Catcher In The Rye Analysis

In the book, “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden Caulfield has many conflicts and life lessons. Throughout the story the author, J.D. Salinger, creates events that make the main character realize that in life people change and grow. The message behind the story is let children grab the “gold ring” and you can’t always be the catcher in the rye. All of the things that make Holden who he is have many resemblances to the life of the author, J.D. Salinger.

Holden was alienated by society because of society’s morals. In the book Catcher in the Rye, readers are able to watch sixteen-year old Holden Caulfield tackle everyday tasks while witnessing his deterioration in mental state. After being expelled from his school, Holden was left on the path of self discovery. This ultimately lead to Holden’s various mental breakdowns, as he had no one to reach out to in his time of need. The book was written in the early 1950s, and the content of the book was deemed ‘scandalous’. This lead many to question the true intentions of society’s morals. Catcher in the Rye suggest ideas alluding to society’s idea of a ‘perfect man’. Fresh off the heels of World War II, the ‘ideal man’ would have been considered confident with a degree from a prestigious school. Holden has neither confidence nor a highschool

He rejects education by getting bad grades and being kicked out of school. In this time period you were supposed to “go to school so that you can become a big shot, have a Cadillac, and own a business” (Pettengill 4-25-2016). But that was not the life Holden wanted. Holden did not want to be a part of the culture of affluence that was set before him. Although Holden’s current school Pencey was meant for the wealthy and upper middle class to go because it was designed to get the students into colleges like Harvard and Yale. The school was supposed to set the students apart from the average student. Holden rejects this idea of elitism in the form of higher education. He figured if he rejected high school then he knew for a fact he would not get into an Ivy League school like Yale, Princeton, and Harvard. Thus for eliminating the affluence of

Holden Caulfield is the main character in the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger. The story is developed in the Mid-twentieth Century, in the United States, and it is narrated in first person by Holden, a sixteen years old teenager, who is influenced by the society at that time. The fact that the book is narrated by the main character, let the reader know not only the events that have been taken place during Holden’s journey in New York, but also, the reader can know everything that Holden thinks about each situation, letting Holden’s mind exhibited to analyze. From the first moment, it is easy to realize that Holden is a character with a difficult personality, a very opinionated mind, a strong point of view, and a massive list of negative traits, which made him one of the most interesting and confusing characters in all of literature. Holden is unique in many ways. Unfortunately, his many weaknesses, reflected throughout the novel, overpower his strengths, due to Holden’s tendency to judge people, to isolate himself and take bad decisions, which push him further into a trench of loneliness and depression.

The Biographical Lens applied to The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger expresses his view of society in his novel, The Catch in the Rye. His viewpoints are seen in the book through the eyes of young Holden Caulfield. This novel demonstrates modern-day dilemmas and complications that teenagers confront in life. Throughout this novel, Holden Caufield, the protagonist shows signs of clinical

The first song on this track is “Basket Case” by Green Day. This song pertains to Holden and his interaction with Sunny, a prostitute, that Holden called on for. For example, when Sunny is in Holden’s hotel room, she begins to get aggravated that all Holden wants her time for is to talk instead of using her for her “services” and she exclaims to Holden,” What the heck did you tell that crazy Maurice you wanted a girl for, then?” (Salinger 97).

The Catcher in the Rye focuses on a character named Holden, who by any means, does not fit society’s mold of a young adolescent. While on a date with Sally Hayes, Holden mentions how instead of dealing with all the phonies in the world, he would much rather run away with her and “stay in [some] cabin camps and stuff...until the dough runs out”(Salinger 77). Though quite unrealistic, instead of trying to fit the mold of getting a job and contributing to society, Holden believes the world is very much fake to the point where he would much rather escape the harshness and the cage, and run free in a cabin in the woods. His thought process is unlike any other individual in the society he lives in, and Holden would much rather stay true to what he believes in, and who he wants to be. Moving forward, when visiting Mr. Antolini, his former teacher and mentor, where he warns him of a “terrible, terrible fall” that may occur if he were to continue acting the way he did(Salinger 109). However, instead of listening and heeding Mr. Antolini’s warning, Holden chooses to continue thinking the way he does, concentrating on his own thoughts of how tired he feels. Holden’s view on how society wants him to be contradicts the way he wants to act. Holden would much rather do as he pleases when he pleases than let society decide for him. Instead of conforming to what society would want an adolescent to do, Holden puts his own thought and spin into every situation he faces.

