Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye

The coming of age phase in a young person’s life is a transitional phase which prompts the idea of individualism, decision making, acceptance, moral challenges, disappointment, and individual needs. These years are essential for the overall learning and growing-up part of someone’s life. Coming of age characteristics transpired in the novel The Catcher in the Rye and The Absolutely True Diary of a part-time Indian pertain to, but do not exclude, the acceptance of the complexities and “grayness” of the world, confrontation with the adult world, and the individual needs and desires vs. external pressures/expectations/norms. In both novels, young boys are faced with tough choices that will later help them in the overall transition from

“I swear to God I’m a madman” (149) Holden Caulfield says, revealing the wicked nature of J.D Salinger’s 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye. The book follows 16 year old Holden Caulfield in his days spent alone on the streets of New York City after getting kicked out of prep school. During this time Holden goes on an alcoholic rampage, fueled by hate and filled with anger towards anything he sees as phony. The book has been the cause of major controversy since its release, with schools across the country banning it from the realms of teaching for decades. Now, it is read in many high school literature classes because of its alleged similarity to the way teenagers think. The Catcher in the Rye should not be taught to young, impressionable teenagers in public schools because of its rampant profanity, glorification of alcohol and tobacco use, and narration by a mentally ill, generally horrible person.

In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy who has recently expelled from school, had lost his younger brother to Leukemia and witnessed the suicide of one of his peers, struggles in his journey of coming of age. He isn’t fond of the idea of having to mature and be exposed to responsibilities and problems of the real world. As a result, he tries to preserve the innocence of his younger sister, Phoebe. One way in which he aims to accomplish this goal is through a Little Shirley Beans record which he buys in hopes of giving it to Phoebe. Salinger utilizes the symbol of the broken record to develop Holden’s loss of innocence and deteriorating character.

It is known that humans require interaction between each other. As a result we tend to get attached and depend on them. We tend to advocate others from groups and keep to the same people. J. D. Salinger explores this in his book in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye. This book is beloved by many because it is so easy to connect to, even our generation now can connect to Holden and some of the things he goes through. The story is about a boy named Holden, he gets kicked out of school multiple times, and instead of telling his parents he wanders around New York in search of someone that cares and that he can make a connection with. Growing up is hard, and we need human connection to make through the hard times.

“You'll have to jump.' 'I'll jump.' 'Jump!' Major Danby cried. Yossarian jumped. Nately's whore was hiding just outside the door. The knife came down, missing him by inches, and he took off” (Heller 350). Yossarian ends his dialogue in a cheery and fun way because he is finally going to be free from the oppression of the US military. This also shows his increased morals, because in the beginning, he would have just killed the girl for trying to kill him. He also uses arrangement to show America at the time like, “ Heller's satirical masterpiece tells us something about the madness of America” (Pilger, John). This shows how the novel portrays the insanity of the war at this time and how these people need help or to get out. The main part of the novel is just the insane adventures Yossarian goes on throughout his horrifying experience.

The tone or attitude in which Holden speaks is based on sarcasm and rudeness which shapes him as a character. He uses sarcasm throughout the book such as on page 71. He says, “I told her, ‘you’re really lucky. You know that?’ She was a real moron. But what a dancer” (71). Here, Holden is being very sarcastic and rude with this girl which forms Holden into his character. His tone towards the world and to the people in it is just careless because he doesn’t care about being nice to anyone. He continues to act this way, even to people that matter, such as on page 13, he says, “You mean about my flunking out of Pencey and all? ‘ I said. I sort of wished he’d cover up his bumpy chest. It wasn’t such a beautiful view” (13). Mr. Spencer is one of Holden’s teachers at Pencey and he doesn’t appreciate that at all. When Mr. Spencer is being sincere towards him, all Holden can think about is the fact that Mr. Spencer’s chest is “bumpy”. This truly defines Holden as a character and what kind of person he is; a sarcastic and cynical individual, all shown through his tone of voice.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger that occurs around the 1950s. The story’s protagonist and narrator is Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old white male, who journeys to various places as he mourns over the death of his little brother, Allie. As a white male in a capitalist society, he has tremendous amounts of privileges that allow him to get. However, as the novel progresses, Holden describes his society as a place where honored human qualities are suppressed and capitalist ideals are embraced. Throughout the novel, we see that capitalism, “the social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned”, destroys the overall society for Holden and his generation (Rand).

American literature is full of classic novels containing heroic protagonists; Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye is not one of these classic heroes. The article Some Crazy Cliff by Arthur Heiserman and James E. Miller Jr. provides one interpretation of the novel suggesting that the protagonist is unique compared to others commonly found in American literature; most heroes are seeking acceptance while Holden is seeking something within the society he is trying to leave. The novel follows Holden Caulfield, a young boy who recently flunked out of high school, over the course of three days. During this time, the protagonist returns to New York via train, but does not want to be with his parents until they have already learned of his

As a teenager, Holden Caulfield uses the language appropriate to his age group in the 1950s. His blunt, straightforward style can be repetitive, especially in his use of vernacular such as “wuddayacallit” and “sort of.” Holden also swears quite often and quite carelessly in the book, constantly using words like goddam and sonuvabitch: “I was the goddam manager of the fencing team” (page 3), “I left all the foils and equipment and stuff on the goddam subway” (page 3), “I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam

Teenage angst is an inevitable disease. The Catcher in The Rye conveys these tormented times rather well with the situations Holden Caulfield finds himself in. His self-fulfilling prophecies and everyday contradictions put everything into perspective, relating to most young adults, including myself.

Holden Caulfield often glides in between the boundary of childhood and adulthood. Holden is able to see the hypocrisy of the adult world and he finds it to be completely asinine. Holden does not understand why teachers would change their behaviour in class and during other activities. Holden labels adults to be phoney because they fake their true intentions to get what they want. Holden’s delusions cause him to want to become the ‘catcher in the rye’ where he would defend any child that comes close to falling to the falseness of adulthood.

In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger captures struggle of Holden Caulfield with the fight between adolescence and adulthood. The story is told from the perspective of Holden Caulfield, who can be described as a rude, stubborn, not very intelligent and negative. Through the novel we see the world in Holden's eyes and his perspective because of the noel being written in first-person singular. The author also uses sentences nd the way they are written to express Holden as a person. The short sentences show anger and resentment for different things and the fragment sentences and incomplete sentences show adolescent and intelligent. Imagery is used to further promote the sensory experience for the reader. In the novel Catcher in The Rye, S.D. Salinger uses Holden's point-of-view, sentence structure and imagery to help the reader understand Holden as a person.

In J.d. Salinger’s novel the Catcher In the Rye there are many events that occur that can be interpreted differently. The different interpretations that can be interpreted could be the scenes about Jane’s stepdad, Holden’s childhood, Mr. Antolini, James Castle’s suicide, Holden’s sexuality and the ending of the book. When Stradlater tells Holden who his date is he gets really excited and anxious.

Holden likes to isolate himself. His isolation is what causes most of his pain. He isolates himself so he can protect himself from all the phonies in the world. Holden doesn’t really like phonies. He calls everyone phonies so he won’t feel bad when they reject them. He desperately wants love and attention like other teens but everyone gets rejected. Holden relates to most teens because they all want someone to love them.

"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of