Holden Caulfield Iceberg Analysis

In this quote we can see that Holden’s mood changed immediately after he put on his red hunting hat. His unstable sense of self has adjusted from being sad and discouraged to being confident so quickly which is out of the ordinary for normal people to happen. Because of Holden’s insecurity of himself, putting on this hat changes his appearance, which he likes, and makes him feel better about himself at that moment until he takes it off. It’s an ongoing cycle of security and insecurity causing Holden to have this unsure thought about himself as he is not sure who he really is with all these multiple identities. Another great example of Holden’s insecure sense of self is that he has the ability to be vulnerable to the influence since he does not feel that he may be educated enough to make the right decision or the fact that he is too put down on himself to stick up and fight for his decision. For instance, when staying in a hotel he was offered by an unknown man if he wanted to pay for an experience with a prostitute. Because of his state of being, Holden could not answer the way he wanted to, "'Okay,' I said. It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn't even think" (Salinger

This is one of my favorite quotes from the book. In the beginning, we are exposed to Holden’s child-like behavior and immaturity. Holden avoids growing up and maturing in order to not become a materialistic adult and deal with the responsibility that comes along with adulthood; in doing so, he would have to accept the outcomes of his past actions. Although Holden does hint at signs of suicide, there are times when I feel he doesn’t necessarily want to die, he simply wishes time would freeze, which is evident by this quote. I feel as though I can relate to this because there are times when I wish time would freeze so I wouldn’t have to grow up so fast.

Holden Caulfield is a quick-witted, brutally honest boy to everyone, except himself. He is constantly projecting unsatisfactory traits he possesses onto others, especially his tendency to be “phony.” Holden first uses the word phony to describe his teacher, Mr.Spencer, after he uses the word “grand” to describe Holden’s parents. Holden says, “Grand. There’s a word I really hate. It’s a phony. I could puke every time I hear it” (Salinger 9). He hates Mr.Spencer’s choice of words because it is meant to remind Holden of the status of his parents, not to show respect for the Caulfield family. Also. the word “grand” is used to initiate something Holden hates, moral lectures. At first, Holden was under the impression that his meeting was going

Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I

He hides under a visage of a cool ‘bad boy’ trope, seeing the world through a heavy filter- to him, anyone who's anyone is a phony, a liar, or just plain bad, despite him judging many things he later goes on to do himself. Over the course of the book we come to see Holden has built an opinion of the world that shields him from the pains and complexities of life. The author displays Holden’s traits quite prominently, especially through his use of language; he writes as Holden speaks- vulgar, rambling, and easily derailed, jumping from idea to idea infinitely

In this passage of the book, Holden is thinking scientifically. This supports the fact that he is smart after all, even though he his failing most of his classes. Often times, a teenager wants something so bad, they come up with crazy and somewhat stupid ideas and plans to help them obtain that something. Maybe this is because he does not want to try or maybe he wants to fit in with others who would not accept him if he was smart. In this metaphor, he is comparing himself the ducks in Central Park when the lagoon freezes over. What Holden is really saying is the fact that he would not know where to go if he stays living in a place full of phonies and rude people. The ducks cannot swim in ice and he will not stay in a school full of fakes.

Adolescence, this is a time where you figure out who you truly are. This soul searching leads to self realization. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger, has trouble accepting himself. Throughout his days he would put on a cap just to be someone else. It is his get away place, a place of isolation. A way for him to seclude from the world and become someone he isn’t. This is relatable to numerous teens. Though Holden could be described using numerous adjectives, Holden's character can be perfectly described as ignorant, a liar, and a slacker. He is ignorant because he does not learn from his mistakes. He is a compulsive liar. Finally, he is a slacker because he avoids work. Holden is just like countless people out there who do not apply themselves. You see, Holden could be smart. He could be successful. He just doesn’t have the motivation or ambition to do so.

J.D. Salinger, the author of the Catcher in the Rye, was a skilled writer. Salinger wrote about a wide variety of characters throughout this novel, many of these characters had a complex personality. Holden Caulfield is the main character in the Catcher in the rye. Holden is a unique character and he shares very little traits with the other people he encounters throughout the novel besides his younger sister, Phoebe. Holden and Phoebe Caulfield have two very different personalities but they share some distinct similarities. Holden is a gloomy, pessimistic, and unstable teenager. Phoebe, on the other hand, is a lively, optimistic, and innocent child. Throughout the novel Holden spends his time trying to act mature while Phoebe is living out the childhood he never had. Phoebe and Holden have very different personalities and outlooks on life. While the two have such opposing traits, they have a similar background and upbringing.

