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An essay on 3 themes in the catcher in the rye
An essay on 3 themes in the catcher in the rye
An essay on 3 themes in the catcher in the rye
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In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger portrays a rebellious teenager who has run away from everything. Throughout the book, he gets himself into trouble several times all while his parents think he is still in the school that he flunked out of. Set aside from running away, Holden makes many mistakes and does things that would never be expected from a 16 year old boy. Many people say that this book encourages teens to rebel against society’s expectations by his actions of drinking, smoking, and breaking the rules, but it is through these actions Holden accomplishes nothing. As the story progresses, Holden’s alcohol and tobacco intake increases, but only seems to affect him negatively, showing readers the dangers of doing these …show more content…
While Holden is staying in a hotel after running away from his prep school, he smokes several cigarettes, “I sat in the chair for a while and smoked a couple of cigarettes” (98). Most people would smoke one cigarette, but Holden sits and smokes a couple, and knowing that Holden tends to exaggerate the truth he most likely smoked several. Some people may say that Holden smoking is an inappropriate image to be seen by readers, but really it is a symbol of his depression, as he smokes more and more at a time as the story goes on. Later on in the story Holden goes out to a bar and is served, and becomes very drunk. He walks into the bathroom and sits on the radiator, and begins to cry, “When I finally got down off the radiator and went out to the hat-check room, I was crying and all. I don’t know why, but I was. I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome” (153). Instead of seeking help, Holden smokes and drinks to try and escape his pain, but it helps him in no way. After leaving the bar Holden has a breaking point, with all his depression and alcohol/tobacco intake taking a toll on him. He is outside in the cold after having many …show more content…
He goes back and forth throughout the story about his feelings on sex. He respects women more than most boys his age, but he glosses over the truth saying, “I don’t mean I’m oversexed or anything like that - although I am quite sexy” (54). The way Holden describes his feelings are constantly contradicting his own statements, but deep down he respects women for more than sexual purposes. He even admits eventually that he is a virgin after talking about how “sexy” he is. Later on in the story Holden stays at an old hotel after running away from school. He is feeling bored and lonely, so he decides to call a girl that he knows sleeps with younger boys, “I was feeling pretty horny… I started looking for this address a guy I met at a party last summer gave me… She used to be a burlesque stripper or something” (63). I think that when Holden says he is feeling horny, he is actually just lonely. I think that he again is glossing over the truth, and tries to have a date for the night that he can sleep with, but in reality he just wants someone to be with. Later on that evening, after the girl he calls says that it is too late to see Holden, he goes out feeling lonely and dances for a while until it is very late in the evening and he heads back to his room. On his way to his room a man asks him if he would like “a little tail” for the night, leading Holden agree to pay for a girl for the night and lie
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.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an enthralling and captivating novel about a boy and his struggle with life. The teenage boy ,Holden, is in turmoil with school, loneliness, and finding his place in the world. The author J.D. Salinger examines the many sides of behavior and moral dilemma of many characters throughout the novel. The author develops three distinct character types for Holden the confused and struggling teenage boy, Ackley, a peculiar boy without many friends, and Phoebe, a funny and kindhearted young girl.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D.Salinger, is a novel written to convey the emotions of transitioning from a child to an adult. The story takes place primarily in New York City, New York, following teenage boy Holden Caulfield during a short snippet of his life. The reader travels through this time as Caulfield is kicked out of secondary school and journeys to New York shortly after. The novel’s purpose is to detail the painful experience of being a teenager through the eyes of a boy who does not understand adults and experiences withdrawal from society due to his discontent with it. This experience relates to many which is why the book is still to this day so popular and why it is a valuable piece of literature.
There are a few really traumatic incidents and many little things that contribute to Holden’s depression and mental issues. Holden was molested as a child many times, his little brother died when he was only 10 and he was also abandoned by his family by being sent away to different boarding schools. This took
Holden has lived with this disease for years without treatment and his most prominent symptom is depression, which may have escalated into Major Depressive Disorder. Holden himself has said he feels depressed numerous times. This is a mood disorder that causes feelings of sadness and loss of interest. It affects how a person feels, thinks, and behaves and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems (Mayo Clinic). The symptoms of this disorder are very similar to PTSD, which include mood swings and feeling discontent. "You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth"(133). Holden said this just after asking Sally to run away with him and start a new life. Now he is back to thinking of her a pain and a phony. Though, he did mean what he said about going away, which shows how discontent he is with his life. Another symptom is crying, which Holden does multiple times in seemingly peculiar situations for unknown reasons. “I was sort of crying. I don 't know why” (52). Holden has trouble managing his thoughts and feelings, and although he feels happy to be leaving Pency he begins to cry. Holden is very irritable and puts him in sad moods throughout his life. “The more I thought about my gloves and my yellowness, the more depressed I got, and I decided, while I was walking and all, to stop off and have a drink somewhere”(90). When he feels this way, all he can think about is being depressed and it is hard to concentrate. Then he feels the need to drink, even though he is only 16. Substance abuse is also a common sign/symptom of depression. “So all I did was, I ordered another drink. I felt like getting stinking drunk” (145).Holden turns to alcohol and uses it as entertainment and an outlet from his depression. Holden’s depression has gotten to the point where he often thinks about suicide and wishes he were dead. “What I really felt like,
Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he expresses this attitude through his dialogue, tone, and diction.
