Holden fears becoming an adult in mind and heart, but wants to become one in his actions. He wants to be safe but take chances. It’s a battle between childhood and adulthood, between innocence and phoniness. This battle is what has made Holden’s world an illusion, what has made him a madman. Holden fears landing form his illusion, becoming what he despises, knowing his protection is lost and knowing he is vulnerable to the world.
The Character Telemachi in The Odysseus Telemachi's role in the novel reiterates the strength and courage of Odysseus. The beginning of the novel concentrates on Telemachi's quest to find his father. He does not approve of how the suitors have taken advantage of his mother and himself; however, he is unsure and incapable of ridding his home of these men. He is on the peek of becoming a man but he remains very inexperienced in comparison to his father. Telemachi is self- conscious because he does not encompass the same skills his father is famous for.
But, these concerns are not genuine. These concerns are his means to control his son. The fatherly love in “Cleanness” is corruptive because it prevents the maturation of the son to become an independent individual, and similarly the deceased mother, from asserting control over themselves. The father in “Cleanness” is over-protective and adopts a paternalistic approach that is actually detrimental to the psychological and emotional development of the son, although the father insists that he is only protecting his son through his excessive guidance. Such revelation is evident in the passage when Roland, the son, tries to intervene at the wedding, confides with the young woman with whom his father is marrying.
He leads people to believe that he has a sense of superiority but what they don’t know is that this is one of his defence mechanisms to keep them away. The main theme in this story is the fear of losing the innocence as a child. All in all this is to help him keep a sense of stability in his life. Holden’s pain is mainly because he alienates himself from society. Holden does not speak about or show any emotion but yet desires the love and contact from a partner or friend although his walls don’t allow it.
Unfortunately Donald does not evolve enough to meet his brother’s expectations. Both young brothers fail in their lives but for very different reasons. Sonny’s drugs addiction puts him to jail and Donald’s quest for the faith of his soul results in many issues with Pete. Nevertheless, Sonny’s brother sees and witnesses what his brother is really capable of, while sadly for Donald, Pete definitely cannot live with his brother’s way of living. "Sonny's Blues" and "The Rich Brother" are perfect examples of how brothers relationships are: full of love but paved with insurmountable obstacles at the same time.
Because Holden lacked paternal figures in his life or a greater influence he took the idea of innocence as his mantra. His need to find an identity led him to find a role model in children, which led him to believe permanent innocence would mean happiness and sanity. He held on to his idea and sought out to find innocence in the dimmest of places. His intoxication with this idea and his disappointing encounters with adults ensure him that nothing but corruption is found once a child grows up. He rejected the idea of adulthood and created further problems for himself.
Amir betrays Hassan because he believes Hassan is a sacrifice he has to make to win his father’s affection. Khaled Hosseini uses the character foil of Amir with Baba and Hassan to emphasize Amir’s lack of honorable qualities and how he must search for redemption to find peace with himself. Throughout the beginning of the novel, Amir struggles to obtain approval from his father because he worries that Amir will grow up to become a coward instead of a true man like him. In a conversation with Rahim-Khan, Baba states, "A boy who won't stand up for himself becomes a man who can't stand up to anything"(22). Rahim-Khan assures Baba that Amir simply does not possess aggressiveness and upon hearing this, Amir begins to mistreat Hassan.
I discussed Holden's apprehension of individuals abandoning him, how Holden judges individuals as “Phonies”, and Holden's inclination and views towards himself. He strives to make connections and bonds with the individuals he meets, in light of the fact that he passes judgment on them and views everyone as an imposter or being “Phony”. Holden has some difficulty growing up and tolerating life, as it seems to be. Holden declines to consider with his feelings towards situations and events that occur, this is on because Holden cannot adversely and acknowledge the progressions in life. In turn, his inability to form bonds and meaningful relationships prompts his depression and...
Critics of the book have said, “Holden is an outcast like Huck Finn, and like Huck he tells his story in his own idiom, Holden's voice is not merely a virtuoso recreation of contemporary adolescent speech” (Sandock). Holden is considered an outcast because he refuses to solidify a friendship with anyone but at the same time Holden always wants to be around humans. Salinger uses Holden to stress the importance of friendships and how they keep humans sane. Holden’s lack of friendships has led him t... ... middle of paper ... ...nections with other humans. Holden refuses to conform to societies demands at first but in the end he is forced to conform.
Tom is indeed a fool but his consideration, which arises from a love for his sister, separates him from his father even if the conclusion draws him away from home. Tom and his father are two men driven to the same conclusion by different modes. It is easy to assume that Tom’s character is only a parallel for his father. However, as the play develops Tom proves to be very dissimilar to his wayward father. While Tennessee Williams does intend for the reader to know why Amanda makes the comparison, he does not leave Tom to be a simple copy of his father.