Comparing Holden's Life And The Catcher In The Rye

Two things that share commonalities are happiness and society. They are forces that interact with one another greatly. For example, in The Catcher in the Rye, these two influences affect Holden Caulfield significantly. They have a large impact on how he views the world and other people. Whilst Holden “served the author’s purpose: to scrutinize the cruelties and banalities” of society, The Catcher in the Rye remains a work that may helps others understand the path to happiness (Coles).

In the famous, but often times previously banned novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, seventeen year old Holden Caulfield is trying to find his sense of direction in a world where he describes the majority of people in his life as phony. As the first chapter begins, it is clear Holden is currently living in a mental institution, although the reasoning behind so is never directly stated, the reader can infer it may have to do with Holden's depression troubles. For the most part, Holden's troubles are to blame on his own actions, he fails to realize his irresponsibly is the major cause of the negative aspects in his life. Holden's troubles of being an academic layabout and being reclusive seem to center from his biggest issue

It is obvious that Holden is alienated from the beginning of the novel however, it isn’t that others alienate him, he isolates himself. Holden detaches himself from others to protect him from the potential harm of getting close to someone. However, his separation proves to be harmful to himself as any human needs companionship. Ultimately, his coping mechanism is what led to his depression and loneliness as it put him on “the other side of life.” While he subconsciously longs for companionship, he instinctively cuts himself off from the world.

Charlie is the main character of Perks of Being a Wallflower, a book set in the early 1990s. Charlie taps readers into his sixteen-year old world, cueing us in on all the gritty details of his life. One aspect of it, however, requires inquisition. Charlie is surrounded by people--by friends and family--yet is alienated. Ironically, those who’re his friends have also been alienated by society. He also is unmotivated to do well socially, too. Charlie is seen to be very passive-aggressive, letting others have their way over his. He even lets himself deteriorate when he needs help. “So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be,” Charlie says on page 11. This quote proves Charlie’s feelings towards his own life, leaving one to assume his alienation is society’s fault. Why be motivated to fix your attitude when you will still be considered ‘abnormal’ by your peers. Furthermore, people in Charlie’s life know he’s different and aren’t afraid to remind him. “You're a freak, you know that? You've always been a freak. Everyone says so. They always have,” Charlie’s sister tells him on page 12. This quote shows people’s opinions on Charlie and perpetuates the fact that he’s alienated. Although, the reason for alienation is unknown and left for the readers to discover themselves. Is it his growing unmotivation that was ultimately his downfall? Or

Everyone in the society can have some influences in any way, negatively or positively. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden encounters many people throughout his journey. These relationships he has influence his view of the world, allowing him to mature from someone who dislikes the shallow cruel world to understanding this is how life is. This development is shown through "phonies" he meets throughout the novel, his brother Allie, and his sister Phoebe.

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s life is composed of a great amount of contempt; he perceives society through pessimistic lenses, continuously dismissing its ways. Trying to veer off his path to adulthood, Holden often holds people accountable for their “phony” ways. He aims to “save” the children from such an outcome that he makes it his responsibility. The pivotal moment of which he transcends to maturity occurs is when he witnesses the children reach for the gold ring. Rather than blindly believing that he can save the children from sinking into the “evils” of the world and maintain their innocence, he ultimately decides to let them make their own decisions and grow up.

Holden Caulfield and Phoebe Caulfield are siblings in the novel The Catcher in the Rye. Being siblings, they have many similarities as well as differences. Holden is the main character in the novel, and the narrator of the story. Holden is writing from a mental hospital about his experience, “around last Christmas just before I got run down.” (Salinger, 1) He writes about his journey from Pencey Prep School, in Agerstown, Pennsylvania, to his home in New York City. Along the way he encounters many different important people to the story, one of the most important characters he encounters along the way is his sister Phoebe who teaches Holden what it means to be mature.

