When writing a summary for any class, one is often told to remember the five W’s. Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Each question plays an important role in the summary, for parts of the story would be lost without all of them. However, the first four are rather easy to evaluate while the ‘Why’ is the question which possesses the most difficulty. It is fairly simple to analyze cosmetic aspects as it is something one only needs to observe. On the other hand, the ‘Why’ requires inquiry and development which is something that many either avoid, or are unable to do- especially when analyzing the actions of one’s self. This evaluation can cause one to be more self reflective, as well as understanding of those around you, simply by focusing on why …show more content…
One of the best examples of this lies in Holden's encounter with three girls in a night club. Holden, too young to be at the club, pursues three older women because he "Really felt like dancing." (70) (which can be another example of a superficial explanation to avoid admitting how much he needed companionship), and is quickly laughed at by the trio. Salinger writes, "I sort of leaned over and said, 'Would any of you girls care to dance?' I didn't ask them crudely or anything. Very suave, in fact. But God damn it, they thought that was a panic, too. They started giggling some more. I'm not kidding, they were three real morons." (70). This quote shows Holden's inability to analyze his own faults. After being laughed at twice, he continues to blame a giggling reaction on the girls' stupidity, rather than realizing that they noticed how young he was and showed disinterest. Regardless of this he continues to think he looks older than he does, and insists on dancing because ‘he really wanted to’, rather than realizing why he wanted to, or showing any understanding of these girls for that matter. Holden’s actions here hold true to Arthur Miller’s Tragedy and the Common Man due to the quote from the passage which reads “Tragedy, then, is the consequence of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly.”(Paragraph 5). Holden’s ‘just evaluation’ is a lack of evaluation. His tragedy is presented through the complete lack of evaluation which makes the tragedy far darker. Rather than painting himself in a justified light, Holden doesn’t paint himself at all which not only makes his flaw clearer, but also makes him seem less of a hero. For example, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, young king Hamlet is one of the most alluded to tragic heros of literature, and it was clear that he was a hero because he stood up for something and justified his actions
The book The Catcher in the Rye is placed around the 1950s narrated by a young man named ‘Holden Caulfield’ who himself is the protagonist. Holden is not specific about his setting, location, time and other physicality while narrating the story but he makes one thing clear: He is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital or infirmary. The events he narrates comprises of time in between the start of Christmas break and him leaving his school as he is expelled. Holden is sixteen years old. His story commences from Saturday following the end of classes at the Pencey prep school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. Pencey is Holden’s fourth school; he has already failed out of three others. At Pencey, he has failed four out of five of his subjects and
For example, in chapter 10, when Holden is staying at a New York City hotel, he goes to the Lavender Room and encounters three girls, Bernice, whom he is attracted to, Marty, and Laverne. A rare moment in the story as Holden steps up to interact with the opposite gender, asking them for a dance and a good time. To Holden’s misfortune, the girls don’t seem interested in him as they find his actions amusing. Phoniness is also present when Marty says she saw Gary Cooper, a movie star, in efforts to lie and impress others based off something that never happened. Holden thinks that the girls are coarse and rude, as they are looking out for celebrities instead of engaging in conversation. Holden is offended by their ‘phoniness’ and finds them pathetic. Although Holden has such a low opinion of these girls, he continues to seek for their company, in the end, dancing with the three of them. This example shows the extent to which others excluding Holden can truly be phony and not usually just exaggerated by Holden. But Holden, himself, also shows phony traits, that gives the reader a hypocritical, but true form of himself. Holden is able to
In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character and narrator Holden Caulfeild walks many different paths of life. He jumps around different aspects of his life throughout the book, showing the reader many different sides to himself. This theme is presented through the author’s technique in crafting the characterization and symbolism. J.D. Salinger develops a puzzle of a personality for Holden throughout the book, to show the complexity and multitude of sides to Holden’s character.
J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye features a complex narrative surrounding a troubled young student, Holden Caulfield. Difficulties he faces throughout the story force Holden to confront his fears of adulthood and maturation and the responsibilities therein through the difficulties he faces throughout the story. Academic controversy surrounds whether Holden learns from these confrontations and adjust accordingly, maturing throughout the story. While initially this seems rather subjective, a thorough analysis of Holden’s actions throughout the story as well as of the symbolism injected by Salinger makes it quite clear that Holden does undergo a significant maturity arc as the story progresses. Holden’s social development and maturation
Several adolescents in today's world are wanting to grow up to become independently at a young age and decide on their own to leave school. In J.D. Salinger novel “The Catcher in the Rye” he introduces the life of Holden Caulfield a seventeen year old boy who experiences difficult times in his life. Holden was a young boy that was kicked out from several schools. When he was going to high school they school was going to kick him out because he was failing four classes and passing one which was English, but before they kicked him out he decided to leave and quit school. In today's world, there are still several young people that are experiencing and making their own decisions for what they have been through in life.
