Holden Caulfield Conformity

The postwar setting in J. D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye influenced the main character Holden Caulfield feelings of disillusionment during a time when conformity was the social norm. The novel revolves around a hasty teenager who is against conformity, this is apparent as the novel begins and he does not attend a football game that was considered “a very big deal around Pency” and “practically the whole school except me was there” (Salinger 4-5) . However, Holden’s discernment towards conformity is manifested furthered, when he visited Mr. Spencer, who tried explaining to Holden that he should conform to the expectations of school [society] by stating: “life is a game that one plays according to the rules”(Salinger 11). Holden’s mental

Holden Caulfield is a very complex character. Holden is the main character in Catcher in the Rye. Holden failed out of his fourth school, Pencey. Holden goes to New York by himself: throughout the week: in the time Holden is in New York the reader learns a lot about his personality traits and who he is as a person. Holden is very opinionated on how the worlds works: his thoughts and views on the world change throughout the book. Holden Caulfield displays many different characteristics, character changes, and shows many signs of health problems.

J.D. Salinger's first and only novel, Catcher in the Rye, centers around a relatable yet at times dislikable sixteen-year old boy grasping with impending adulthood after flunking out of prep school. Holden Caufield struggles with a nostalgic attachment to the innocence and purity of childhood, while at the same time adopting more mature behaviours in order to be acknowledged in a society that only recognizes the validity of adults.

While recently reading J.D. Salinger’s classic The Catcher in the Rye, I reacted to the character Holden Caulfield very critically and analytically. To me, this character was extremely complex, as I found his behavior noteworthy and thought-provoking. Holden is seventeen years old and narrates The Catcher in the Rye through a series of flashbacks that recount his experiences through school and eventually life on his own. The story reveals much about the unique personality that this character demonstrates, as well as how loneliness and growing up directly affect him and his life.

While recently reading J.D. Salinger’s classic The Catcher in the Rye, I reacted to the character Holden Caulfield very critically. To me, this character was extremely complex, as I found his behavior noteworthy and thought-provoking. Holden is seventeen years old and narrates The Catcher in the Rye through a series of flashbacks that recount his experiences through school and eventually life on his own.

After Holden spends a night drinking, he roams aimlessly around the city. He eventually ends up back at his parents home, and surprises his sister Phoebe. He sneaks into her room, and they talk on her bed. Phoebe figures out quickly that Holden is no longer in school and becomes upset with him.

In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is the seventeen-year-old narrator and protagonist of the story. He is a very troubled teenager; he cannot seem to cope with his younger brother Allie’s death, has been kicked out of four schools, and is constantly criticizing and judging other people, which he does in a hypocritical manner. Holden is often nostalgic about his childhood, seeming to be in the happiest state when he thinks about being a child, and resents growing up and entering adulthood; yet, he also seeks attention and connections from adults because he knows that it is time for him to change. Holden’s conflicting interests in the world he lives in causes him to be stuck between childhood and adulthood, and

Downstairs, Holden gets a table in the Lavender Room, the hotel’s nightclub, and tries to order some drinks. Earlier in the novel, Holden mentions how great of a liar he is and how, in some places, he is able to pass as an adult due to his grey hair and towering stature. Notwithstanding his seemingly flawless scheme, the waiter refused to give him alcohol. He notices a table of women across the bar and decides to go strike up a conversation with them. Holden finds it rude that they don’t invite him to sit down. He then “tries to get them into a little intelligent conversation, but it was practically impossible” (Salinger 82). The ladies seem amused by his attempt, but remain uninterested in this obviously young man who tries to appear older

