To some, this argument may seem the most blatant form of mistruth, horrendous, even, in its lack of taste, a kind of literary sacrilege, in fact. Surely we have reached the end, one might say, when one can considerer comparing the immortal Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, with the adolescent protagonist of Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger’s hero has been compared to many literary figures, from Huckleberry Finn to David Copperfield. So many different attitudes have been taken toward him. Let’s stop talking about him and write something else. Isn’t the subject getting boring? Perhaps so, but Holden will not go away. He continues to pester the mind, and while reading A.C. Bradley’s analysis of Hamlet’s character, it was hard to resist the idea that much of what Bradley was saying about Hamlet applied to Holden as well. Perhaps the comparison is not as absurd as it first appears. Of course, there is no similarity between the events of the play and those of the novel. The fascinating thing while reading Bradley was how perfectly his analysis of Hamlet’s character applied to Holden’s, how deeply, in fact, he was going into Holden’s character as well, revealing, among other things, its potentially tragic nature. After demolishing the theories of other critics, Bradley concluded that the essence of Hamlet’s character is contained in a three-fold analysis of it. First, that rather than being melancholy by temperament, in the usual sense of “profoundly sad,” he is a person of unusual nervous instability, one liable to extreme and profound alterations of mood, a potential manic-depressive type. Romantic, we might say. Second, this Hamlet is also a person of “exquisite moral sensibility, “ hypersensitive to goodness, a m... ... middle of paper ... ...dy view holden as symbolizing the plight of the idealist in the modern world. Most importantly, however, it suggests why Holden Caulfied will not go away, he continues to remain so potent an influence on the now aging younger generation that he first spoke to, and why he continues to brand himself anew on the young. In fact, in this age of atrophy, in this thought-tormented, thought-tormenting time in which we live, perhaps it is not going too far to say that, for many of us, at least, our Hamlet is Holden. Works Cited Bradley, A.C. “Hamlet.” Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1981. 89-174. Sanders, Wlibur, and Howard Jacobson. “Hamlet’s Sanity.” Shakespeare’s Magnanimity: Four Tragic Heroes, Their Friends and Families. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. 22-56. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992.
Many critics of The Catcher in the Rye discuss in depth the characterization of the protagonist Holden Caulfield. For example, Reiff believes that Holden is a “symbol of a spontaneous, idealistic, innately good child,” despite what some believe. Reiff finds that he is also an unselfish and caring person due to Holden’s constant generosity and worrying for others (69-70). Some believe, however, that Holden is a hypocrite or a phony because of all the lies he tells. Pinsker disagrees and defends Holden saying that he lies to keep others from being hurt (Reiff 61-62). Bloom agrees with Reiff about Holden being a kind hearted person with a soft spot for children, even calling him a “secular saint.” Holden’s vision of being a catcher in the rye and desire to save children from the troubles of the world show his altruistic intentions (2). Pinsker agrees with both Bloom and Reiff but also argues that Holden worries about himself as much as the othe...
Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist in the book “Catcher in the Rye”, is usually described as an uncouth, impolite, inappropriate character, who has little to no respect for anyone but himself. However, after I completed the book, I realized that while Holden did a poor job of establishing his positive characteristics to the readers, his behavior often proved he was a respectable, honest human being that was often misjudged. My opinion is that Holden possessed contrasting characteristics that were both undesirable and admirable qualities. I believe that because the book was written in the first person point of view, Holden is often judged based on his thoughts and not on his actions. Throughout the entire book the reader was given a perspective
According to Holden, life is depressing because of societal division – between different groups, between economic classes. As well, he believes that life becomes more boring and depressing when a child becomes an adult and settles into societal norms. Holden thinks himself the ‘catcher in the rye’, saving children from falling into this abyss of repetitive corruption. I agree with him on certain points – although, unlike Holden, I believe that a person can think individually from group opinion and society does not always divide itself into clear-cut, defined groups. However, there is no arguing that life doesn’t have its negative side – and Holden Caufield presents Salinger’s readers with a unique interpretation that rings true to heart for many.
Holden’s central goal is to resist the process of maturity itself. He is quite immature through constantly wanting everything to be easily understandable and eternally fixed. An example of Holden’s maturity would be when he was at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. While looking at the statues of the Eskimos and Indians, he thought of their simplicity. Following this, Holden contemplated a world where everything is simple and understandable. The purpose of adulthood is to understand differences and to contemplate the complexity of the world around us. As Holden grows up, he sees the superficiality, hypocrisy, pretension, and shallowness of the world around him. After this realization, Holden invents a fantasy that adulthood is a world of superficiality and hypocrisy where adults are inevitable phonies, and they cannot see their own phoniness. In comparison to this, Holden sees childhood as a world of innocence, curiosity, and honesty. In his personal fantasy, he sees children running around a field of rye, which represents childhood. A cliff by the field of rye represents adulthood, as the children will have a fatal cliff fall. Holden’s fantasy is becoming the catcher in the rye, or “saving” these children from the inevitable adulthood. In continuation to this, Holden’s youthful search of ducks represents a lack of understanding as the ducks appear and disappear over the season. The ducks represent how some things only vanish temporarily. This connects to Holden’s brother Allie’s death as he lost his brother permanently. The pond represents a transition between childhood and adulthood as the pond is “partly frozen and partly not frozen”. In conclusion to this, Holden’s bravery can be seen through the difficulty of facing adulthood and comprehending the death of his brother,
Holden Caulfield is an intriguing narrator who guides us through his world with amazing honesty. By experiencing the world through his words and ideas we are in a position to understand the character better than anyone else in the novel. Specifically through his comments and attitudes about sex he reveals his sensitive and caring nature, his innocence and naïveté, and a fierce fear of change. Above all else it is revealed that Holden is not prepared to grow up and whether he ever will be is left uncertain.
