To conclude, Holden try’s desperately on holding on to his innocents. Triggered by the loss of his brother, Holden makes it his mission to protect kids from there inevitable maturity, sealing them from phony’s and. When he realised that he could not achieve the qoel of saving all children from growing up Holden has a nervous breakdown. He dosint understand the proses of life ad he can’t pick to stay a child for ever when in reality growing up is inevitable. ‘’We've let the blade of our innocence dull over time, and it's only in innocence that you find any kind of magic, any kind of courage.”
Modern Society has set certain standards that they expect everyone to conform to, but in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Holden Caulfield is used to show what happens when humans do not conform to society’s wishes. J.D. Salinger uses Holden Caulfield to tell some of his own story and to show the consequences of not conforming to society and how society will eventually force everyone to conform. Salinger subtly points out may of societies demands, such as growing up and understanding sex. Holden refuses to give into society and will not grow up because he formed an unfounded definition of adulthood. Conformity plays a large part throughout the novel because it eventually leads Holden into a mental institute because he cannot and is not willing to conform to all of society’s demands. J.D. Salinger uses a young Holden Caulfield to show the affects of self-alienation, that people cannot run away from the inevitable, and how sexual identities affect humans in a society where conformity is expected.
his life. A prep school student who has just been kicked out of his second school, Holden struggles to find the right path into adulthood. He does not know what road to follow and he uses others as the scapegoat for his puzzlement in life. Harold Bloom explains,
.... Holden believes that adult life is boring, which depresses him, and this is one of his greatest fears and insecurities.
One of the most depressing and misleading characters to appear in American literature is Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye. Throughout the entire book, Holden goes on a journey trying to escape adulthood and protect innocence. He tells himself that there are phonies in the grown up world. These people who Holden despises hide behind a mask and wear fake smiles. It is that idea that keeps Holden stuck in between two worlds, adult’s cold, hard reality and a children’s fantasy. However, it is his actions, his language, and his habits of mind that causes him to provide a perfect example of the very phony he hates. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, illustrates a hypocritical narrator who embodies everything
The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger is a story about a young man named Holden Caulfield. In the novel, Holden first gets expelled from school, meanders around the city, and finally his parents are informed of his expulsion. For the duration of the novel the reader has a full insight into his thoughts and feelings. This leads the reader to choose whether they believe he is a misfit or if society is the problem. As evident by examples in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye the author shows Holden as the misfit because of his failure to tolerate “phonies”, his inability to understand everyone grows up, and his neglect towards his education.
...hing. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad to say anything to them” (274). At the end of the novel, Holden comes to vital realization that it’s simply not possible to protect one’s innocence forever. One’s adolescence can be a struggle to get through, and Holden recognizes that growing up is unavoidable, but, as one transforms into an adult, he believes they should do so on their own, learn from their mistakes, and not be influenced so much by others. In other words, the phoniness of others’ results from their inability to truly express themselves and their personalities without fear of judgement. To Holden, the innocence he sees within children distinguishes their personalities’ from adults; he sees their lack of fear in expressing who they are, their uncorrupted genuine nature, untouched by the seriousness and problems that plague the phony adult world.
... is apparent that he is a troubled young man through not only what is said and done, but what is also left as unspoken thoughts inside his mind. Holden Caulfield is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, mentally unstable. He is not classified as a "crazy person" or a "loon" but he is a young man who, as a child, had innocence and purity ripped away with no warning or mercy. Instead of reacting more positively and growing older at a young age, the tragedies caused him to year for the innocence of childhood that he knew in some dark corner of his mind had been long gone and was never returning regardless of how much faith and stubbornness he had.
Holden's inability to fit into society brought on hatred to it, and instead of admitting he too was at fault, he criticizes all the people in cliques on account of their fakeness and dishonesty. To begin with, he finds himself disliking Pencey as a school since its motto claims that it molds boys into upright, respected members of society. However, Holden soon declares that the school is hypocritical since it does nothing to achieve their motto and as a result, most boys end up remaining the same people as they once came to school and for some it shaped them into crooks (which Holden will not stand for).
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.
J. D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher in the Rye explores the ambiguity of the adult world Holden must eventually learn to accept. Throughout the novel, Holden resists the society grownups represent, coloring his childlike dreams with innocence and naivety. He only wants to protect those he loves, but he cannot do it the way he desires. As he watches Phoebe on the carousel, he begins to understand certain aspects of truth. He writes:
Holden cannot accept the loss of innocence as a step into the growing up process. The ones that he loves most, are those who are younger to him, they are innocent, and untouched by society’s truths. Holden says, “…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.
In the novel The Catcher In The Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield views his surroundings with hypocrisy and contempt in an attempt to avoid the corruption of adulthood. Holden places himself above the crowd because he believes everyone acts phony. In the process, Caulfield reveals his true problem: his refusal to change.
Upon introduction, Holden Caulfield gives the impression of being a textbook teenage boy. He argues that Pencey Prep, the all-boys academy at which he studied, is no greater than any other school and is “full of crooks.”(Salinger, 7) His harsh language only further argues that he is situated in an all-male environment and has no apparent filter for when swearing is inappropriate. Despite all of the indications that Holden is typical, it soon becomes evident that Holden’s personality does not conform to the teenage stereotype. Although he appears to have some friends, namely, his roommate, Stradlater, and ‘Ackley kid’, it is clear that he does not integrate well with his peer group. Holden’s inability to read social cues leaves him in the dust when all of his “friends” have matured enough to recognize his need for improvement. He is constantly making jokes out of everything without any thought as to how h...
The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, portrays many different ideas in an everyday society. These ideas and thoughts are expressed through the protagonist in the novel, Holden Morrissey. Holden views many things in society as fake or “phony” at an idealistic point-of-view. This contributes to many conflicts and biased thoughts throughout the novel.