Without Holden’s sarcastic front, the book would be a completely different story. It’d be full of openness, and probably a lot less trouble, but it wouldn’t be the same. The story wouldn’t be worth reading, because Holden’s struggles throughout New York help define him as a person and set this story apart from others. He is easy to relate to for people who also struggle with self worth and meaning. He gives people a voice, an embodiment of everything we are and what we don’t want to be. Through his sarcastic and impulsive behavior, we can see something in him that we can see in ourselves. His struggles with worthlessness also assist in making him relatable, because it is such a common but underrated emotion that is felt. Worthlessness defines one’s school or work career, and success in general. Holden portrays this emotion very efficiently, and lets his personal beliefs of worthlessness interfere with the majority of his life. He is a good example of what not to do, but gives one a physical manifestation of a hard to describe internal

Holden Caulfield despises phonies, because he finds them hypocritical, and uses the insult phony as a way to brush off the rejection he feels from most people. Almost all of the people Holden has called phony have disappointed or rejected his in some way, so Holden tries to make himself feel better by dismissing the people as fake. Holden considers phonies as ingenuine people, however he is a phony himself because he demonstrates the same characteristics he despises. For example, Holden “hate[s] movies like a poison” because they are phony, meaning they deceive their audience, hide behind masks, and fake emotions (33). Ironically, Holden is also a phony by his own definition, because he is constantly deceiving people for no good reason. In fact he admits that he is “the most terrific liar you ever say in your life”(19). The most obvious evidence of Holden’s phoniness is that he lies to himself throughout the entire book. He

In the beginning of the novel Holden says that whenever he tries to act mature it went unnoticed, this could be a reason as to why he acts young for his age. In the beginning of his encounter with his age dysphoria he states, “…because i act very young for my age sometimes… Sometimes I act a lot older that I am — I really do — but people never notice it. People never notice anything” (Salinger 13). A motif that is constantly brought up throughout the book is that of the Central Park lake and what happens to the fish and birds once winter comes. He knows that the lake freezes over, therefore trapping the fish underneath an cold layer of ice separating them from the rest of the world around them. Holden could be seen as one of the fishes in the lake as he says that his parents are in high society and most likely have very good jobs which also means that Holden must have had a very uneventful childhood where his parents were almost never a part of the equation. His parents created a cold and isolated environment which causes him to want to get all the focus on himself now that he knows he can and feed off of that attention he never received in his childhood. This makes him act in many different ways whether it be with mood swings, from happy to agitated, or simply acting like a child to get other’s

Holden is deathly afraid of conforming, growing up, and having to assimilate into the phony adult world. As a result he comes off as hypocritical as he is the most prominent phony in the novel. He constantly lies, refuses to connect with others and overlooks his own pain, letting it deeply impact his life. Holden is a compulsive liar; he does not have one honest conversation with anyone except his sister and Jane for the duration of the novel. When he is on the train with Mrs. Morrow, for instance, he claims his name is Rudolf Schmidt and preaches about what an amazing guy her son is, even though he is “the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school.” (61) This shows that Holden falls victim to the same social conventions as everyone else. He says exactly what Mrs. Morrow wants to hear, despite the fact that he

The most noticeable of Holden's "peculiarities" is how extremely judgmental he is of almost everything and everybody, in other words he is very cynical. A cynic is routinely disappointed when others don’t live up to their constructed image and, as a result, often doubts people’s motives, and genuineness. Holden applies his often cynical and pessimistic reasoning to almost everything. He judges and criticizes people who are boring, people who are money-driven, and, above all, people who are “phony.”

Holden is a profoundly negative person, he is constantly judging other people, calling them ‘phonies’ and criticising them. For instance when he says “I was surrounded by phonies.” of his time at Elkton Hills. (CITR, 14) Throughout the novel, Holden repeatedly behaves immature and makes irresponsible and destructive decisions, even if he knows it is the wrong thing to

Hemingway's writing technique is an interesting way of writing. His “Iceberg Theory” is influential to writers today. His theory is composed up of 10% conscious mind and 90% of only subconscious mind. He was an authentic writer. His writing is relatable and believable because of the silences he would use and short sentences. Hemingway’s writing was is close to everyday encounters and situations. He is widely known for his writing and stories. He gave a new flavor to writing and touched people's hearts in a personal way. Because of his special writing, his structured way of writing will live out for generations to come.