The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger is one of the most controversial and timeless books written in our history. A “catcher in the rye” is someone that’s stands at the edge of a rye field and saves children from falling over a cliff. Holden Caulfield, a troubled young teenager and also the main character of the novel, pictures himself as being this “catcher in the rye” protecting all children from losing their innocence. Towards the end of Catcher in The Rye he realizes that this idea is something impossible because growing up and getting old is inevitable even for him. Throughout the course of the novel we notice how Holden is digging himself deeper into a hole as he transitions from adolescence to adulthood. He continues to head into the direction of despair as we see how purposeless his life becomes. Holden thinks by moving to a new environment the course of his life would change but it doesn’t. It just continues to get worst until eventually we learn that he is in a ward somewhere in California. Holden Caulfield has nothing to live for so maybe he should just give up entirely. Holden is like most teenagers: he’s trying to find his place in society without having any sort of direction. One of the main reasons this is hard for Holden is because he doesn’t have any role models and is misguided. His brother D.B. lives all the way in Hollywood “being a prostitute” (Salinger 2) and he resents his parents. Everyone around him seems to be “phonies “and Holden is continuously trying to be different but notices that the lifestyle he wants just doesn’t fit in the world he lives in . He constantly rejects certain ways of living but can’t seem to find the purpose for his own and because of this he criticizes the life of the... ... middle of paper ... ... the story this whole time. It sad to say but there is just no hope for Holden Caulfield. Catcher in the Rye was truly a story of despair and even Holden was aware of that. There were never really any happy times for Holden and if there was it never lasted. I would suggest that Holden goes back to the drawing board and comes up with a better purpose for his life other then his unrealistic idea of saving all children from losing their innocence. The idea is just completely unrealistic. The Catcher in the Rye showed a sequence of unfortunate events that I wouldn’t wish any teenager to go through. Sadly this is what happens to a lot of teenagers like Holden but luckily Holden didn’t turn to suicide like many do. Holden needs to realize that having meaning comes from within and maybe if he changed his attitude towards life and to those around him life would get better.
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” is a 1950’s novel written by J.D. Salinger. It tells a story about a teenage boy who travels to multiple locations throughout New York after being kicked out of his school, Pencey. Throughout the book, Salinger uses numerous amount of symbolism to show the feelings of the main character, Holden Caulfield. One of the most recognized symbol is Holden’s red hunting hat. It is present in many situations and has abundance amount of symbolic characteristics. The red hunting hat plays an important role to Holden and represents his individuality, safety, as well as his strive for childhood innocence.
The Catcher in the Rye has been described, analyzed, rebuffed, and critiqued over the years. Each writer expresses a different point of view: It is a story reflecting teen-ager's talk--thoughts-emotions--actions; or angst. I believe it is an adult's reflection of his own unresolved grief and bereavements. That adult is the author, J.D. Salinger. He uses his main character, Holden, as the voice to vent the psychological misery he will not expose -or admit to.
The novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by JD Salinger, touches on the themes of innocence, death, and the artifice and the authenticity in the world, while following the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, through his weekend trip to New York City. As the story unfolds, Holden, as narrator, becomes more vulnerable to the reader, and starts to express his feelings surrounding the death of his brother, Allie, as well as his feelings about himself. Holden is faced with a truth that has haunted him for many years: adulthood. Many of the qualities Holden exhibits, which he sees as negative, are those of the average person: struggle, loneliness, deep sadness. He is one of many classic protagonists that encourages the reader to relate to them on
“Don’t tell people what you are thinking, or you will miss them terribly when you are away” (Salinger 214) says Holden Caulfeild as he warns the world. Salingers novel pinpoints the many fears and phobias of growing up from an immature, pessimistic, “everybody’s a goddam phony” perspective that makes it relate-able to young transitioning teenagers. Salinger's Caulfeild is afraid of growing up and the unknown prospects of entering the adult world after experiencing a life changing event. Holden, clinging to his innocence, most importantly learns how the Phony adult world not only treats people like HC poorly, but it kills them.