The novel The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, contains many complex symbols, many of the symbols in the book are interconnected. A symbol is an object represents an idea that is important to the novel. I believe the most important symbol in this novel is Holden 's idea of being the "catcher in the rye".
J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is widely recognized as one of the most self-destructive novels ever written. The novel’s protagonist Holden Caulfield is known for his anti-social behavior and his self-loathing, self-isolating character in the book. Holden’s traits could widely be compared to Napoleon Dynamite the protagonist of the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite directed by Jared Hess. Napoleon is characterized by his clichéd “school nerd” behavior and of course his own self-isolating habit just like Holden. Like Holden, Napoleon tries to put down people to isolate him from others. But even though Holden and Napoleon are alike on how they assume the traits of the people they meet,
J.D. Salinger has written multiple novels, but his most famous is The Catcher in the Rye. Not only is this novel famous for its literary merit, it is also known as his most banned novel in certain schools. Even though this novel has been banned, J.D. Salinger’s themes and moralistic purposes serve literary worth.
“This sentence I’m reading is terrific” I can be quite sarcastic when I’m in the mood (28)
J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, is the story of Holden Caulfield’s loss of faith in society, and in particular adults. Salinger uses a number of symbols to demonstrate Holden’s rebellion against the phony facade of society and his desire to preserve the innocence of children, especially those he loves. Chief among them is Holden’s misinterpretation of Robert Burns’ poem “Comin thro’ the Rye”, wherein Holden mistakes the original line, “If a body meet a body”, with “If a body catch a body”. Holden fantasizes about being the “Catcher in the Rye” who saves millions of children from metaphorically falling off the edge of a cliff, in other words, losing their innocence and becoming phony adults, . Holden’s fixation with preserving innocence appears to emerge after the death of his brother Allie, three years earlier. For example, when Holden is asked what he likes by his sister Phoebe he responds with “I like Allie” even though Allie is dead. Holden idolizes his younger siblings, Allie and Phoebe, noting that children that still have their innocence and have not been corrupted by adulthood, an example of this is the way Phoebe still puts sentimental value in the pieces of the “Little Shirley Beans” record, and the way that Allie wrote poems on the inside of his baseball mitt so that “he’d have something to read when he was in the field and nobody was up at bat.”
A role model can be can classified as one of many things, but what is it exactly that distinguishes a good one from a bad? The novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger is utilized to present the character Holden Caulfield as an unsuitable role model. Firstly, Holden relies on drugs for a way out of his problems instead of facing them. Also, he cannot find his place in the world, which arises, from his natural inclination to lie and is a problem he can’t seem to avoid. Lastly, his view on the world is tainted with carelessness and failure.
“Is The Catcher in the Rye, as a work of literature still relevant for today’s youth?”
Depression can come at many different times in your life and in many different ways. Dictionary.com defines clinical depression as: A depression so severe as to be considered abnormal, either because of no obvious environmental causes, or because the reaction to unfortunate life circumstances is more intense or prolonged than would generally be expected (Random House). Throughout the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” the reader is inside the head of the troubled and depressed main character and narrator, Holden Caulfield. We, as the readers are able to see every thought that Holden has throughout the novel. Many of Holden’s thoughts scream depression. Holden is an ideal example of how someone with clinical depression would behave, how he
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, consists of many minor characters. There are more than about sixty characters in the novel in which only three of them are major characters (Holden, Allie, and Phoebe) and the rest minor. Many of these characters are just mentioned with no lasting impact on either the novel itself or Holden. Salinger uses minor characters in the Catcher in the Rye to tell the readers about Holden and his views about the world.
The 1950’s is usually associated with poodle skirts and purity but in The Catcher in the Rye everything you thought you knew about the era is changed when the narrator of the story, Holden Caulfield, tells the readers of his sexual exploits, underaged drinking, and views on the world. Scrutinization and criticism of the plot has followed the novel since its initial release in 1951. Holden does not hold back in telling the details of his life and rawly describes the events that take place. Often talking about his scandalous life, Holden even chooses to divulge his somewhat embarrassing encounter with a prostitute. Upon his request a prostitute named Sunny arrived at the door of Holden’s hotel room. Nervous and a little embarrassed Holden decides