Holden Caulfield And Junior Essay

Holden Caulfield is the protagonist in the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”. In the book Holden hears a quote “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he want to live humbly for one” (Salinger 188) which he embraces as he matures throughout the story. Holden’s opinions of childhood and adulthood change as he grows through experience.

The reader often searches for a glimpse of himself in the characters he is reading about, and this is especially true with the adolescent readers of The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. The author paints a picture of a conflicted youth by emphasizing his idiosyncrasies, and although Caulfield’s traits may seem exaggerated and alien at times, he is a character who is relatable to American youth today. Holden Caulfield has a strong sense of civic duty that is overshadowed only by his suicidal tendencies, is exceedingly sensitive to the evil in the world and prone to angst, yet empathetic to the emotional upheaval other children will experience when entering adulthood.

J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye features a complex narrative surrounding a troubled young student, Holden Caulfield. Difficulties he faces throughout the story force Holden to confront his fears of adulthood and maturation and the responsibilities therein through the difficulties he faces throughout the story. Academic controversy surrounds whether Holden learns from these confrontations and adjust accordingly, maturing throughout the story. While initially this seems rather subjective, a thorough analysis of Holden’s actions throughout the story as well as of the symbolism injected by Salinger makes it quite clear that Holden does undergo a significant maturity arc as the story progresses. Holden’s social development and maturation

From its publication, The Catcher in the Rye gained widespread aversion from schools through its blatant profanity. But despite the time gap since the publication in the 1950s until now, the book explores immortal themes of adolescence and maturing still relevant today. Symbolizing the average teenage life, adolescents throughout the country are able to connect to Holden without question. As Holden agonizes over his purpose and depression, teens relate to this some intangible part of themselves. Holden frustrates over dating, drinking, low grades, switching schools, and life in general. Suddenly, in a second, as the adult world threatens the once serene childhood, as the weight of responsibility of being an adult crashes, Holden crumbles.

The journey between adolescence and adulthood is one of great discovery and introspection. As the blissful innocence of childhood is washed away by the passing of time, a long and confusing period of discovering one’s identity takes center stage. Prior to the process, the adult world seems one of great freedom and opportunity and is treated with a sense of keen enthusiasm. But, only as we become members of this cruel and unjust adult society, does the veneer of privilege corrode away, and the simplicity and innocence of childhood truly appreciated. As such is explored in The Catcher in the Rye, where a young teenager in New York City is faced with the daunting task of transitioning and maturing to an eventual adulthood, one that terrifies him. Holden responds to adulthood with resistance, fear andidealism, before slowly but surely succumbing to its certainty.

     Holden was very introspective. He was very aware of himself. He knew what he like and disliked, even though some of his actions contradicted his beliefs. He felt like the world was going to hell in a hand basket. He could not understand how other people in the world would not want a pure lifestyle. A life that was sure and stable. He hated being moved around from school to school not having many friends. He decided that it was immoral to follow a system that was based on hypocrisy and shallow wants. He rebelled in order to create a system of his own in which a pure lifestyle would be the ultimate goal. Holden should have been Buddhist, with out the smoking and drinking. Oh yeah, and the delusions of grandeur. “So I went back to the room and turned on the light, to start packing and all…Then I got the hell out. Some stupid guy had thrown peanut shells all over the stairs, and I damn nearly broke my crazy neck.” Holden talks about leaving and how it affects him emotionally every time

There are quite a few characters who influence Holden Caulfield, whether it be positively or negatively. Three minor characters have had a profound influence on Holden- Mr. Spencer, Sunny, and Mr. Antonelli. The actions of each of these individual characters has had an impact on Holden in some way, shape, or form. The following quote, stated by Holden Caulfield himself, show a complete turnaround in his personality and demeanor- ‘"The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything."’ The quote describes Holden’s vain attempt to protect all of the innocence in the world. Mr. Spencer, Sunny, and Mr. Antonelli, although relatively minor characters in the grand scheme of the novel, did have a major impact on Holden’s view of the world and of himself. These three characters can best be described as foil characters, which is a minor character whose actions parallel the main character’s, therefore illuminating the main character.

