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how is holden alienated in the story catcher in the rye
how is holden alienated in the story catcher in the rye
how is holden alienated in the story catcher in the rye
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Alienation is the isolation for your indifferences. The main character, Holden Caulfield isolates himself from society and those in it, especially adults who he describes to all be ‘phony.’ Although his isolation, Holden is on a constant search for companionship, but his indifference deprives him of this. Through his alienation, we are shown Holden’s perception of the characters in the text, and this is how we perceive them. This ultimately helps the author, J.D. Salinger to shape the characters using Holden’s social status. This illustrates the importance of Holden’s alienation within the text.
One iconic symbol of the text, which simply demons trates Holden’s unique personality and alienation, is his red hunting hat. The hat is isolated for its indifference in society, as is Holden, because of its bright colour and the fact that it’s out of its usual environment, as a hunting hat isn’t worn in the city, but in the country. The hat symbolises Holden’s standout and isolated personality, but also his immaturity as he is on the verge of adulthood, yet wears a bright red hat used for hunting. When wearing the hat, Holden feels that he can be as insular and as tough as he likes, just like his brother Allie, and sister Phoebe, who have red hair and are both younger than him. He describes it as a people shooting hat, it simply means that when he wears the hat, he feels superior to others, indifferent to others, symbolising his alienation.
The first character to be shaped by Salinger’s use of Holden’s alienation is Holden himself. Through his alienation, we can see that Holden is depressed and lonely searching for a companion. The constant tying of the words depressed and lonesome together in the text create this aspect of Holden. “I was...
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...ally Phoebe. The effect this has on the reader is a lasting one, the reader realises the extent of Holden’s alienation of adults and how they’re phony and perceives Phoebe as one of Holden’s only possible companion, which is recognised as a feeling of content that Holden has someone to call a friend.
Through Holden’s alienation of adults being ‘phony’ it helps shapes the characters Holden, Ackley, Sally and Phoebe. This is done using Holden’s perception of Ackley, Sally through his attempt at developing a relationship with them yet failing because they aren’t the nicest of people, also his perception of Phoebe who is not a ‘phony’. Finally, Holden’s alienation leads to a perspective of him quite obviously being lonely and depressed. Through Holden’s alienation of the adult world, the reader certainly perceives that adults are indeed phonies, and the children aren’t.
Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.
... contentment in being with Phoebe. The transformation can be identified at the point where Phoebe asked, “Aren’t you going to ride, too?” (Salinger 273). This exhibits that she is no longer angry with Holden, and this is when the transformation is complete. Holden replied, “No, I’ll just watch ya, I think I’ll just watch” (Salinger 274). By refusing, Holden took the role of protecting Phoebe, returning home, and starting a new school life.
In Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is confronted with the difficulties of both humanity and life as he struggles to find direction, as well as a connection to a world which he has lost faith in. From the very beginning of the novel, the reader can appreciate and relate to Holden’s criticism and condemnation about society and the way people in society govern themselves. “Phoniness”, a reoccurring motif in the novel, is one of Holden’s most favorite conceptions, and is his catch phrase for describing the superficiality, hypocrisy, pretentiousness, and triviality that he comes across in the world around him. The painfulness of growing up is another issue that is touched quite frequently upon throughout the novel, as it is showcased through Holden’s creation of a fantasy world where childhood is a place of innocence and honesty while adulthood is only duplicity and deceit. Finally, relationships and intimacy are also sources of discomfort for Holden as he always runs away from the possibilities of affection and crawls back into the shell of isolation that he has created for himself. These three themes, although they may seem to only be typical, adolescent dilemmas, bring to light the injustices and inherent problems in societal standards and ideals. Ranging from the dishonest nature of people, the hardships of becoming an adult, to the difficulties of creating lasting relationships, Catcher in the Rye is not simply about an erratic and irresponsible teenager lashing out at the world, but a message that reveals pressing concerns of the existing, rigid s...
This essay outlines how J.D. Salinger creates a unique person in Holden Caulfield as he strives to find his place in the world as he moves from childhood to adulthood.. Holden narrates this story from the first person in flashback recounting events that happened to him over a two day span the previous year around Christmas. He narrates this story from some sort of mental hospital or institution. This is a clue as to how this journey affected him. This essay discusses how Holden views himself as he is his growing up, affected by interaction with other characters and how he is affected by loss of innocence moving from childhood to adulthood.
The distance that Holden makes sure to keep in place isolates him from others and manifests in curious actions and mannerisms. One example could be the red hunting hat, which advertises his uniqueness and also gives him a sense of protection. Holden explains to Ackley that his red hat is not a “deer shooting hat” but a “people shooting hat”. Out of all the mentions of the red hat in the novel, this is the most enlightening. Holden uses the hat as a sign of individuality and independence; this hat serves as another way Holden is able to isolate himself from the rest of the world. The red hat serves as symbol for Holden’s desperate desire for independence and his distaste for conformity. Although Holden does not kill anyone in the novel, he does “shoot people” in his own cynical way by spending all of his time and energy belittling the people around
Holden’s Borderline Personality Disorder is caused by trauma and neglect during his childhood, and separation from family, all mostly circulating around the death of his younger brother, Allie (“Mayo Clinic”). Holden had a very traumatic childhood, because of the death Allie, who he constantly conveys his love and devotion to his dead brother. Holden, often does not seem to grasp that Allie is dead, and seems to bring out Allie’s spirit in objects. The red hunting cap, reminds Holden of Allie, because it is also red like Allie’s hair, Holden also carries this hat with him through the novel (Salinger 17). Another thing Holden carries with him that reminds him of Allie is Allie’s baseball mitten, Holden admits “to have it with me, in my suitcase” (39). This baseball mitten, seems to be the only thing of Allie’s that Holden owns, and reminds him fondly of who and how Allie was as a person, Holden admitting that it was in his suitcase, tells us that he travels with it and that it is a ...