With no luck and still a feeling of restlessness, Holden visits the Lavender Room, which is the Edmont’s nightclub. He continues to think of calling Phoebe but refuses to on account of the fact that his parents would answer the phone because Phoebe is asleep. He describes Phoebe almost identically to what he had previously described Allie as, complete with the red hair and extreme intelligence. Holden also recounts times where he has taken Phoebe to see a film and explains how humorous, clever, and emotional Phoebe is. Once in the Lavender Room, Holden attempts to order himself an alcoholic beverage, on account of how his height and gray hair typically add to his age to make him look legal. Despite that, the waiter refuses to give Holden the beverage and Holden ends up ordering himself a few Cokes instead. Holden engages a conversation with three women in the area of Seattle and later dances with the three of them. He describes the women as being almost ignorant. The women are uninterested due to Holden’s attempts to look older

As each novel progresses, both protagonists seek instant pleasure in attempt to escape from their isolation, but their desperation for comfort leads to their deteriorating health. Holden attempts to escape his feelings of alienation by going to New York City, but in his desperate attempt to connect with others, his overall health worsens. Struggling with his loneliness, he reluctantly agrees to have a prostitute come to his room at the hotel: “I was feeling so depressed I didn’t even think” (Catcher 91). Holden’s desperation has made him travel from Pencey Prep, in Pennsylvania, all the way to New York City to escape his feeling of isolation from his fellow students. Even though it goes against his moral values about sex, he desperately reaches out to anyone who might be willing to ease his loneliness, and that leads him to accept the offer of letting a prostitute come to his hotel. Although once she arrives, he feels insecure and refuses to have sex. The prostitute is a symbol of instant gratification that Holden initially thought he wanted to comfort his isolation, but ends up feeling too insecure to have sex because the prospect that his first sexual experience would be with a prostitute depresses him. When Holden refuses to pay the extra charge that the prostitute requests, she gets annoyed and calls her “boss,” Maurice. Eventually, this situation results in Holden being assaulted. After this beating, Holden feels like he is at his

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.

Holden arrives to New York through a train and makes a quick mental list of who to call. When Holden fails to call anyone, he gets ride from a taxi to a sleazy hotel called Edmont Hotel. There he calls Faith Cavendish, a loose type of women, for company but is even rejected by her. This leads to Holden feeling even more isolated and depressed. Still desperate for interaction, Holden washes up and goes to the Lavender Room, a nightclub located at the bottom of the hotel. At the club Holden gets to dance with three different women but is left ending up paying for their drinks and left alone... once again. He leaves the club to go to a bar where he is shown smoking and drinking. He finds everything there “disgusting” so when asked to join a group of his brother friends, he rejects saying he was on his way out. Ironically, Holden’s lie made him feel sad for he originally wanted human contact. Once back to his hotel, Holden is solicited by Maurice, the elevator operator, who promises the companionship of a prostitute. Quickly regretting his decision of accepting Maurice’s promise, Holden tries to pay the prostitute five

However, when presented with the chance to do something that isn’t innocent, that an adult would do, he backs down, especially with women. Upon receiving the number of a promiscuous girl, Faith Cavendish, from Carl Luce, he calls her. He asks her on a date, however it is very late and she asks to meet up with him the next day. Holden, instead of accepting, says that, “‘[He] can 't make it tomorrow. Tonight’s the only time [he] can make it.’” (Salinger 9). Holden constantly tries to pass himself in public as an adult, but whenever given a chance to mature himself, he instead clings onto the last thread of innocence he has left. He calls with the intention of fooling around with this girl he has heard is rather frisky, and instead ostracizes himself to keep from having to break out of the limbo of adolescence. This in itself isn’t even Holden’s best opportunity to lose his virginity. In his ongoing soul search Holden once again decides to partake in an adult like activity. After booking a hotel room he is offered a prostitute on the elevator ride. After telling the man he is twenty two he awaits the prostitute. Once she arrives and takes off her top Holden states he was feeling depressed and asks her, ‘“Don 't you feel like talking for a while?" I asked her. It was a childish thing to say, but I was feeling so damn peculiar.’" (Salinger 13) Holden knows that the prostitute is willing to have

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, scholars 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.

The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger describes 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.