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The catcher in the rye theme essay
Evidence of Holden being unlike a teenager
The Catcher and the Rye message of the novel
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Question (2013) Easy 2 Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, is about a sixteen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield. Throughout the story, his doubt and strange thoughts reflect his desperation from others. His tone often sets a depressing setting. In the novel, it never reflects on Holden's past, and in the end never shown any signs of his achievements. Holden is not your typical bildungsroman protagonist, many question if Holden Caulfield ever comes of age.
Throughout the novel Holden stops himself from falling into adulthood by not trying or caring about school. As the novel begins, Holden is flunking out of school. He is failing four out of his five classes at his school Pencey Prep. He was asked not to return after Christmas break. So he left his school early and wandered around
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New York City for a few days, bar hopping and meeting girls all trying to avoid going home to his disappointed parents. Throughout the story, Holden does not know how to defend himself. He protects his feelings by pushing others away. He tends to push people away when they question his lack of motivation. He pushes away the people who are not like him such as older people or adults. Holden is often disgusted by the physical appearances of older people. Holden finds ways throughout the novel to distract himself from the reality of his life. Whether he is going on a date with a random girl he knew or smoking a pack of cigarettes or when he would tell a random story about how phony or about how boring someone is it proved his immaturity. He always found a way to show his immaturity and insecurities in himself. Towards the end of the novel Holden went to his sister’s school so he could talk to her. He wanted to talk to her about his plans to run away. He made these plans because he was so afraid to go to his parents he felt that they would never accept him again. While he was waiting for her to get out for lunch he had so many feelings running through his head. But all his emotions were avoiding the real problems and thoughts running through his head. He rather worry about the fact that someone wrote “fuck you” multiple times right near the school were kids walk by every day. This angered him so much he felt compelled to kill the person who did it. Finally, Holden talked to his sister, Phoebe who was furious with him because if he was running away she was going with him.
Only Holden wouldn’t allow this and they got into an argument. She then asked Holden “do you even know what he want to be when you grow up?” He replied by saying the only thing he really wants to be is the catcher in the rye. He wants to keep little kids, who are playing in the rye, from falling off a cliff. This represents his life, his fear of falling from his childhood and his fear of losing his innocence. Holden knows he will eventually be forced out of his childhood, and that is his greatest fear. At this point in the novel you can see Holden is starting to admit he is afraid to grow up. You could almost say at this point in the book Holden finally comes of age, but he is just not quite there. He is admitting to the fact of life that he cannot just run around New York the rest of his life, it will not work. Holden told his sister he was going to run away but he didn’t. With a little persuasion by his sister he did not go, but he let go of being stubborn. He finally thought of someone other than
himself. Throughout the novel you come to realize it does not have an obvious climax where Holden shows growing up or him maturing it ends with a possibility for development. Holden represents a great case of not wanting to grow up. He will eventually be forced to grow up as he will have to take on greater responsibilities the older he gets. “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do you start missing everybody” are the final words of the novel, which represents growth in Holden’s character. It represents growth because he is admitting to having feelings. He admits he has to figure things out, whether or not he wants to he has to, he doesn’t want to be forced by older people around him. You then realize Holden has come of age and he is no long afraid to admit he does not want to grow up. He wants to do it in his own time and he will.
I guess you can say he is trying to transition from adult hood but he can’t. He believes childhood is a beautiful and innocent thing where as adulthood is evil and corrupted. In the text Holden says “That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write "Fuck you" right under your nose” Pg. 204 Another reason why Holden is stuck between adult hood and childhood is because he doesn’t understand the concept of sex. He doesn’t get how two adults can have sex without loving each other. Holden tells Luce "You know what the trouble with me is? I can never get really sexy—I mean really sexy with a girl I don’t like a lot. I mean I have to like her a lot. If I don’t, I sort of lose my goddam desire for her and all.”Pg148 Luce then later says “When are you going to grow up?"Pg. 144. This is another example how Holden can’t really grow up. Mr. Antolini brings up an examples that goes “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."Pg. 187. This quote is illustrating that Holden doesn’t know where to go, he’s lost and confused from the transition from childhood to
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.
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, cannot accept that he must move out of childhood and into adulthood. One of Holden’s most important major problems is his lack of maturity. 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.