When someone loses his or her innocence it causes him or her to see the world how it really is. They do not see the world as a perfect place. People usually lose their innocence when they witness or are part of a life-altering event. In the Catcher in The Rye by JD Salinger she shows how a person can lose their innocence at a young age using Holden as an example. She says how when Holden was 13 his brother died of leukemia. Holden talks about his brother, Allie like he was a saint. He said how “He was two years younger (he) was but about fifty times as intelligent” (Salinger, 38). Holden also had to go through another death of someone he knew. James Castle, a fellow student at Elkton Hill School. He jumps out of the window because he did not want to take back something he said to another student. Holden feels connected to him in a way because James Castle is wearing Holden’s turtleneck sweater when he dies. Holden feels like children should not have to lose their innocence when they are young. He feels this because of his past experiences with the death of James Castle and the death of his brother
The negative light that Holden views the world under is a key contribution to his unhappiness. He is unable to see even a glint of sincerity in people’s actions which allows him to experience feelings of severe despondency and dejection. “People never give your message to anybody,” (pg. 166) shows how Holden no longer feels let down by people but instead expects the worst from them instead. He struggles to find genuinity in people’s actions, and in turn feels “lousy and depressed,” by nearly everything. Holden is constantly seen bringing down the adult world. It is shown he has an inner conflict between his adult and child self, leading him to feeling lost and without a place. He is disgusted by the adult world describing it as a place filled with “phonies” but, views adolescence as a source of happiness. He shows a direct fear of change by stating, “The best thing...was that everything always stayed right where it was.” (pg. 135). As Holden is being pushed out of his childhood and into an area where he feels out of place, it is only inevitable that this would be a source of his depression. Both of these internal conflicts add to Holden Caulfield’s
J.D. Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, is about a sixteen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield. Throughout the story, his doubt and strange thoughts reflect his desperation from others. His tone often sets a depressing setting. In the novel, it never reflects on Holden's past, and in the end never shown any signs of his achievements. Holden is not your typical bildungsroman protagonist, many question if Holden Caulfield ever comes of age.
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.
In The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel, emerges as a juvenile who has a bleak outlook in life, accosted with the arduous challenges of both humanity and life as he seeks to define the meaning of existence. Holden has many obstacles being thrown at him such as the loss of his younger brother, Allie, which has him confused and trapped in recollections from the past. On his own Holden has made attempts to subside these conflicts, however, they have only left him managing with more problems: loneliness, addictions, delusions, etc. Holden is also depicted as a failure that struggles to maintain firm in one of the four schools he has been expelled from. As a result of said incapacity to remain stable,
In The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden, is a teenage boy who struggles with his emotions and connecting with other people. Throughout the book, he encounters many different people in New York City after he leaves his preparatory high school early due to his expulsion. All of the people that Holden meets are seen to him as “phonies” so he decides not to listen to them. He is held back because of the fact that he believes he is the only genuine one. Holden’s belief in his infallibility prevents him from listening to others perspectives and does not allow himself to mature. Throughout the book he is given great advice, but he is to full of himself to realize that he is not as wise as he thinks. He is just as young man who thinks he
Holden Caulfield is a strange character in the story The Catcher in the Rye. He is first seen this way by when he gets expelled from a school called Pencey Prep. He is expelled for flunking almost all of his classes. Holden then watches his school play in a football game from afar and decides he wants to say bye to his teacher. After that he decides to leave Pencey early and head home to New York. He goes out drinking and hitting on women while he is there and then goes to see his sister, Phoebe. He is very close to his younger sister and really connects with her. This disorder that Holden has could be believed to be bipolar disorder; which he displays in different occasions throughout the novel.
Nostalgia can be considered an invertible feeling that everyone will experience at one point in their life. The definition of nostalgia is “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations”. The Catcher in the Rye contains characters which follow the definition of nostalgia, to the point where it will affect their outcome in life, causing nostalgia to become an egregious trait. Everyone who overly desire or reliant on nostalgia can not be successful in life.
“I'm pretty sure he yelled "Good luck!" at me. I hope not. I hope to hell not. I'd never yell "Good luck!" at anybody. It sounds terrible when you think about it. The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is about a teenager named Holden that no one pays attention too who hates phonies and does not want to encounter the adult world. The novel is called “The Catcher in the Rye” because Holden wishes to prevent other young teenagers from entering the adult world. He imagines a field full of young teens that are walking to a cliff and are going to fall into the adult world. I think J.D Salinger’s purpose for writing the novel was to understand Holden's depression.
Growing up poses challenges to most people at some point in their lives. 16-year-old Holden Caufield is no exception. He is an apathetic teenager who’s flunked out of many schools. Underneath the cynical exterior, though, Holden is troubled. He has different methods for escaping his problems, but in the end they just cause him more problems.