I used the following passage of J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye”:
“And the band started playing one of those really slow songs, like “Stairway to Heaven” or “Freebird” that probably have really great lyrics or something but the song itself just is awful-just awful. Then this real phony guy, with the hair all slicked back on the top of his head stood up with the Sax and did a solo. I almost died. I mean, almost completely died right there. It had to be the cheesiest solo I had ever heard. I mean he was swaying back and forth and he closed his eyes like he was really getting into it and all, but it was the fakest thing you ever heard. It was like something out of a bad Howard Johnson’s. I swear, he must record Muzak for a living or drive
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She was humming along and swaying to the song and practically just swaying her own dance out there. I mean I’m a pretty good dancer but I hate slow songs. There’s nothing you can do except just sit there and hold her and move her around and wait for the song to end. I would have rather just sat down and ordered another drink and waited for something else but not old Jean. She wanted to dance everything. Up real close to, so I could smell her breath. She didn’t smell bad or anything. Don’t get me wrong, she just didn’t smell quite right. I mean girls should smell a certain way-like baby powder, new clothes and perfume. Something that was girlish, y’know. Jean, I swear, smelled like a fruit salad or Old Spice. I hate Old Spice. I mean I like Jean fine, y’know. She’s great, but I just couldn’t smell her. Christ, I must be nuts. All of a sudden I start to imagine myself as the old sailor in the Old Spice commercial. Right out there on the dance floor. I start to think about coming home from the sea and bringing in the duffel and that song. It must have been the god dammed saxophone because that goddam song is running through my head “Dum dum de dum dum, dum di de dum dum da di dum dum” I see myself coming home to this really cute girl and wearing a sailor suit or something. I’m crazy. I mean, I’m really nuts
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
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.
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).
American literature is full of classic novels containing heroic protagonists; Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye is not one of these classic heroes. The article Some Crazy Cliff by Arthur Heiserman and James E. Miller Jr. provides one interpretation of the novel suggesting that the protagonist is unique compared to others commonly found in American literature; most heroes are seeking acceptance while Holden is seeking something within the society he is trying to leave. The novel follows Holden Caulfield, a young boy who recently flunked out of high school, over the course of three days. During this time, the protagonist returns to New York via train, but does not want to be with his parents until they have already learned of his
In J.D. Salinger’s novel Catcher In The Rye, it starts off with young man named Holden Caulfield at his school football game at Pencey Prep talking about his life. Following that the sudden and unexpected death of his little brother Allie occurs due to cancer. Holden becomes depressed and rebellious. He is aggressive towards anything and anyone who stands in his way and will knock down anything that tries to stop him from doing whatever he wants. Holden shows that the effect of Allie’s passing dawns on him throughout his life and he greatly shows it from time to time. Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden represents the voice of real people by getting expelled, being depressed, and smoking/drinking.
One must inevitably confront the daunting face of adulthood. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger depicts the disheartening journey from adolescence to adulthood that Holden Caulfield endures. Although holden seeks the freedoms that mark adulthood, he has yet to take up the role of a truly mature citizen as the society conforming nature of those adults disgust him, leading him to his gradual mental decline. J. D. Salinger uses the immature character of Holden Caulfield as a means of revealing the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood and its psychological effects.
A talented poet has the ability to write and understand poetry anywhere and anytime. In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” written by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has two brothers that discuss war poets. Holden’s brothers are D.B. and Allie. D.B. was in the army during World War II for four years and despised his job and the men in the army surrounding him. Although D.B. was in the army, “he didn’t get wounded or anything and he didn’t have to shoot anybody.” (140). D.B. is also a writer which makes Allie think that the war is a good era for his older brother to further expand on his literary skill. Henceforth, D.B. makes “Allie go get his baseball mitt and then he asked him, who was the best war poet, Rupert Brooke or Emily Dickinson. Allie said Emily Dickinson.” (140) Allie’s opinion on Emily Dickinson being a better war poet then Rupert Brooke can be supported to be true. D.B. cannot support Rupert Brooke strongly as D.B. was the one who loathed the army whereas Brooke glorified war. Emily Dickinson’s poetry proves that one does not have to live through war to know of war and its hardships; reading her literature allows the audience to understand the nature of life, the relationship of the dead to the living, and the countless lives lost due to fatalities of war.
. Written in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye has been at the forefront of modern literature captivating the minds of teens around the world due to its themes revolving around maturity and growth. Within the novel entitled Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caulfield, a teenage boy struggling to cope with his brother Allie’s death is shown to be experiencing the endless trials and tribulations of life ranging from socializing with individuals at his school, Pency Prep, to understanding the true value of education. Holden uses a multitude of defense mechanism such as repression, denial and projection to attempt to get over his brother Allie’s death.
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.
Tone is a necessity in literature, but in film, music enhances the desirable feelings within a scene. In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s tone transitions throughout the novel. His personal evolution in the scenes provides a diverse capability of soundtracks that could be used in a film adaptation. The major theme of evolution is demonstrated by a cycle in which he is isolated or broken down only to lead to a more confident and joyous state.
Young Catcher Songs can connect to lives of characters in books. There are similarities in between the song Young Forever by Jay Z feat Mr. Hudson and the main character Holden Caulfield in the novel Catcher in the Rye. Although there are similarities there are differences too. Many desire to stay young forever so they can avoid responsibilities and just enjoy life . This is one similarity between the song Young Forever and the character Holden Caulfield is that both talk about wanting to stay young.
The Catcher in the Rye/Fashion Drunk Comparison Essay The catcher in the rye by J.D. Salinger is a classic story told from the point of view of a teenager named Holden caulfield who has just been expelled from pencey prep in Agerstown pennsylvania in the 1950’s. Holden (The protagonist) has an odd and depressing outlook on the people and places around him. The song is about a man who goes out every night trying to find the girl he loves. Both the song and the story have the same general vibe,emotion and passages.
The song “End Credits” by EDEN (also known as The Eden project) has themes that align with those present in The Catcher in the Rye. Throughout the book, Holden obsesses himself with preserving both his own adolescent innocence as well as that of others. Holden also spends a lot of time judging the appearance of others and just their general behaviors. One of the lines in EDEN’s song is as follows, “Rather burn out young than grow up fast” (EDEN). This line of the song demonstrates that EDEN is singing about how children should cherish their childhood and live life while they can, even if it hurts them in the long run. Holden feels similarly, and this can be seen throughout the book. This song is just one example; there are many others, including
The author from The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger utilizes motifs loneliness and depression to show how Holden a teenager from the book explains the struggles he had during the great depression. J.D. Salinger uses the motifs of loneliness and depression to illustrate the theme that when people feel lonely they try to connect with people to get rid of it.