The Catcher in the Rye by, J.D. Salinger is told through Holden the narrative in the story. The setting of the novel takes place in the 1940's early 1950's. Holden is sixteen years old and he has a lot of problems in his life. He becomes seriously depressed to the point he cannot deal with people and life around him. The 1940's were different from today. However, Holden Caulfield is similar to many other teenagers who go through the same problems.
In J.D. Sallinger's Catcher in the Rye, is based on the sullen life of Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old teen-ager is trying to find his sense of direction. Holden, a growing adult, cannot accept the responsibilities of an adult. Eventually realizing that there is no way to avoid the adult life, he can only but accept this alternative lifestyle. What Holden describes the adult world as a sinful, corrupted life, he avoids it for three important reasons: His hatred towards phonies and liars, unable to accept adult responsibilities, and thirdly to enshrine his childhood youth.
Holden’s childhood was far from ideal, with Allie dying, his dysfunctional parents and the revelation that he had some “perverty” stuff happen to him when he was a kid. Due to this, he isn't ready to step into adulthood and leave his childhood behind. This is why Holden is mostly alienated from adults and connects more to the innocence of children like the girl at the park and his sister, Phoebe. However, Holden is disillusioned with both adulthood and childhood. He already knows how it feels to be an adult; drinking alcohol, being independent, living by himself and caring for Phoebe, but isn’t ready to immerse himself in it.
Holden wants to shelter children from the adult world (Chen). In Chapter 16, the catcher in the rye finally appears. This is also a symbol for what Holden would like to be when he grows older. He pictures a group of many kids playing in a field of rye, where it is his job to catch them from falling off the cliff. This shows Holden’s love for childhood and his need to preserve it in any way he can. According to Alsen, “The way Holden explains why he wants to be the catcher in the rye shows the kindness and unselfishness of his character. However, the surreal nature of the metaphor also reveals his unwillingness to face the real life choices he needs to make now that he is approaching adulthood.” By the end of the book, Holden realizes in order for kids to grow, there can’t be protection from all of potential harm. “He therefore gives up his dream of being the catcher in the rye and is ready to make a realistic choice of what he wants to do with his life” (Alsen). Holden’s dream world, that doesn’t involve change, is unrealistic. He is terrified by the unpredictable changes of the adult world, but there is no way for Holden to avoid the experiences and changes that the
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.
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.
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.
The two worlds of childhood and adulthood are not as separate as Holden thinks they are. He cuts himself off from the rest of the world by judging others around him, mostly adults. In the book it says, “ What I liked about her, she didn’t give you a lot of horse manure about what a great guy her father was. She probably knew what a phony slob he was.” (Pg 3). The book starts off with him judging an adult that he barely knows. Holden is physically an adult, but in his mind, he is only a child. He can relate to a child better than he can with an
Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he expresses this attitude through his dialogue, tone, and diction.
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s actions demonstrate that he is a typical teenager who deals with his problems and stress in a normal teenage way. Firstly, instead of confronting his problems, Holden chooses to run away and avoid them. After deciding to leave Pencey early Holden states, “I figured my parents probably wouldn’t get old Thurmer’s letter saying I’d been given the ax till maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. I didn’t want to go home or anything till they got it and thoroughly digested it and all” (Salinger 51). After being kicked out of school Holden chooses to be on his own for a few days and avoid his parents so he will not have to deal with confronting them. Holden is behaving like a typical teenager by trying to rid himself of the responsibility and stress of
Released in 1951, Salinger's novel "The Catcher in the Rye" is a story of a seventeen year old American schoolboy Holden Caulfield, who was excluded from his school before Christmas for academic failure. The main idea of the novel is the rejection of falsehood, which is manifested in the moral standards prevailing in the society and in the people, events, and objects. This is closely linked to the image of the protagonist. Holden Caulfield introduces the reader not only to the external part of his life (time-space of the novel consists of three days, one of which the hero stays at school in Pansy, and the other two - in his home of New York City), but also internal perceptions of the people familiar to him, of certain situations, his own character.
J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is a remarkable book that gives readers a unique and perhaps gloomy perspective of the 1950's through Holden Caulfield, a cynical and peculiar teenager. Through The Catcher in the Rye Salinger describes important aspects of the 1950's. Salinger emphasizes several key characteristics of the 50's and criticizes them through Holden. In addition, Holden Caulfield is a very interesting character with several traits that put him at odds with society.