Holden is quite an interesting character because his attitude toward life in general is very complex. He pretends to be an adult by drinking heavily, yet he complains like a child. You can clearly see the struggle Holden is going through in finding himself. Holden's thoughts aren't what the average sixteen year old boy thinks about. He describes death in a weird sense and he pretends to be injured often yet he hasn’t been in that position before. He is a bit violently and sexual for a kid. Holden feels misunderstood by others because the way they perceive him.
Every teenager goes through the struggles of wanting to be liked and not wanting to become prepared for the real world. In the book The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield is a person that struggles in life by the fact that he has been kicked out of several schools, and also the school Holden is currently going to Pencey prep school. One reason he gets kicked out of school is because Holden grades are terrible. So he goes on this journey to find who he is and to make himself feel better about who he is and trying to become the guy that he wants to be honest and humble in life. This novel still has a place for high school students of the 21st century for the reason that they can relate with Holden
J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is the cliche favorite books among English teachers. Some people may feel that Holden Caulfield was just an average, moody teenager. However, the many different things that he went through made him the person he was. The themes, characters and the feelings in The Catcher in the Rye give many people are relevant to today’s society. Holden could be considered to be phony, just like he calls everyone else. He is very depressed and can be seen throughout the novel. Holden’s views on growing up can be parallel to many others just like him.
Holden Caulfield, the teenage protagonist of Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, struggles with having to enter the adult world. Holden leaves school early and stays in New York by himself until he is ready to return home. Holden wants to be individual, yet he also wants to fit in and not grow up. The author uses symbolism to represent Holden’s internal struggle.
After continuing to read the chapters, I have realized that this story is becoming more interesting because the author is adding in plot twists, and these plot twists just make Holden’s life more complicated and make him more depressed. I am assuming that Holden might even get sick because of all the sorrowness he is feeling. New characters will also be revealed that will either help Holden get out of the dark pit he is in, or push him further down it. I will continue to read the chapters as I am sure they will keep me engrossed and absorbed to know about the life of Holden
Holden’s thoughts indicate a personal struggle with depression, which strongly influences him. In many instances throughout the novel, Holden relays to the reader a feeling of deep sadness; this depression is often unreasonable and triggered by minor events and situations. When he explains his feelings about a prior headmaster’s “phony” and “long-winded” discussions with well-built and well-dressed parents, it makes him “so depressed [he] go[es] crazy” (19). His feelings about the headmaster reveal that he is prone to emotional overreaction and depressive thoughts. Holden even contemplates committing suicide several times. After a night where he did not have any particular luck in socializing, he feels so depressed that he wishes he were dead. This is pivotal because it is evident that his depression and emotions influence his thoughts. This becomes interesting and relevant to the reader because they can relate to the influential power their emotions have, and they can watch throughout the novel Ho...
Holden has delusional thoughts. “Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around––nobody big, I mean––except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff [...]” (page 191). Holden’s dream is to keep kids from growing up, to keep them young and innocent. Holden’s views of this stems from his fear of maturity and growing up. The idea of keeping children young is a delusion thought because he, in theory, wants to control whether or not the children grow to become adults or become mature. Holden has a strong dislike towards “phonies” and anything having to do with them. In Holden's mind, as people grow older, they become “phonies”. Holden has shows signs of depression throughout the text, specifically on page fifty-four it states, “I got up and went over and looked out the window. I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead.” Holden’s old roommate from another school had died after jumping out a window, and Holden had seen it happen. Holden was triggered into remember the event, causing him to feel lonely and depressed. Depression may be the cause for Holden's addiction to alcohol and smoking as well as his low appetite, low sex-drive, and insomnia. Holden shows many other psychological signs of schizophrenia, but the most predominate are delusional thoughts and
In J.D. Salinger’s controversial 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character is Holden Caulfield. When the story begins Holden at age sixteen, due to his poor grades is kicked out of Pencey Prep, a boys’ school in Pennsylvania. This being the third school he has been expelled from, he is in no hurry to face his parents. Holden travels to New York for several days to cope with his disappointments. As James Lundquist explains, “Holden is so full of despair and loneliness that he is literally nauseated most of the time.” In this novel, Holden, a lonely and confused teenager, attempts to find love and direction in his life. Holden’s story is realistic because many adolescent’s face similar challenges.