the author illustrates Holden Caulfield’s journey after leaving Pencey State and traveling to New York from Holden’s first-person point of view. This journey he partakes in is one of self-discovery and acceptance, ultimately searching for his own self worth. Though Holden has little to no character development throughout the novel, it is still difficult to fully address who he is. Stemming from his own desire to live in his childhood state of mind and tendencies, Holden creates a complex and disputable
Character Analysis In the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, we see one type of person in Holden Caulfield. By the end of the book, we see a whole new person. How is it that one person can change as much in a short time period? They change by the experiences they go through. Holden went through a lot of experiences in a short period of time especially, and also in his past history. In the beginning of the novel, Holden has just come back from a fencing game in New York. He has also been kicked
In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield is a nervous and unhappy dropout. After being kicked out of his prestigious high school, he goes to New York City and roams the streets for three days searching for both innocence and adulthood. While he holds a hatred for “phonies”, people he sees as fakes or cheats, he himself can be portrayed as a phony. Holden admires certain qualities in a person. He likes people who are honest, intelligent and open. He also admires
2016 An Analysis on Holden Caulfield’s Mental Fixation on Innocence 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. In the beginning of the novel, Holden describes
Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye only likes the innocent parts of people. Throughout the book we are given examples of how Holden has different feelings based on who he is talking to. Three important characters in the book give three different personalities that add up to the overall conclusion that Holden is crazy. Stradlater is one of the most non-innocent characters in the story, and we see throughout the book Holden picking fights with him. He is known to take girls on dates and rape
Holden Caulfield, pretentious jerk or lost teenage boy? Throughout the book, Holden shares the events in his life, which we later find led him to a mental hospital. It is clear from the start that Holden is not like everyone else. Although he does experience normal human emotions such as anxiety and depression, he deals with them in an abnormal way. In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield fails to represent the voice of real people because of his excessive phony behavior
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
tend to agree that Holden Caulfield feels inferior towards others, which lowers his self-esteem, so in order to gain confidence with himself, he feels the need to be superior. Firstly, in the article, Anna Freud and J.D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield by Robert Coles, Coles introduces a new way of how Holden Caulfield is superior. Coles and Freud discuss different ways Holden Caulfield influences our youth and how that makes him superior (217). For example, in our society, Holden is viewed as someone
The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, undergoes an immense psychological change where he transforms from youth to maturity. The major conflict in the novel which held Holden back from progressing into adulthood had to do with the death of his younger brother, Allie. The way Holden expresses himself and all of the decisions he has made can all be related back to that experience which he has never been able to cope with. As a result, Holden spends the majority of his time alone which
the changes of Holden Caulfield as he encounters many dissimilar girls throughout the book. Phoebe Caulfield, his sister, means a lot to Holden when he tries to protect her from everything. Sunny is someone Holden wants to befriend due to her lost innocence and reality of life. Phoebe Caulfield and Sunny are female characters in the novel who affected Holden’s life in very different ways. Holden and Phoebe had a close and important relationship as Holden truly loved his sister. Holden thinks very fondly