Holden Caulfield is a very interesting character that I have learned to love through the book. In the Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger Holden is a teenage boy that is very confused about what to do, and how to do it. He struggles with his relationships with his family, and pushes some away while staying close to others. Holden is very superficial, and will try to find out everything about a person the second they meet them, and once he knows them he puts them in a box. Holden leaves pencey by train, where he runs into Ernest Morrow’s mother. He starts to talk about old Ernie to his mom, who is very happy to hear such great things about her son. But as soon as Holden stops talking to her he immediately tell the reader what he really thinks of him. “Her son was doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school. He was always going down the corridor, after he’d had a shower, snapping his soggy old towel at people’s asses. That’s exactly the kind of guy he was” (chapter 8, pg 61) Holden shows the reader that he is really just making her mother proud, because in reality, Ernie is a terrible person. He lies to the mother, which shows that he doesn't …show more content…
Although fortunately, I cannot relate to that I have realized that I am very afraid of ever being in his situation. When I read about Holden having to call a prostitute in order to have a conversation with someone, or Holden having to talk to the taxi driver to not feel lonely, I feel lucky, but at the same time terrified. He knows so many people, but he doesn’t have a good relationship with anyone that he sees often. It is almost as if he is trying to find the perfect person that will never come. He pushes people away because of one thing, making his own position, with no one to talk to. This scares me. I love to be around people, and seeing someone so lonely makes my situation so much
J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye, uses the behaviour of protagonist Holden Caulfield to shape his personality in the way he alienates himself from the rest of the world. Holden alienates himself from the society he lives in, his relationships with others and also the relationship he has with himself. Holden struggles to cope with the fact that eventually he will have to grow up and so will everyone around him. Holden see’s the world not being perfect as a huge problem that he alone has to fix because everyone else is too much of a ‘phony’ to do it. The novel explores Holden’s weekend after he got kicked out of his fourth school, Pency Prep, and the struggles he faces with alienating himself.
It takes many experiences in order for an immature child to become a responsible, well-rounded adult. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story represents a coming of age for all young adults.
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.
As the conversation went on, more lies were told about Ernie. Holden “shot the old crap” by saying how everyone adored Ernie, while Holden thought that he “was doubtlessly the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey” (54-55). This shows how that Holden can’t even manage to tell the truth which shows a character trait that a hero wouldn’t display. In addition, Holden clearly lacks courage, which is a vital thing a hero would have. One example is when Holden narrates his story of his
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.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
A human society is often described as a group of people involved in persistent personal relationships, or as a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or social territory. People tend to believe that doing what everyone else does, is the only correct path for life. If someone dares to break the pattern, does what he wants, or wears different clothes from what everybody else wear, he would frequently be seen as a strange or weird person. This is not it, every little thing someone does that differs from what it is “normal”, is seen as bad or bizarre. Holden Caulfield, of “Catcher in the Rye” is a character who stands out from common people. Holden doesn’t believe that he needs to follow what everyone else does. Contrary to that, Holden does what he wants and acts how he likes. By acting like this, Holden is not considered as a normal teenager, but as a unique one. Caulfield has often trouble fitting in society. Holden won’t fit into society because he doesn’t want to be a part of it. Hints displaying Holden not wanting to be part of society are his constant failing at school, his powerful revulsion for “phony” qualities, and his distancing himself from people.
Without love and guidance, young people often find themselves lost; unsure of what direction their lives are headed. Such is the case with Holden Caulfield, a character from the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Holden is a sixteen-year old boy who has lost his way. Hold has suffered a great loss, the death of his Brother, Allie.
His ability to maintain motivation in his schoolwork is a large concern, with a large number of popular schools expelling Holden because his low scores and failing to apply himself to his learning to improve his grades. Holden isolates himself from others and alienates himself from the world because of people’s lack of understanding of him. Holden has expressed to me how ‘after a night out, he did not have particular luck in socialising, and felt so depressed that he wishes he was dead.’ This indicates that Holden may have autistic tendencies because of his spontaneous and dramatic bursts of insight and ideas that de does not give proper thought to before presentation. As well as tendencies and an exaggerated view of reality, as well as struggling to remain on topic. Holden retold a incident with a teacher whilst visiting them. He explained that he ‘woke up to Mr Anotolini creepily patting him on the forehead, Holden revealed that similar “perverty” stuff happened to him as a child’. This possibly links to his justification to alienate himself from others. Also possible link to trauma or depression as
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a story of Holden Caulfield's growth as a person. Some view Holden as a static character, and say that by the end of the novel he hasn’t changed. I’d say that on the contrary Holden is an extremely dynamic character throughout the story. Holden does change and grow as a character because he lets go of wanting to protect innocence in the world, we see Holden begin to grow into what Erik Erikson believes is the stage of development for adolescents, and he starts to be willing to apply himself.
Holden Caulfield, the teenage protagonist of Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, struggles with having to enter the adult world. Holden leaves school early and stays in New York by himself until he is ready to return home. Holden wants to be individual, yet he also wants to fit in and not grow up. The author uses symbolism to represent Holden’s internal struggle.
The catcher in the rye by J.D. Salinger is about a boy named Holden Caulfield and his struggles in one part of his life. Holden seem very normal to people around him and those he interacts with. However, Holden is showing many sighs of depression. A couple of those signs that are shown are: trouble sleeping, drinking, smoking, not eating right, and he talk about committing suicide a couple times during the book. On top of that Holden feel alienated plus the death of Holden’s brother Allie left Holden thinking he and no where to go in life.
The Catcher in the Rye, Published in 1951 by J.D. Salinger, was a revolutionary piece of literary work in many aspects. Along with his use of profane language, uncommon during the 1950s, Salinger develops an exceedingly self-influenced character, in many regards, named Holden Caulfield. Holden was an extremely controversial character during the 1950s because of the rebellious and anti-social attitudes he held towards family values and society during a time when family and moral values were highly regarded. Holden is often irrational and confused about his purpose in life and has no direction; he does not enjoy anything in life while he constantly criticizes others and defies authority. Although
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is a classic novel about a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who speaks of a puzzling time in his life. Holden has only a few days until his expulsion from Pency Prep School. He starts out as the type of person who can't stand "phony" people. He believes that his school and everyone in it is phony, so he leaves early. He then spends three aimless days in New York City. During this time, Holden finds out more about himself and how he relates to the world around him. He believes that he is the catcher in the rye: " I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in a 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 have I to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff..." (173). He briefly enters what he believes is adulthood and becomes a "phony" himself. By the end of the story, Holden realizes he doesn't like the type of person he has become, so he reverts into an idealist; a negative, judgmental person.
The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, interacts with many people throughout J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, but probably none have as much impact on him as certain members of his immediate family. The ways Holden acts around or reacts to the various members of his family give the reader a direct view of Holden's philosophy surrounding each member.