Catcher In The Rye Analysis

In the first chapter of this novel, we get introduced to the protagonist and narrator of the novel, Holden Caufield, from a rest home in which he has been sent for therapy. He refuses to talk about his early life, although he does explain that his older brother “D.B” sold out to writing for Hollywood. His story and breakdown begins in the school of Pencey Prep, a boarding school set in Pennsylvania. The setting for the early chapters in the narration is his "terrible" school, to which he describes the atmosphere to be “as cold as the December air on Thomsen Hill”. Holden’s student career at Pencey Prep has been destroyed by his refusal to apply himself. We know this after Holden explains he failed four of his five subjects, passing only English. Due to his lack of effort and determination, he was forbidden to return to the school after the term. The Saturday before Christmas vacation began, Holden overlooked the football field, where Pencey usually

The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger is a coming of age story. It is a story narrated by the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, who is a sixteen year old boy, but has a mind of a ten year old innocent kid. In the beginning he thinks of innocence as important, but later he realizes that growing up cannot be stopped. He wanders around the New York City by himself and gains experience of life that teaches him to become mature. This book is clearly written to show the theme of coming of age because it shows many symbols of coming of age, it shows the changes of young adults in modern life, and it creates an image of Holden growing up.

Why does Holden continuously judge people based on their physical appearance? Could this be a projection of his insecurities or a reflection of his mental health?

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

During the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, author J.D. Salinger brings Holden’s pessimistic, antisocial personality to life through what he says, how he says it, and through the characters he meets. Salinger bases Holden’s expressions off of the culture of the 1950’s, his own personal dialect, and the everyday occurrences of Holden’s life in mind. J.D. Salinger manipulates the diction, uses syntax to criticize others, and controls the character interaction and dialogue in order to create the protagonist, Holden Caulfield.

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

At the museum that Holden visits while he is waiting for his younger sister Phoebe to come meet him, Holden gets asked by a group of young boys if he knew where the mummies are. Holden tells the boys where the mummies are because he was younger he would go when to see them. Surprisingly, Holden knows a great deal about the mummies, more than he did on his test at Pency. The museum is a reflection of how much he knows and his childhood because Holden really knows more than he thinks he does. Holden would visit the museum as a child with his school to learn about many different things. To Holden, the best part about the museum was, “everything always stayed right where it was” (121) Holden must learn to accept that not everything can always stay right where they are, things must change in order to move forward. His childhood is important to him because it was a source of good

Fear of growing up. Change. Innocence. These are all relatable traits that most people can understand as a teenager. Nineteen year old Holden Caulfield, the main character from J.D Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, possess all of these traits. I think there's a little bit of Holden Caufield in all of us. People who are resentful and afraid of the ever growing world around us, but still all the same try to grow up a little bit too fast. As well as, people who try to retain any innocence they have. All of this and more is why J.D Salinger's novel Catcher in the Rye is still very relevant today.

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).

The theme of innocence is illustrated when Holden visits the Museum of Natural History. Holden’s thoughts at the museum show that he is overwhelmed by the change and complexity of growing up. Holden enjoys being at the museum because it is a consistent and predictable place, and he knows what to expect every time he visits it. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move” (121). Holden wishes that life could be just like the museum, where all the figures and displays stayed exactly the same. If life never changes, people would never have to grow up, and children would be able to remain innocent forever. “Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone” (122). In this quote, Holden is specifically referring to children. According to him, all adults are phony and

No matter who Holden meets or sees or even knows, he considers then all to be phonies. The only people, who Holden admires and does not ever put down, are the children which he encounters such as his dead brother Allie and his sister younger Phoebe. Holden continually talks about how great Allie was throughout the book, which leads us to question why, since his brother is dead. He does the same with his younger sister Phoebe, but he never talks about any adults, not even his parents in a positive fashion. Holden not only express his bitter attitude toward the people, but also towards the places that he goes. He does not enjoy himself anywhere he goes, and is clearly bored and wants to be somewhere else. However, there are always exceptions, and in this case it is the museum, which Holden used to visit when he was younger. The museum is a sacred place to Holden because "everything always stayed right where it was," (121) and nothing ever changed about the place.

Holden also loses his innocence when he accepts the inevitability of growing up. When he visits the Natural History Museum, Holden notes that the exhibits

This symbolizes him holding on to his past, not wanting things to change. As Holden meets with all of his old friends, he claims many of them to have become phonies. All of his friends have grown up, and Holden is left behind, and still acts like a child. "[Holden's] central dilemma is that he wants to retain a child's innocence" (Bloom 22). As everyone around changes he just wants to stay the same, young and sheltered.

In The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, a teenage boy, Holden keeps getting expelled from schools due to him finding the people there phony. The book takes place over three days where Holden wiles away his time roaming around New York before his parents find out he has been kicked out of yet another school he was sent to, Pencey Prep. Narrated from a teenager’s point of view, it gives a look into Holden’s messy mind as he tries to find a goal to work towards. Salinger uses Holden’s actions and the poem “Comin Thro the Rye” by Robert Burns to show Holden's idea of childhood: it must be protected and develops the understanding that growing up is process that everyone must go through.

Throughout life, we do not want to accept the fact that we all have weaknesses. We strive to be perfect but we can’t be because of setbacks, for example: mental illnesses. In the novel, “The Catcher In The Rye” Holden struggles to connect with people that don’t sympathize with him. He writes from an institution where he receives help from a psychoanalyst, and through this, we learn that Holden is a teenager who suffers from the loss of a loved one, his brother. Although Holden could suffer from psychotic depression, society isn’t supplying the right guidance for his sadness, hallucinations, and paranoia.