Catcher In The Rye Research Paper

Holden allows the reader to hypothesize that he is attracted to a girl named Jane Gallagher, by constantly telling of his fond memories of her, but when push comes to shove his tendency to alienation himself from society, to "protect himself from losing his innocence", takes him over. On page 116 of the novel, Holden tells the reader that after he got his sister a record he went to a phone booth and called Jane's house. But when her mother picked up the phone he hung up. Holden tells the reader that he "didn't feel like getting into a long conversation with her mother" so he hung up but in reality Holden's personal preference of alienating himself frightened him and prevented him of making any contact with Jane.

On page 61, in chapter 8, Holden just got in the taxi and heading to his hotel. He says in a desperate way, “would you care for a cocktail.” The diction choices can infer that his maturity level is higher than the people in his age group. The author has purposely crafted the narrator in this way to show that he had no other option but to grow up fast. He continues to develop as a character, on page 68, in chapter 9, Holden thinks to himself, “I didn’t care much i was too depressed to care whether I had a good view or not.” The reader can infer that the main character is starting to reveal his true self. The author craft in this way to make the reader have sympathy for the narrator. On page 68, in chapter 10, Holden thinks to himself, “ I danced with them all - the whole three of them-one at a time.”The diction choices can infer that the narrator treats the three women like trash by fooling around with them and have no respect for them. The author has purposely crafted in this way to show that he is isolated from the world because he has not been interacting with others in such a long time. On page 87, in chapter 11, the narrator flashback to his childhood, “anyway, I was telling you about that afternoon Jane and I came close to necking.”The diction choices can infer that he starts to reveal the other side of himself, the real him is someone who actually cares about people who he loves.

“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.

In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy who has recently expelled from school, had lost his younger brother to Leukemia and witnessed the suicide of one of his peers, struggles in his journey of coming of age. He isn’t fond of the idea of having to mature and be exposed to responsibilities and problems of the real world. As a result, he tries to preserve the innocence of his younger sister, Phoebe. One way in which he aims to accomplish this goal is through a Little Shirley Beans record which he buys in hopes of giving it to Phoebe. Salinger utilizes the symbol of the broken record to develop Holden’s loss of innocence and deteriorating character.

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.

Holden states, “Somebody’d written “Fuck you” on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it and how they’d wonder what the hell it meant…” (Salinger, 201). This quote proves that Holden wants to preserve innocence since he cares so much about

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).

Holden is in a cab on his way to Ernie’s and after he asks the driver with Holden. When Holden asks why he is “sore” about it, the cab driver denies being upset. Holden seems to constantly anger people throughout the story due to his blunt way of addressing topics and his inability to see the positive side of things. The cab driver on the other hand, is clearly upset, but is instead choosing to be passive aggressive by denying his anger. I do not like when people are passive aggressive. I would much rather someone talk to me directly and maturely if they are upset.

This shows that holden never take things seriously being stubborn and never focuses to what people says that he can use to do well in life. Another example is when Holden is on a date with sally, Holden is very happy getting along with sally causes him to think of an idea. ”I was getting excited as hell, the more I thought of it, and sort of reached over and took old Sally’s goddam hand. What a goddam fool i was. ”No kidding,” I said.

These views are seen clearly during his date with Sally Hayes. When both of them leave for the intermission, Holden comments on the “other jerks” clearly expressing his distaste, “You never saw so many phonies in all your life, everybody smoking their ears off and talking about the play so that everybody could hear and know how sharp they were” (Salinger 162). Holden’s commentary on these phonies clearly display his disapproval for those who put on a show. Although these people are not doing anything harmful or strange in the eyes of the reader, Holden’s tendency to oversimplify and categorize those around him affect his viewpoints on these seemingly simple everyday actions. His inability to accept others as complex are a fault shown from his constant mistakes while doing so. Another character Holden categorizes as an innocent character is Sunny, the prostitute Holden calls for during his stay at a hotel. Upon hearing Holden lie about his age she responds, “Like fun you are.” Although it does not seem significant to the readers, Holden focuses on her choice of words quite intently, “It was a funny thing to say. It sounded like a real kid. You’d

He fantasizes what their sex life could have been like, but he is not mature enough to actually have one.

In The Catcher in the Rye Holden’s journey into adulthood is impacted by his surroundings and actions. Throughout history, authors have tried to convey the emotions felt by those growing up into adulthood from adolescence. is a book that has been taught in many schools and read by kids and adults of all ages, but more importantly, it helps teach a lesson about growing up as the reader can oftentimes connect with the main character Holden Caulfield. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger communicates the conflicting emotions present during the journey into adulthood, reflected by Holden’s cynical attitude towards the adult world and his idealistic perspective of the innocence of youth.

The Catcher in the Rye is for sure a novel that addresses a variety of distinct themes, which may vary from common issues as loneliness, drugs and alcoholism, to topics as friendship, betrayal and religion. When reading the book, I was attracted by the theme of time and change, and what was Holden’s perspective regarding those topics. In addition, I was constantly intrigued by how the book demonstrated that, depending on the period, the ideology of the society changes. Thus, when writing my screenplay I played with both time and perspective. In other terms, when writing a story in the future I wanted to highlight how time can affect the values of the society.

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