Analysis : The Catcher In The Rye

To begin, Holden’s use of profanity and alcohol at a young age plays a substantially large role in the diction that he uses. Since this novel takes place during the 1950’s, Salinger consistently weaves words such as “goddamn” and “bastard” into Holden’s everyday language. His little sister, Phoebe, even tells him to “[not] swear so much” (218). Although peers and adults constantly tell Holden to stop such frugal language, Salinger views it as necessary to accurately depict a rebellious teenage boy of the current time period. Furthermore, Salinger’s lingual decisions regarding alcohol affect how the reader sees Holden as a person. Alcohol is very easy to get in the 1950’s, and frankly, it is what Holden turns to every time he gets depressed. One instance is in the Lavender Room, when Holden asks the waiter to “stick a little rum in it” (91) because he “can’t sit in a corny place like this cold sober” (91). Despite the fact that liquor is easy to procure,

The lost of innocence can totally change the way people view the world. A person who illustrates this can be found in J.D. Salinger’s novel, the Catcher in the Rye. The story happened during the 1950s, in a small town in Pennsylvania called Agerstown. A teenage boy named Holden, who witnesses the death of his older brother Allie when he was only 13 years old. Then consequently, he blames himself all his life for the death of Allie. As time went by he starts to search for a sense of innocence that was lost in the beginning of the novel. Throughout the course of the novel, the author conveys that Holden is continually stuck in between childhood and adulthood. The author uses Holden’s struggle to convey that in reality often times people who

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

In chapter 7, the themes and motifs of lying/ deception, the plight of mental health, protection, isolation, and relationship/ interaction with others are overarching. Holden is a compulsive liar who tends to lie to protect himself from judgement of others and he also lies as a means of a comfort mechanism. For example, he lies to Ackley about what the fight was about between himself and Stradlater. He claims [he] was defending [his] goddam honor.” The reason he

There are people who would like to see The Catcher in the Rye banned from our schools because it contains disturbing issues. In my opinion they are overlooking the message that J.D. Salinger was trying to communicate. In this novel, the characters exhibit a wide scope of behaviors from honorable to ignominious. The novel presents issues such as respect for religion, or lack thereof. As though these issues were not enough by themselves, there is also the subject of intolerance of others. How, may you ask, should this novel be allowed in our schools? Well, the answer lies deep within the symbolism of the novel,

Holden is constantly breaking rules and getting himself into trouble. Whether it is picking a fight with his roommate, “I tried to sock him, with all of my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddam throat open.” (Salinger 49) or hiring a prostitute, “Just a throw. Okay, what room ya in? ... Twelve twenty-two… Okay. I’ll send up a girl in

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 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).

Readers are able to sympathize and identify with Holden’s rowdy behavior: making immature decisions, breaking relationships, and wanted to act more like an adult. Because of this, the audience recognizes Holden as a speaker for the young generation, no matter what year. Moreover, Holden represents the teenage rebellion and angst that

Holden’s story takes place in the 1950s. Because of this, it is necessary that the reader reads the story from multiple points of views. As Foster puts it, “don’t read with your eyes” (Foster 228) meaning that it is sometimes necessary to read from a perspective that will let you relate to and sympathize with the characters. The time period is shown many times such as when Holden goes dancing and asks a girl if she feels like “jitterbugging a little bit” (Salinger 72) referencing an iconic dance from that era. What people said and how they said it were very different in the past, and it is important to keep that in mind while reading.

Holden fears that children will lose their innocence when placed in an environment so accustomed to the vulgarity of words and actions. This scene is controversial because Holden has become infatuated with the idea of protecting the innocence of children, yet he is accustomed to using explicit language and this scene deliberately makes known possible causes which lead to the loss of innocence. Shortly after witnessing the first “F** you,” Holden’s shift to adulthood begins to take place. As a result, Holden and comes to the realization that “[even] if you had a million years, you couldn’t rub out even half the “F*** you” signs in the world. It’s impossible” (S

In J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s digression about Alec “something” shows his hatred for the phoniness of the world, especially the awful fantasies that occur in movies. The digression begins with Holden complaining about a movie he saw at a Christmas program. The movie is about a duke named Alec “something” who loses his memory when fighting in the war. Alec comes home without knowing of his position as a duke, or that he is engaged. Alec ends up falling in love with a woman on the bus who is carrying the same copy of Oliver Twist as him. It is ironic that the couple is carrying Oliver Twist because this book relates to Holden’s life in many ways. After Alec falls in love, his previous fiancée shows up and tells him about his position as a

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

Holden Caulfield, a boy that struggles with his mental health, starts his story by saying, “I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas” (Salinger 3). Published in the 1950s, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger depicts a three-day journey of Holden as he tries to find out more about himself. Through his struggle, Holden experiences many obstacles and events that occur in most teenager’s lives, making the book a primary target for banning due to offensive language, suicidal tendencies, sexual content, violence, and outright negativity (Information). Though The Catcher in the Rye contains numerous controversial topics, the novel is still relevant and relatable to teens today, through Holden’s depression, vulgar language, and encounters of sexual discrimination; therefore, the story should remain an option for students to read.