Catcher In The Rye Analysis

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 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.

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).

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In the Tribes of Palos Verdes and The Catcher In the Rye, both Jim and Holden struggle to find mental stability in their lives. J.D. Salinger expresses one of Holden's weaknesses in the statement,"I'm just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?"(15). When someone has a issue they often can’t say they have that problem and blame another reason for it. For Holden in The Catcher In the Rye, he blames his struggles on the phase he is going through.

Society is never perfect, there has never been one that has. Countless problems come from every society, some less than others. There is always good when there is bad, and what is bad to some may seem good to others. In the 1950’s many things deemed socially acceptable are not in today's standards. Even so, the author realized what was wrong with his society and used Holden and his experiences to reveal the problems occurring in everyday life and how disgusting they seemed to someone from a different point of view.. The Catcher in the Rye has a focus on addressing the problems of the culture in the society of the 1950’s, using examples of women, children, and people in general.

“Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. Time is short.” Adam Hochschild. We all have distractions. Sometimes, they are even good. They are always there. We use them when we are lonely and in consequence, we escape our lonely world and enter the boisterous one --- we have escaped to a pathway full of shortcuts. Who are you after you take those shortcuts? Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher In the Rye” is one who unnoticeably takes these shortcuts. When Holden escapes school after failing most of his classes, the whole world is thrown at him. He wants to get to his family, even though they are less than a mile away from him. In the end, he is just asking for forgiveness from the people around him. Holden Caulfield of J.D Salinger’s “The Catcher In The Rye” is lonely and feels sorry for himself, and consequently, uses other people to distract himself from his journey which causes Holden to be an anti-hero.

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.”

American literature is an art that transcends generations. The messages of literature ring through to people of all ages, which is especially true in the case of The Catcher in the Rye. From the perspective of a teenage boy, Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye tells a compelling story of overcoming loss and carrying on with life. In this novel, J.D. Salinger uses Holden’s friends, Holden’s loss, and Holden’s perspective on life to analyze how a person becomes truly lonely and depressed.

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is an outspoken, opinionated adolescent boy trying to determine his path in the world. Although Caulfield is portrayed as someone who stands out and does not quite fit in amongst his peers, he bears similar characteristics to many teenagers, from his time period of the 1940s up until modern day. Many of these connections can be linked through an excerpt of ”Hurt 2.0: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers”, by Chap Clark. Clark presents a multitude of arguments as to why so many teenagers are filled with angst and distance themselves from others, many of these arguments stemming from poor relationships with adults, particularly their parents. When reading The Catcher in the Rye, it is evident that Holden has a very defective relationship with his parents, thus providing some logic into why he chooses to act the way he does. Based on evidence gathered from both pieces of text, it is likely that Holden has never experienced any type of affection from his parents or any other authority figure in his lifetime. Therefore, he is uncertain on how to respond when he receives or witnesses love and affection, but at the same time, he is so desperately seeking to make that type of a connection with someone.

In Salinger’s catcher in the rye this boy Holden Caulfield struggles trying to find himself in this world we call earth. As a fellow teenager I feel like all boys can relate to finding themselves or trying to come into their own self.

The Catcher in the Rye analysis 1. The Catcher in the Rye was written by J.D. Salinger and is a fictional story. 2. (on separate page) 3. Three major cahracters & symbol:

Immature years are the most difficult years for some teenagers. The weights of developing and the clashing emotions to stay youthful and innocent can cause anyone to hurt. The famous novel, written by J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, is told from the perspective of a sixteen-year-old teen named Holden Caulfield. Holden learned a lot when he was exposed to the real world, but he doesn’t know how to deal with the world, which causes him to lose his sense of reality. In J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfields stuck in the limbo between the two worlds of childhood and adulthood.