The Adolescent Crisis of The Catcher in the Rye
Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is valid, realistic, representation of the adolescent world. The book is about adolescent crisis.
The main character, Holden, runs away from his expensive school because he is an academic failure and finds intolerable the company of so many phoneys. Holden is a rangy sixteen year old who has grown too fast. Girls are on his mind. Whenever girls do something pretty, even if they're ugly or stupid, you fall half in love with them. "Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away. Last year I made up a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ass. I broke it, though, the same week I made it . . . Sex is something I just don't understand."2
Salinger sees that all the contradictions, agonies, and exaltations of adolescence stem from the central fact: "that the adolescent has newly gained the physical potentialities for sexual experience but has not learnt to integrate them either within himself or in any consistent relation to the demands of society."3 From this flows everything-the confused idealism of his attitude to Jane Gallagher; the naively unscrupulous calculatingness of his adventures; the wish for experiment and the corresponding fear and revulsion; a general fascination and disgust with the physical-Ackley's pimples, Stradlater's toenails; a new horrified awareness of the physical process.
Holden's anguished confusion about sex gives us the measure of both the depth and complexity of his conflict. Sexual awareness is conspicuously...
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...m Marsden If You Really Want to Know: A Catcher Casebook (Chicago: Scott, Foresman & Co , 1963) p.76
2. Norman Fruman and Marvin Laser Studies in J D. Salinger (New York: The Odyssey Press, 1963) p. 196.
3. Laser, Opcit., p.74.
4. Ibid., p.153.
5. Ibid., p.121.
6. J D Salinger The Catcher in the Rye (Boston: Little Brown, & Co. 1945) pp. 224-225.
7. Henry Grunwald ed. Salinger (New York: Harper & Row 1962) p. 15.
8. Charles Dickens The Tale of Two Cities (New York: New Amsterdam Library, 1960) p.1.
9. Grunwald, Opcit., p. 202.
10. Laser, Opcit., p. 71.
11. Ann Elwood and Carol Madigan Brainstorms & Thunderbolts (New York: Macmillan Co. 1983) p. 101.
12. Ibid., p.101.
13. Laser, Opcit. , p. 77.
14. Salinger, Opcit., p. 242.
15. Ibid., p. 264.
Part of the irony in Holden’s story is that physically, he looks mature, but mentally, he is still very much a child: “I act quite young for my age, sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now … I’m six foot two and a half and I have gray hair ” (9). There is no middle ground, adolescence, for Holden. He can only be an adult, physically, or a child, mentally. Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tries to appeal to him by using a metaphor: “Life is a game, boy.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. 1951. New York: Back Bay Books, 2001. Print.
Salinger, J. D.. The Catcher in the Rye. [1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 19511945. Print.
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
Holden returns to school and goes to his bedroom in the dorm. In his room quietly reading, his neighbor Robert Ackley came in. Holden describes him as a pimply, insecure, annoying boy with a bad dental hygiene. When Holden’s roommate Stradlater who was “madly in love with himself” (27) arrived home after the football game, Ackley abruptly left. Stradlater tells him that he has a date with a friend of his, Jane Gallagher. Jane is someone that Holden really cares for and because he knows the way Stradlater is, Holden became worried for her. “It just drove me stark raving mad when I thought about her and Stradlater parked somewhere in that fat-assed Ed Banky’s car”. (48) Holden became depressed and lonely, so out of the blue Holden decides to pack his things and leave for New York a few days earlier. On the train to New York, Holden meets the mother of one of his schoolmates. Not wanting to tell his whole life story, he told her his name was “Rudolf Schmidt”, the name of th...
Holden has a respect for women that he views as unnatural. He feels that his sexual desires should be similar to those of his roommate Stradlater and peer, Luce. Holden shows his confusion by saying, "The thing is, most of the time when you're coming close to doing it with a girl, a girl that isn't ...
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. Print.