“Letter to Me” is a well known song in country music, by Brad Paisley in 2007. It is part of one of Paisley’s most popular albums, “5th Gear.” “Letter to me” is inspired by Brad Paisley’s wife and his own life growing up. His wife was asked to write a book as a letter to her younger self, and Paisley was inspired to write a song as a letter to his younger self.

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger follows the story of a boy named Holden Caulfield and his perception of the society he resides in. At first impression, Holden is seen as an outcast who acts rebellious and seems to be a generally negative character. This is shown in the opening lines of the book as he describes his childhood “lousy” and describing his school by saying he “didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear-thinking”(Ch. 1, pg 2). As the novel continues, the reader starts to see society from Holden’s perspective and begin to see through the lies that make up the community.

Remember our lively childhoods and when we thought "Man! It's going to be so cool when I grow up! I get to stay up late, hang out with my friends, watch R-rated movies, and do whatever I want!" We never actualized how naive we were back then. We got to eat all the candy possible, take naps anytime we wanted, and we could just play to our heart's satisfaction. But now that I've grown into a teenager, I've realized that growing up doesn't have all the hype and appeal I thought it would have back when I was 8-years-old. Kids don't experience true heartache or hair pulling calculus problems. Nope, kids just love life. The “thing with kids is, if they want to grab for something, you have to let them do it, and not say anything” (211). Occasionally, that is the same reason why I miss being young again because all I ever did was love life without any other possibilities.

In my extended chapter of Catcher in the Rye, I started off by making Holden a homeless person under the bridge, discombobulated on what to do with the rest of his life. I made Holden talk to Phoebe because she is one of the only characters that genuinely understands and connects to Holden on a personal level. Phoebe knows Holden's actions and motives and is the only character that can give subsidiary advice to him. When Holden was expressing his quandaries to Phoebe, she pointed out that Holden does not like anything in life. Holden responds by saying he would love to be the “catcher in the rye.”

In 1951, J. D Salinger published the fictional novel, The Catcher in the Rye, to satirize the problem of the future generations by using Holden’s point of view to portray the effect on society post World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. The main character Holden is always criticizing the actions of the adults in his life and the decisions they make towards the educational goals for their children. One example is when Holden complains as he observed the school, he was in, “They don’t do any damn more molding at Pency than they do at any other school. And I don't know anything there that was splendid and clear-thinking and all.”

In another way, Holden is calling everyone that “is insincere that are more interested in playing a part than being themselves a phony. It starts with Ossenburger, a man who donated money to the school and had a wing named after him. He showed up to a football game in his Cadillac and Holden could “just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs.” (20) As he is talking about this man he keeps judging him for flaunting his money in other’s faces. He drives a Cadillac and gives big speeches but says that he’s just a normal guy like the rest of them. Typically, when a person has more money than other they flaunt it as much as they can. As he is talking about the school and about how they have been molding boys into men since 1888 he mentions that even the principal's daughter “knew what a phony slob be was.” (5) He says that the school is nothing like they advertise and that they don’t do any molding. The principal is the head of this institution,which is why he

Throughout the novel, Holden speaks with a unique voice riddled with slang and absolutes. His hypocritical attitude implies his immaturity but also unveils the discrepancy between the world inside his mind and his actions. “The trouble with girls is, if they like a boy, no matter how big a bastard he is, they’ll say he has an inferiority complex, and if they don’t like him, no matter how nice a guy he is, or how nice a guy is, or how big an inferiority complex he has, they’ll say he’s conceited” (Salinger 151). Holden attempts to organize the behavior of others within set patterns. However, by fitting the actions of others within absolutes, Holden fails to recognize the inherent

There are many different ideas in The Catcher in the Rye, one of those is how if reflects war. The story takes place around the time of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. We did not fight any one of these wars on American soil, but they create many impacts on the United States. Salinger uses his characters to show the effects war has on a society and how it impacts people who never takes part in war efforts.