The First comparisons are the similarities of exile in The Catcher in the Rye and The Things they Carried. In the Catcher in the Rye, Holden gets kick out of school but does not want to go home, he has not talked to his parents nor has he told them that he is being kicked out. You would think that his parents would be in contact with him more; this is what parents are supposed to do. Holden chooses to go to a hotel in New York before tell his parents he is home. Once he is in New York he meets a lot of people but does not form any kind of connection because in his mind he is better than them. He also runs into his sister and she starts to tell Holden that she does not like her school and wants to quit and he tries to tell her why she cannot quit even though he has been kick out of several boarding schools. “Life is a game, boy. Life is a

     Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden Caufield longs for intimacy with other human beings. One of Holden’s main problems is that he sees childhood as the ideal state of being. He thinks that all adults are phonies.

    J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is the chronicle of a young man's metamorphosis from immaturity to unsure manhood. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, is a sixteen-year old boy who leaves the prep school he has been expelled from to escape the frightening reality of dealing with his parents. However, during his visit to New York City he is faced with the harsh reality that he cannot continue to hold onto his childhood. Holden is an extremely complex character and it is only by examining each layer of him that the reader is able to understand his painful metamorphosis.

In contrast, JD Salinger’s character Holden Caulfield, from The Catcher in the Rye, would be characterized as a spoiled rich kid because he does not meet the requirements of a Hemingway code hero. Though this character may seem to fit into the category of “code hero” because of his moral code, in reality he is too frail and emotional, he has no desire to free himself from society’s constraints, and he has not endured through his struggles. Firstly, Holden is often overwhelmed by his emotions and feelings, to the point where they cause him a mental breakdown and he is admitted to a mental institution. Ernest Hemingway writes his heroes as men capable of controlling their emotions so that they will not get in the way of their life, which is

The author has put in plenty of themes, messages, ideas, issues, and motifs. The character, Holden Caulfield is alienated from society, is experiencing the painfulness of growing up, thinks that the adult world is full of phoniness, and is sick of hearing about the American Dream from his teachers. JD Salinger has created a book that has raised plenty of questions and controversy towards the readers. The Catcher in the Rye shows how a teenage mind works. JD Salinger has used a stream of consciousness writing style where the character (Holden Caulfield) talks in first person as he presents his thoughts and feelings to the readers. The setting has taken place in the early fifties and the book uses a lot of profane words. The New York

In the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger brings up the motif of loneliness and depression which Holden reveals to the reader while at Pencey Prep. For example while writing a essay for Stradlater, he reflects on how after Allie, Holden's brother died, Holden "slept in the garage, the night he died and [he] broke all the god damn window." (39). This reaction to inflict pain on himself is evidence that the loss triggered severe emotional disturbances. Holden isolates himself after a tragic event proving Allie's death is the cause for his loneliness. Also, while alone in his dorm at Pencey writing a composition for Stradlater his roommate, Holden " couldn't think of a room or a house to describe… [he] wrote about [his] brother Allie's

They cope with their sadness in a similar way. They use storytelling to escape their bleak reality. To save Charlie from his isolation, he writes letters to an anonymous person just so he knows someone out there can hear him. He desperately needs someone to listen to him. He said “I just need to know that someone out there listens and understands” (Chbosky 2). His first journal immediately pleads for sympathy and release. Charlie can’t keep his emotions bottled up, the loneliness is slowly creeping up on him. Ever since the suicide of Charlie’s best friend Michael, Charlie has been trying to find new friends to make him feel “infinite”. Similarly, Holden also tells his story by narrating his life to the reader. Late in the book, Holden realises how important is is that he expresses his emotions. “[Do not] ever tell anybody anything, if you do, you start missing everybody” (Salinger 213). This is the last thing Holden says as he comprehends the true influence of having people to talk to and relieve him of his pure loneliness. Holden and Charlie’s loneliness both derive from their lack of communication and ability to confess their pain. Although these two character live in completely different time periods, the general teenage struggles are still relatively

The characters Thomas More in A Man for all Seasons and Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye are portrayed as heroes. According to the Oxford Dictionary a hero is a person who is admired for his or her courage, other noble qualities or outstanding achievements. Although both More and Caulfield display some of the above mentioned qualities they are not categorized as the same basic hero. Each character portrays certain individual characteristics which classify them as specific hero types. The types of heroes More and Caulfield are classified as, as well as which individual character traits indicate this to the reader, will be identified and discussed throughout the essay.