Wildermuth, April. "Nonconformism in the Works of J.D. Salinger." 1997 Brighton High School. 24 November 2002. <http://ww.bcsd.org/BHS/english/mag97/papers/Salinger.htm>
In his Meditations, Rene Descartes argues that animals are purely physical entities, having no mental or spiritual substance. Thus, Descartes concludes, animals can’t reason, think, feel pain or suffer. Animals, are mere machines with no consciousness. Use the Internet to explore the issue of animal rights. Investigate the legacy left by Rene Descartes concerning the moral status of animals.
Since its publication in 1951, The Catcher In the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger has served as a conflagration for debate and extreme controversy. Although the novel has been the target of scornful criticism, it has also been the topic of wide discussion. The novel portrays the life of sixteen year old, Holden Caufield. Currently in psychiatric care, Holden recalls what happened to him last Christmas. At the beginning of his story, Holden is a student at Pencey Prep School. Having been expelled for failing four out of his five classes, Holden leaves school and spends 72-hours in New York City before returning home. There, Holden encounters new ideas, people, and experiences. Holden's psychological battle within himself serves as the tool that uncovers the coming-of-age novel's underlying themes of teen angst, depression, and the disingenuous nature of society. The novel tackles issues of blatant profanity, teenage sex, and other erratic behavior. Such issues have supplemented the controversial nature of the book and in turn, have sparked the question of whether or not this book should be banned. The novel, The Catcher In the Rye, should not be banned from inclusion in the literature courses taught at the high school level.
the same rights as humans do. Like us, animals can feel pain and fear, but also
In the 1970s the question of animal rights became a major social issue that more people started to take notice and action in. This discovery of the cruelty these animals go through, lead animal cruelty to become a serious issue in our world today. To understand how animals could be treated so unjustly one would need to know that many believed that animals could not feel pain. However, animals can feel pain just like humans can and using them for experimentation causes them extreme pain. “Each year, more than 100 million animals are killed in the U.S. laboratories for biology lessons, medical training, curiosity-driven experimentation, and chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics” (Peta 1). With countries having inadequate regulations to protect animal’s rights the chances of that number dropping are slim to none.
Salerno, Shane, dir. Salinger. American Masters. PBS, 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. .
Micheal Pollan , a writer for the New York Times magazine published an article on November 10, 2002. “An Animals place”, Concerning the moral issue whether or not its right to consume meat as humans. Pollan also introduces a Peter Singer’s argument, which is very straightforward. Based on equality, We humans are not all equal: “Some are smarter than others, better looking, and more gifted. (Pollan 2). The main idea is to comprehend that “Everyone’s interests should receive equal consideration regardless of what abilities they may posses. (Pollan 2). This is where a question arises and a parallel problem swings along. If one individual has more intelligence and uses another individual for his own purpose, how can we not use animals for the same exact purpose? Not Only did a Pollan’s thesis acknowledge the problem of animal cruelty, but it also proposes a solution that fortified his article. The argument which Pollan bought to our attention were how to treat animals.
Animals have their own rights as do to humans and we should respect that and give them the same respect we give each other. Animals deserve to be given those same basic rights as humans. All humans are considered equal and ethical principles and legal statutes should protect the rights of animals to live according to their own nature and remain free from exploitation. This paper is going to argue that animals deserve to have the same rights as humans and therefore, we don’t have the right to kill or harm them in any way. The premises are the following: animals are living things thus they are valuable sentient beings, animals have feeling just like humans, and animals feel pain therefore animal suffering is wrong. 2 sources I will be using for my research are “The Fight for Animal Rights” by Jamie Aronson, an article that presents an argument in favour of animal rights. It also discusses the counter argument – opponents of animal rights argue that animals have less value than humans, and as a result, are undeserving of rights. Also I will be using “Animal Liberation” by Peter Singer. This book shows many aspects; that all animals are equal is the first argument or why the ethical principle on which human equality rests requires us to extend equal consideration to animals too.