Character Analysis: Holden Caulfield

In J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caufield, describes in detail the parts of his life and his environment that bother him the most. He faces these problems with a kind of naivety that prevents him from fully understanding why it is that he is so depressed. His life revolves around his problems, and he seems helpless in evading them. Among others, Holden finds himself facing the issues of acceptance of death, growing up, and his own self-destructiveness.

Adolescence, this is a time where you figure out who you truly are. This soul searching leads to self realization. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger, has trouble accepting himself. Throughout his days he would put on a cap just to be someone else. It is his get away place, a place of isolation. A way for him to seclude from the world and become someone he isn’t. This is relatable to numerous teens. Though Holden could be described using numerous adjectives, Holden's character can be perfectly described as ignorant, a liar, and a slacker. He is ignorant because he does not learn from his mistakes. He is a compulsive liar. Finally, he is a slacker because he avoids work. Holden is just like countless people out there who do not apply themselves. You see, Holden could be smart. He could be successful. He just doesn’t have the motivation or ambition to do so.

J.D. Salinger, the author of the Catcher in the Rye, was a skilled writer. Salinger wrote about a wide variety of characters throughout this novel, many of these characters had a complex personality. Holden Caulfield is the main character in the Catcher in the rye. Holden is a unique character and he shares very little traits with the other people he encounters throughout the novel besides his younger sister, Phoebe. Holden and Phoebe Caulfield have two very different personalities but they share some distinct similarities. Holden is a gloomy, pessimistic, and unstable teenager. Phoebe, on the other hand, is a lively, optimistic, and innocent child. Throughout the novel Holden spends his time trying to act mature while Phoebe is living out the childhood he never had. Phoebe and Holden have very different personalities and outlooks on life. While the two have such opposing traits, they have a similar background and upbringing.

Holden Caulfield, of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a teenager struggling to transition into adulthood, which is indirectly affected by his relationships with his family and the people around him. The story is told in any way Holden wants and he chooses what the audience can see making him an unreliable narrator. Some of the aspects that largely affects Holden’s relationship are his superiority and the way he was raised. However much of the drawn conclusions can only be inferred from what Holden chooses to reveal.

In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the character of Holden Caulfield does not convincingly embody a compassionate and caring character. Holden, after having a difficult year at school, finds comfort in his memories of his brother Allie. Another instance of Holden finding comfort, is when he spends time with Phoebe. In the same way, Phoebe is supportive when spending time with Holden. However, this takes a turn for the worse, as Holden reveals to Phoebe that he is leaving. Holden finds comfort and love through his memories of Allie, his experiences with Phoebe and the support from he receives from her.

Holden Caulfield is a person we can all relate to. For Holden the death of his brother Allie has impacted him through out the book till the end. He has collapsed after his brothers death. It has impacted him a lot he miss his brother Allie so much. Holden loved his brother very much and idealized him so much.

The process of growing up is reflected through having innocence, trying to hold on to that innocence, and losing that innocence. In Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield's mental breakdown is attributed to his hold on innocence and fight against adulthood, which is displayed first through his fixation on his red hat, then the ducks, and finally the museum of natural history.

“I’d say to him,’Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Please, Allie.’ And then when I'd reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I'd thank him”. (Salinger 258). In Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist, experiences many deaths throughout his journey. One of these deaths being Allie Caulfield, Holden’s long lost brother. Allie dies of leukemia in the year of 1946, at the age of eleven. As Holden progresses throughout the book, the reader comes to understand that Allie’s death begins to degrade Holden, to the point where he wants to remain in his childhood years.

The lousy football team was losing again. My date Jean or whatever, and I were getting cold and it started snowing, so we left during halftime. As we were walking back, Jane looked cold and I went to put my arm around her. She shook it off and gave me the phoniest look you ever saw. When we reached the Pencey Prep building, I told Jane to go wait in the annex while I went upstairs real quick. Before my date with her, I need my roommate's houndstooth jacket.

During the novel Catcher in the Rye, the reader finds out that characters Holden Caulfield and Phoebe Caulfield share many things in common and are different in many ways. As siblings, their overall appearance shows a resemblance of one another, but they have many physical traits that differ. Another thing that comes to mind is each character's personalities. There are one or two ways that the characters act like each, but for the most part, they lack similarities within their personalities. Lastly, when comparing the two characters we see how they perceive things in the novel. This is where the characters are most different from one another. In the novel Catcher in the Rye Holden and Phoebe possess similar qualities and different traits with one another in personality, physical appearance, and how they perceive things.

The patient is Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy. Caulfield's appearance is tall for his age and surprisingly has quite a few gray hairs at the age of sixteen. Holden comes from an upper-middle class family. His family has enough money to support Holden with many luxuries including skates and expensive suitcases. It appears that Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield aren?t there to talk, care, and be there for Holden, which seems to drive Holden away from his family. However, he has an intimate bond with his younger siblings, who embody innocence and youth. The death of his brother Allie has left a large scar on Holden. He has a cherished and intimate relationship with his young

‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is a classic novel set in the 1950’s. Holden Caulfield is a young 16 year old boy walking through life, hardships, and criticism towards life. Throughout Holden’s story, his odd behavior is displayed in a manner which opens the readers’ eyes to an entirely new persona. One that sees the worst in everything, one that doesn’t see the reality of things, a mind unable to decipher the beauty which the world holds within. Through his behavior and thoughts, the reader is led to believe that, from the start, there’s an abnormality to Holden’s thought process. His hopelessness and lack of motivation are signs of Major Depressive Disorder. Major depressive order is a mental health disorder characterized by mood swings,

At a glance, people judge others by their appearance, their accessories, and their property. These materials suggest the lifestyle of the owners. With a boom in the economy and the introduction of the credit card after World War II, America became obsessive over its outside appearance. To show off status and wealth, families started to buy only the best looking materials on the market. In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger critiques the obsession over physical materials and their appearance with the use of Holden Caulfield, a teenager with a wealthy family, and his experiences with status seeking in New York City.

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher is the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caufield’s point of view reveals how he does not mature from the beginning to the end of the book. Holden goes through many stressful events during the weekend, but instead of coming out more mature, he proves to be violent and irresponsible as the story goes on. Holden’s violent mind is revealed towards the beginning of the book as he gets into an altercation with a roommate he is somewhat jealous of. In the book, it states, “All I know is I got up from my bed, like I was down to the can or something, and then I tried to sock him, with all my might” (Salinger 49).

Change is an essential component in the continued success of the human race and thus important in the development of society. As such, society expects people to constantly change and adapt. Readers typically expect to see the development of characters throughout novels, or other pieces of literature. In the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye”, J. D. Salinger deviates from the normal progression followed by most novels by characterizing the protagonist as an individual undergoing temperamental changes and uncertainty throughout the novel. This novel is known to have attracted criticism from numerous reviewers from all time periods, who tend to make the argument that the novel 's main protagonist, Holden Caulfield, does not develop at all throughout the course of the book. However, this is not the case as Holden grows and develops through the book, recognizing specific ideals from the environment that is around him and responding to them. These reactions towards change are seen through Holden 's discovery of himself, relationships with other characters and the actions that he decides to take in given circumstances throughout the book.