Compare And Contrast Catcher In The Rye And Nothing Gold Can Stay

In the book Holden is constantly fighting with himself. The ducks in the pond signify a fight within him. The fight to be young again; go back to his innocent years, when everything was just a game and there was no consequences. When he asks the cab driver about the ducks he most likely knows where they go but is curious. In the books entirety Holden contradicts himself fully. He tells the reader the he does not like lying, but is always telling lies about big and little tings. Such as when he lies to Ernest’s mother on the train about having to have an operation done. He also lies to the girls in the Lavender

People of all ages experience a transitional stage throughout life, which would be the transitional stage from childhood to adulthood usually occurring during the mid teen years of life. This phase is considered to be the time when many children start to leave childhood for the life of adulthood. During these times of change many human beings experience confusion and potential problems of growing up in the adult world. Throughout the United States many people become confused of who they are as a person growing up, such as the protagonists of The Catcher in the Rye and The House on Mango Street who both experience difficulty in leaving childhood life for adulthood life. These two characters

Robert Frost has a fine talent for putting words into poetry. Words which are normally simplistic spur to life when he combines them into a whimsical poetic masterpiece. His 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' poem is no exception. Although short, it drives home a deep point and meaning. Life is such a fragile thing and most of it is taken for granted. The finest, most precious time in life generally passes in what could be the blink of an eye. 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' shows just this. Even in such a small poem he describes what would seem an eternity or an entire lifetime in eight simple lines. Change is eminent and will happen to all living things. This is the main point of the poem and

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.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger. It is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a cynical teenager who recently got expelled from his fourth school. Though Holden is the narrator and main character of the story, the focus of Salinger’s tale is not on Caulfield, but of the world in which we live. The Catcher in the Rye is an insatiable account of the realities we face daily seen through the eyes of a bright young man whose visions of the world are painfully truthful, if not a bit jaded. Salinger’s book is a must-read because its relatable symbolism draws on the reader’s emotions and can easily keep the attention of anyone.

The poem, ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’, by Robert Frost is an important part of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. Explain how the poem relates to the key events in the novel.

The Ducks In the Central Park Lagoon are impactful to the book because they represent the exact opposite characteristic than that of the main character Holden. The ducks represent beneficial decisions at times of adversity, while Holden struggles to guide himself in the right direction at these times. Holden is very hung up on where the ducks in the pond go in the winter when the pond is frozen and no longer suitable for them to live in. Holden will often bring it up during conversation, as he did with a cab driver, he asked “well, you know the ducks that swim around in it? In the springtime and all? Do you happen to know where in the

The ducks are first brought to the reader’s attention while Holden is visiting his teacher, Mr. Spencer, regarding his removal from Pencey. While conversing with Mr. Spencer, however, Holden’s mind drifts elsewhere. His mind drifts back to New York as he wonders to himself if the lagoon in Central Park is frozen over, and if so, where do the ducks go? A direct parallel can be drawn from the ducks in the lagoon to Holden’s present situation. He is mandated to leave Pencey, but has no idea where he belongs after leaving. Just like the ducks in the lagoon, “Holden is essentially homeless, frozen out” (Trowbridge par. 1). Holden’s life has not been filled with an abundance of stability and now what little he had is gone, albeit due to faults of his own, and he sees an unsure and hazy future. Holden inquires about the state of the ducks to the driver of the first cab he catches in New York, and the driver believes that he is kidding. Later on, he asks another cab driver if somebody came around “in a truck or something to take them away” or if they flew away “by themselves” (Salinger 81-82). Knowing what happens to these ducks, knowing that they are safe and secure even though the lagoon is frozen would provide Holden with a sense of comfort about his current state of affairs. What seems to be a ridiculous and meaningless question to the

Where do the ducks go during the Winter when the water is frozen? In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the character, Holden Caulfield, has an underlying mental condition. He failed out of four schools; he saw his friend commit suicide; and his younger brother died of cancer. These life-changing experiences paved the way for Holden’s insecure and unstable life. By his narration, Holden hints at his disorder throughout the book without fully explaining his condition. Holden’s many insecurities, his teetering on the edge of childhood and adulthood, and his irrational ideas help the reader realize that Holden has a mental problem.

Holden is very inquisitive about where the ducks in Central Park go in the winter. His questioning the cab drivers of this shows a youthful willingness in him to discover what he is curious about. “You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?” (60) The cab drivers give mostly thoughtless

The Catcher in the Rye and The Things They Carried compare how the two main characters are Isolated and in Exile. Each book the two charters are Isolated and Exiled in different way but in some way also similar. Two young men trying to find a way to be accepted in the adult world is still a mystery to them. The loss friends, family along the way and they can’t seem to find trust in relationships. When you’re young you do not know what is out there in the world. Who would think that growing up would be so hard. My comparisons are about the main characters Holden in “Catcher in the Rye”, and O’Brien in The Things they Carried.

One of the main struggles that both main characters are faced with is depression. They both suffer from loss and not fitting in, that they end up becoming depressed and shielding out the rest of the world. This tends to happen a lot in teens not just back then but even today. Without the help, it can lead to not only them hurting themselves but others as well. Back in 1999 there was a mass school shooting at Columbine done by two depressed students that ended up killing several kids and ultimately themselves. The boys were known for doing such things as “...drawing swastikas on their clothes, and struck on Adolf Hitler's birthday, singling out minorities and "jocks" for death.” (Bergen) Not only did they single out minorities they ended up finding out from other students that “...The gunmen "were out to get revenge on the school for being mistreated." (Bergen) Like in the bell jar, esther has suicidal thoughts and felt as if she didn't belong in the world, that no one liked her, and therefore she tried to kill herself. Without the love and support that most kids receive it caused her to go on a downward spiral just like the two boys in the columbine

Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.

These days our artistic landscape is so deeply defined by visual narratives on TV and in the movies that we can hardly imagine a world without images. Sometimes quality is judged solely based on a stories actions. In this image drenched society we sometimes struggle to appreciate and celebrate books and movies where the quality arises not exclusively from plot but also from the language and characters itself. The novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger and the movie Stand by Me directed by Rob Reiner are examples of having uninteresting story line concepts but involving beautifully executed details. The Catcher in the Rye is about a teenager retelling the time when he spent three days in New York and Stand by Me is about a

As a freshman is a Pre-IB English 2 class, I have been given the assignment to read books throughout the school year. When given the chance to chose the novel I wanted to read, I felt ecstatic. As a teenager and a lover of John Green, I picked one of his novels without hesitation. Looking for Alaska was a well written and realistic story about a teenaager’s life. Towards the end of the year, however, I read the book, “The Catcher In The Rye” by J.D. Salinger. Both writers had similar writing strategies, but they were different due to the different time periods both authors wrote in. John Green admitted he was inspired by J.D. Salinger to be a writer and even based Pudge Halters off of Holden Caulfield. Thus explaining why both characters are