Holden Caulfield is a very, very troubled young boy in a grown up filled world. In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher In The Rye, 16 year old Holden Caulfield is stuck in a rut. He has been expelled from numerous schools, including his current one, Pencey Prep. Holden has been a troubled kid since the death of his older brother, Allie. Allie has played a big role in Holden’s life, and was completely traumatized by his death. Along with those family struggles relating to Allie’s death, Holden has a hard time accepting his adulthood. He wrestles with mental illness and growing up with all of those “phonies”. Even more so, he struggles with the idea of the person he is going to grow into. The environment of The

My patient, Holden Caulfield, is a very different teenager. After our first session together, I could tell he wasn’t your typical teen. He seems to not enjoy the things other teenagers enjoy. To me, it seems like he keeps to himself a lot. In our first session, Holden told me about how he had gotten kicked out of his boarding school, Pencey Prep. He hadn’t told his parents or even tried to contact them when he went he left Pencey and gone to New York. He also explained to me about the death of his younger brother, Allie. Holden explained that he was very hurt and a mess after his brother died. Another topic that was discussed in our first session was girls. Holden told me about this girl Jane, who was very important to him. They had spent a

Thesis Statement: Throughout the novel, Catcher in the Rye, Holden demonstrates many traits of a typical teenager including emotions of loneliness, sense of independence, and the feeling of angst. Many people would say that Holden is in fact not a typical teenager. A typical teenager doesn’t run away from prep school late at night and flunk out of four prep schools like Holden. He flunked out of his fourth prep school, Pencey Prep, and leaves the school late at night just because he felt too depressed, which is not a behavior of a typical teenager. However, his disturbed mental state is justified with the death of his younger brother, Allie, due to leukemia.

Holden Caulfield’s life is defined by his dislike of pretty much everyone and everything because his parents never taught him to do otherwise. His parents neglected him by sending him to multiple schools and never taught him how to deal with his emotional issues. Holden was never taught by an adult how to deal with his grief after his brother, Allie’s death. Since almost every adult Holden meets end up letting him down, he grows up to be emotionally stunted and thus is rejected by the world around him.

In J.D. Salinger’s nostalgic novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caulfield, is similar to a modern day teenager, because he faces similar dilemmas. In Angers town Pennsylvania, Holden experiences the struggle of a teenager who led astray. Holden finds great difficulties while going through the gyrating course of high school; he is expelled from his school, being kicked off the fencing team, and gets stuck on the low-side of the popularity latter.

“The Catcher in the Rye”, a novel by J.D. Salinger, follows the narrated story of Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy, as he is kicked out of prep-school and thrust into the harsh (albeit “phonier”) reality of adult life. The story begins with Holden, having recently been expelled, discussing the terms, cause, and inevitable effects of his expulsion with an elderly friend. After arriving back at his dormitory, Holden decides that he is unhappy not only with his friends Ackley and Stradlater, but with all of Pencey (his prep school) itself and promptly leaves for New York. After facing conflicting feelings of speaking of his current situation with any of his friends (especially Jane Gallagher, with whom he previously shared an intimate relationship),

One of the greatest lessons we have learned, from “A Catcher in the Rye,” is that growing up is not always easy. This is taught through the eyes of high school student Holden Caulfield, and his challenges of leaving behind childhood innocence

There are many challenges that a teen will face when they grow up, those challenges might strengthen them, or even destroy them. In Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the corruption of the adult world leads the protagonist Holden Caulfield to feel depressed and lonely. In the other hand, from the film directed by Peter Weil, Dead Poet’s Society, one of the main characters, Neil, suffers from the pressure by his parents and eventually collapse. In Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, and and the film Dead Poet’s Society, directed by Peter Weir, the idea that when teenager goes through the process of growing up he or she will face many challenges from the adult world, is demonstrated through the examples when Holden and Neil suffers from the pressure by their families, when both of them are weak at expressing their real thoughts and feeling, and last but not least, from the corruption of the adult world, both Holden and Neil are depressed and thought of suicide.