Goldman, Michael. "Hamlet and Our Problems." Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. David Scott Kaston. New York City: Prentice Hall International. 1995. 43-55
However, this test also provides a look at Hamlet’s more vulnerable and deep emotional side. Hamlet spends hours upon hours pondering life. He obsesses about events he feels have adversely affected him. However, he also believes these events are quite simply consequences of existence and that life itself may not be worth living. He is convinced that he is one of the few sincere people in the world; therefore he has no tolerance for people he perceives as abusive. As a result, each negative experience pushes him further away from people and deeper into his preoccupation with the tragedy and cruelty in his
Hamlet, a dispirited victim of unfortunate family circumstance, or a man plagued by a serious and debilitating mental illness? This is a topic that has intrigued literary and psychological critics alike for many years and has produced many interesting theories about Hamlet’s less than stable behavior throughout the length of the Shakespeare’s play. While the question of Hamlet’s sanity is debatable, his inability to act on his decisions and his constant depressed and agitated mood do inspire some curious questions about his methods and behavior towards other characters in the play. While it is true that the death of a loved one can propel any being into a state of grief and depression, Hamlet seems to exaggerate the situation of his father’s death by constantly bruiting and wearing “the trappings and suits of woe” (Shakespeare, 1.2. 89), and makes no real effort to move on as he seems content to wallow in his grief. What is even more fascinating is the way in which he treats the people who clearly care about him and want nothing more but the best for him. He constantly badgers the ones who are closest to him, and while he meticulously analyzes his every thought, his actions towards others are still rash and sometimes needlessly harsh. These complex characteristics of the man Hamlet, have baffled and mesmerized literary scholars and the general public alike for decades, sometimes making the play hard to comprehend and even frustrating for the audience at times. The frustration of relating to such a complex character however can be easily alleviated by perceiving Hamlet not just as a man weakened by a complicated domestic situation, but as a man tormented by what we know today to be Major depressive disorder.
The novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” revolves around the protagonist Holden Caulfield as the story is told from his perspective. J.D. Salinger constructed Holden Caulfield as a cynical person who cannot accept to grow up. Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye,” J.D. Salinger uses symbolism to reveal and reinforce critical aspects of the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Three important aspects Holden acquired through Salinger’s use of symbolism are: his stubborn, uncompromising mentality; his softer, more caring respectful side; Holden’s cowardly way of acting and thinking.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet is arguably one of the best plays known to English literature. It presents the protagonist, Hamlet, and his increasingly complex path through self discovery. His character is of an abnormally complex nature, the likes of which not often found in plays, and many different theses have been put forward about Hamlet's dynamic disposition. One such thesis is that Hamlet is a young man with an identity crisis living in a world of conflicting values.
Davis, Tenney L. “The Sanity of Hamlet.” The Journal of Philosophy 18.23 (1921): 629–634. JSTOR. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits. A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development. When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King. In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair. Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character. One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.
Sharing the weaknesses of those he reviles, Hamlet turns his most unsparing criticisms upon himself. The appalling contrast between his uncle and father reminds him of the contrast between himself and Hercules – although when the fit of action is upon him he is as hardy as “The Nemean lion’s nerve.” “We are arrant knaves all,” he warns Ophelia, “believe none of us.” (5)
The perfection of Hamlet’s character has been called in question - perhaps by those who do not understand it. The character of Hamlet stands by itself. It is not a character marked by strength of will or even of passion, but by refinement of thought and sentiment. Hamlet is as little of the hero as a man can be. He is a young and princely novice, full of high enthusiasm and quick sensibility - the sport of circumstances, questioning with fortune and refining on his own feelings, and forced from his natural disposition by the strangeness of his situation.
Hamlet is the best known tragedy in literature today. Here, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet’s flaws as a heroic character. The tragedy in this play is the result of the main character’s unrealistic ideals and his inability to overcome his weakness of indecisiveness. This fatal attribute led to the death of several people which included his mother and the King of Denmark. Although he is described as being a brave and intelligent person, his tendency to procrastinate prevented him from acting on his father’s murder, his mother’s marriage, and his uncle’s ascension to the throne.