to not liking anyone, Holden
Throughout the book, it seems Holden’s favorite word is “phony.” His experiences have led him to believe that people are not as kind as he used to believe. He is quick to voice his opinion that people only act in consideration of others because they have to. When talking about society, he says “It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques'" (131). He has lost much of the innocence he once had, in fact he might do good to gain some of it back. Holden very bluntly expresses how he feels about everyone to the reader. He has come to the realization that nobody is completely who they say they are. Another way that Holden experiences the emotional truths of things, is when he discovers that when people are being kind to one another, it is usually fake, because they “have” to. Holden rants, "You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write 'F*ck you' right under your nose" (204). Readers can see how truly awful Holden views other people. He does not believe in the “everybody loves everybody” way of life that he once was taught to believe as a child. Lastly, Holden says something near the end of the book that expresses how he feels about humanity, even after his journey. He says, “Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior” (185). Holden shows us that he has finally realized himself what kind of people exist in the world. He has come to the sad truth that our world is
Holden is driven crazy by phoniness, an idea under which he lumps insincerity, snobbery, injustice, callousness, and a lot more. He is a prodigious worrier, and someone who is moved to pity quite often. Behrman wrote: "Grown men sometimes find the emblazoned obscenities of life too much for them, and leave this world indecorously, so the fact that a 16-year old boy is overwhelmed should not be surprising" (71). Holden is also labeled as curious and compassionate, a true moral idealist whose attitude comes from an intense hatred of hypocrisy. The novel opens in a doctor's office, where Holden is recuperating from physical illness and a mental breakdown.
J.D. Salinger, in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, shows that often times when an individual faces problems in their life they will try to find a means to escape, instead of solving them. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded from any group. He feels alienated from the rest of society, but I believe that Holden stays bitter on purpose. He keeps a cynical, sarcastic outlook on life so as to escape his true feelings. This is not uncommon for people who have trouble accepting their problems.
Holden's nervous impulse to protect women seems to have sprung up in his psyche from a very young age. After his brother, Allie, started to experience more severe symptoms of leukemia, Holden notes that his mother seemed "nervous as hell." His own mother's emotional problems (Lombardi) transfer to Holden on a very deep, psychological level because he feels partially responsible for his brother's fate in the first place. Seeing his mother in such a distraught state makes him feel even guiltier. The unintended consequence of this is that Holden grows up with a constant fear that he is going to hurt any woman that he grows close to. This manifests itself many times during his time in New York, with one of the earliest examples being his meeting with Sunny in the hotel room. Holden protects her innocence, but not for any particularly noble reason. He hangs her dress back up and insists that he just wants to talk, but Holden did not do this in an attempt to be some paragon of righteousness. Holden, on a deep, psychological lev...