...common in human beings, and the demonstrations that have been considered in this term paper are not the only examples that live in the novel that call up the difficulty of considering with change. believe about Holden lowering out of yet another school, Holden departing Pencey Prep and, for a while, dwelling life in the cold streets of New York town all by his lonesome. The book ends abruptly, and gathering condemnation of it is not rare. It's an odd cliffhanger, not because of the way it's in writing, but because of a individual desire to glimpse what Holden finishes up doing with his life. Perhaps, as he augments up, he'll learn to contend better through change. Imagine the death of Phoebe, decisively an event that would be similar to Allie's tragic demise. if an older Holden would reply the identical as did a junior one, is a inquiry still searching for an answer.
...cape it. Holden, just like Aristotle said, needs time and he eventually begins to grow out of his awkward stage of adolescence. He comes to terms that he does not have to be a child to keep Allie in his heart, which enables him to grow up. Holden’s description of D.B.’s girlfriend gives Holden hope to accept that only some people are phonies and his ability to now move past that. As painful as growing up is for Holden, eventually, he is able to start moving past his quandary of “permanent intoxication,” and be able to embrace adulthood.
Holden Caulfield offers the reader an interesting view on dealing with teen problems and adult life through the eyes of a teenager suffering from depression. Depression and the death of his brother Allie play a significant role in Holden's personality, especially his sensitivity to people around him and the emotional response he has in certain situations. He is self-conscious of himself, but at the same time struggles for independence and individuality. He longs to keep his childhood, staying away from the adult world. However, Holden's story ends with saying "I sort of miss everybody I told about," implying that he has, at last, grown up and matured, and these experiences he has narrated are just boyhood memories.
...oes want them to turn into “phonies.” Holden seeks for a peaceful and uncorrupt world but he cannot obtain that due to the actions of others. Despite Holden’s attitude and outlook on life, he is quite passionate. Although he is a firm pessimist, calling every person he comes across a “phony,” there is an alternate side to him. In his interaction with Phoebe and the other children in the book, he tries to protect them from the rest of society, since children are still naïve and pure. It is justifiable why Holden craves to preserve the innocence of others. For most of us, growing up, we begin to understand more. We start to look at life in a different perspective, different from the one we did when we were young, but as a person who has seen and experienced more in life.
Holden Caulfield, created by J.D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye, uses alienation to shape his personality. Holden isolates himself from everything he possibly could to try to find his purpose in life and how he can protect childhood innocence whilst staying in the midst of childhood himself. Alienation is important in the novel as is the basis of Holden’s whole life and what moulds him to be the person he is as his life is barely influenced by the role of others. Holden has constantly pushed everyone in his life away and by the end of the novel he realises "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." (pg. 192) This shows that he has finally un-isolated himself and is ready to grow up and face his life.
Many young people often find themselves struggling to find their own identity and place in society. This search for self worth often leaves these young people feeling lonely and isolated because they are unsure of themselves. Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger's main character in the book The Catcher In the Rye, is young man on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. One contributor to this breakdown, is the loneliness that Holden experiences. His loneliness is apparent through many ways including: his lack of friends, his longing for his dead brother, and the way he attempts to gain acceptance from others.
The symbolism throughout the novel illustrates Holden’s isolation from the adult world. In the beginning of the Chapter Three, Holden returns to his dorm room where he finds his pestering roommate, Ackley. After seeing Holden’s red hunting hat, which he purchased in New York, Ackley is fascinated by it and tells Holden that “Up home [he] wears a hat like that to shoot deer in,” (22) Holden then takes the red hunting hat off of Ackleys’ head and closes one eye as if he is trying to shoot it. “This is a people shooting hat,” he says (22). It is obvious from the start of the novel that Holden’s red hat symbolizes his mark of individuality and independence. In this scene, the audience sees how his desire for independence is connected to the feeling of alienation and the bitterness Holden feels for the people in society. Of course, Holden will not actually sh...
While in New York with the fencing team, Holden loses all of their equipment, then buys a red hunting hat. Holden describes the hat as a, “red hunting hat, with one of those very, very, very long peaks… The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around back - very corny, I’ll admit, but I liked it that way.”(Salinger, 24) The hat makes him stand out and seem like a unique person.
Throughout the book Holden has troubles wearing his red hunting hat in public until one day he decides that he “didn’t give a damn how [he] looked” (Salinger 88). Holden is no longer abiding by society’s regulations on appearance. By becoming more intone with disregarding society’s standards one is able to find his/her true self. Furthermore, Holden starts learning “individual responsibility” and is coming to “terms with himself” (Bryan). Signifying how Holden finally realizes his individualism from society and his responsibility to uphold that individualism. Standing apart from society and not giving into its conformity is stepping in the direction of finding one’s true