The only Constant in Life is Change Classic books are called classic for a certain reason. Classics keep interests high and almost always has a deep meaning behind it. The Catcher in the Rye is no different. The Catcher in the Rye is a novel about Holden Caulfield finding his way in life, changing in many ways and ultimately finding who he is as a person. In the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, existential elements are quite prominent throughout the story shown through the actions of Holden Caulfield. Firstly, Holden Caulfield experienced the existential element of going against social norms from the start of the story. Caulfield “was still standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill” instead of being with the rest of the kids at the football game (J.D. Salinger 2). Instead of being with the other kids at the football game, Holden was alone and was able to feel freedom from social norms. Caulfield from the beginning was always a little different from the rest of the kids and he usually did things out of the flow of things. Caulfield was a character that J.D. Salinger wanted to express the existential element of not having to go with the flow of things and instead made Caulfield from the beginning of the …show more content…
Caulfield flunked “(f)our” classes out of the five classes he was enrolled in (J.D. Salinger 10). Caulfield was rebelling against doing anything he did not want to do. Caulfield was always rebelling from what others in general thought he should do, he took his own path through life. Another time Caulfield asked a woman on the train whom he had spoken with “(w)ould you care for a cocktail?” (J.D. Salinger 57). Caulfield went against the laws and decided to ask a woman if she wanted to drink a cocktail which he knew he was not old enough to drink. He followed the existential belief of doing what he thought was right not matter the laws and
1) Page 1: Salinger hasn’t even finished the first sentence and he’s already characterizing Holden Caulfield as isolated from his family, a bit self-absorbed, smart and informal with his narrative style.
Salinger uses the characterization of Holden Caulfield to send a message regarding the problems children face growing up, such as struggling to find one’s identity and failure to properly interact with other people, can create a permanent effect on their life making a connection to the real world, and everyone in it, nearly impossible.
Holden Caulfield is the protagonist in the novel, “The Catcher In The Rye.” He has changed dramatically since he left Pencey Prep. At the beginning of the book. Where he started to tell what happened in his life, at the beginning he was Rebellious and didn’t seem to care about what was going to happen to his future. An example of this is when Mr. Spencer sat Holden down on the bed and gave him a lecture on why he flunked and that he should care about his future, but you could tell that he could care less. However Holden appreciated the help Mr. Spencer was trying to give him. Another example of Holden being Rebellious is when Stradler was joking about having sex with one of Holden’s friends and he thought “I’m going to sock him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it will split his goddam throat open.” Then after he was pinned by Stradler Holden kept calling him a moron even though he was told to stop multiple times and it resulted in Holden getting punched in the face and nearly knocked out.
Who is Holden Caulfield? That is a very hard question to answer. In J.D. Salinger’s the Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a complex adolescent whose traits are much deeper than what he shows others. Deep down he is a good person who cares about others, but seeing how others are, makes him indecisive because he is still battling to find himself and decipher right from wrong. Knowing this, the reader finds that he is also very confused. Even though he can seem very negative and resistant towards people,he actually really cares about these people deep down, and even admits to missing them when he thinks about them. Holden deals with his conflicts within himself searching for the truth in a society full of phonies and falsity. He is the all- critic of the world surrounding him but at the same time an adolescent stuck between childhood and adulthood. Holden makes himself the outsider by blocking out the world. From his criticism it gives him a justification of why growing up is a bad thing and that all it does is make you a fake, a fraud, a phony. The outside world can give a misconception of how one should act or how things ought to be,
Imagine living an isolated life in which everyone else’s opinions and actions seem to be wrong. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel The Catcher In The Rye, lives the life of a remote teenager who thinks society is filled with phonies that corrupt the innocence of people. In the story, Holden Caulfield is not the average 16 year old that cares about school or a social life. Holden gets kicked out of school, and explains his story throughout the course of a few days how he runs away from home and faces obstacles, later on reuniting with his younger sister, Phoebe, where he then wants to go to California because he starts to notice a change in Phoebe that Holden cannot handle. In Salinger’s novel The Catcher In The Rye, he demonstrates
In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, the character Holden Caulfield is developed through several elements of symbolism. The author introduces the main character Holden as an eccentric and disheveled person. As the book begins, it is revealed that Holden has been expelled from yet another prep school. He is dreading having to return home and inform his parents that he has been expelled all over again. This causes to Holden to avoid travelling home at all costs, which place him in conflict.
J.D. Salinger’s opinion of the world in The Catcher in the Rye shows both his hatred and fascination for the ingenuine nature of society. Throughout the novel Holden Caufield is conflicted between commenting on the “phoniness” of things around him, “a heading under which he loosely lumps not only insincerity but snobbery, injustice, callousness to the tears in things, and a lot more,”(Behrman) and the impulsive, self-loathing mentality he portrays. Salinger utilizes many aspects of his own life and displays them in the fluctuating character of Holden Caufield, showing his conflicted opinion on society. At times, he expresses his self-hatred towards the condescending attitude of the actions he himself makes. The Catcher in the Rye’s purpose is to prevent all the teenage angst and self-loathing by saving them from corruption.
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.
First, the instance where Holden Caulfield displayed development as a character is when he fought with Stradlater. The fight with Stradlater helped to develop Holden’s very devoted ideas of maintaining innocence, exemplified in the following quotation, “I told him he thought he could give the time to anybody he felt like. I told him he didn’t care if a girl kept all her kings in the back row or not” (Salinger 50). The aforementioned quote illustrates how Holden is not like many others, he shows how he cares more about how Jane places her kings in checkers, as apposed to Stradlater who is only engrossed in “sexy stuff”. This proves how Holden develops through violence as it shows how keen he is on maintaining one’s innocence and how having it taken away will leave someone impure and corrupted.
Holden Caulfield plays a timeless character in the sense that his way of life is common for the American teenager, in his time as well as now. Today parents dread the terrible and confusing adolescent years of their child's life. In J.D. Salinger's book, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is in this terrible and confusing point of his life. At this point in his life, as well as in modern teenager's lives, a transition occurs, from child to adult. Holden takes this change particularly rough and develops a typical mentality that prevents him from allowing himself to see or understand his purpose in life.
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.
In the novel The Catcher In The Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield views his surroundings with hypocrisy and contempt in an attempt to avoid the corruption of adulthood. Holden places himself above the crowd because he believes everyone acts phony. In the process, Caulfield reveals his true problem: his refusal to change.
As previously mentioned, it is obvious of Holden’s intentions from the first chapter. The reader learns that they are not going to be following the life story of some random kid; they are going to read about the introversive thoughts and assumptions everyone makes at some point of their lives. Throughout the tale, it is obvious that Caulfield is depressed and as the story progresses, he seems to lose himself in the real world. As he moves
Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, introduces us to Holden Caulfield is one of my favorite characters because of his immaturity and confusion, or lack of understanding of his own mind. He tends to change opinion, say strong remarks, and act very childish throughout the book. Because he hasn’t grown up. He hates most of the things he comes across during the novel. His challenge is understanding the reason things are the way they have to be and why he has to act a certain why. He doesn't understand the conventions of society so he
In conclusion, Salinger has given his readers his three ingredients to the meaning of life; innocence, isolation, and insanity. These elements are what create his existentialist protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Who tries to keep The Myth of Sisyphus alive, by keep pushing that boulder or in Caulfield's mind, catch the innocent children from falling into adulthood. But in the end Caulfield comes to the realization of his insanity of delaying the inevitable, everyone must fall and it is up to one’s essence to get back