Holden Caulfield In The Catcher In The Rye

In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character and narrator Holden Caulfeild walks many different paths of life. He jumps around different aspects of his life throughout the book, showing the reader many different sides to himself. This theme is presented through the author’s technique in crafting the characterization and symbolism. J.D. Salinger develops a puzzle of a personality for Holden throughout the book, to show the complexity and multitude of sides to Holden’s character.

Holden is very fond of Phoebe and also very protective of her, when Holden goes to her school his protective attribute is very relevant. When Holden gets into Phoebe’s school Holden is surprised with extreme profanity on the walls in the school, during his time in the school he sees the words “Fuck You” written on the walls thought the school. The first time Holden saw the words he instantly began to think of how Phoebe and the other kids would feel if they were to see it. It upset Holden so much that he thought, “I kept wanting to kill whoever’d written it… I’d smash his head on the stone steps till he was good and goddamn dead and bloody. (p.201)” His obsession with innocence was so strong that Holden felt compelled to kill the “perverty bum (p.201)” Though he could never act on his feelings he decided to make an effort to clean the graffiti off the walls, once again protecting and preserving innocence. A more personal and compelling occasion where Holden was the protector of Phoebe’s innocence is when they went to the carrousel near the zoo. While approaching the carrousel Holden thought of his past when D.B, Allie, Phoebe and himself use to go to the carrousel all the time and how Phoebe couldn’t get enough of it. After remembering how happy it made her Holden told her she should go on, Phoebe declined claiming she was too big to ride even though she really wanted to but after insisting, she got on. Holden then watched her go around in circles while he sat on one of the benches. “[Holden thought to himself] I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn

The Catcher in the Rye displays many theme throughout the novel, and all of these themes can be seen through the main character Holden and his relationships with certain individuals. Themes like loss of innocence, reality vs. illusion, lack of communication and the list goes on and on. However, another big theme that is often illuminated is dealing with change, which is something Holden isn't the best at dealing with. Many of us can relate to Holden in general, but especially with this topic because it affects us all, things change but from these changes we grow and learn which holden struggles to grasp. Dealing with change is a topic see in The Catcher in the Rye, and is displayed through Allie’s Death, character development, and Phoebe growing up.

“The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole.” (cite3). This quote represents Holden’s innocence as he enjoys the little things in life. He reflects on no matter what else he is going through in life, the small things in life stayed the same. “Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway.” (cite4). Holden wishes certain events in his life wouldn’t happen. He also hopes he could keep the good memories the same. This shows how his innocence is constantly changing throughout the story.

The characters Holden Caulfield, from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, and Will Hunting, from Good Will Hunting, have very similar personalities; however, they live in completely different worlds. The Catcher in the Rye is narrated by Holden Caulfield. He is a seventeen year old from New York City, and in the book, he comes to terms with his past. The story is told from a psychiatric institution. The movie Good Will Hunting is about a very intelligent twenty year old, Will Hunting, who is a janitor at a school in south Boston. The major conflict with the both of them is within their own mind. Part of them wants to connect with other people on an adult level, while part of them wants to reject the world. The main difference between them has to do with socio-economics, and how different their childhoods were. A main similarity between the two is that they push things away, because they are afraid of getting attached to anything. Another similarity is that they are both very intelligent young men, but are not necessarily good in school. Even though Holden and Will grew up in almost opposite conditions, they have many similarities when it comes to their personalities.

Holden and Phoebe share a lot of the same experiences because they are family. They both experienced the loss of their brother Allie, who died of leukemia. Holden describes Allie as the “most intelligent member of the family... also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody.” (Salinger, 38) However, Holden takes Allie’s death much harder than Phoebe does. Holden grieves and even cries over Allie, even though Allie had died a whole three years ago in the story. It is also what made Holden begin to go mad, but seems to have little effect on Phoebe all these years later. Holden even says that “they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don’t blame them. I really don’t. I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the

Critics have been dissecting and devouring every aspect of The Catcher in the Rye for decades. Despite that, there is still debate over whether or not Holden Caulfield is mentally ill or if he is simply going through the trials of adolescence. Based on his disposition, it is fair to say that he is somehow affected by a mental disease. In many in-depth studies of the text, writers have diagnosed Holden with a surfeit of diseases. These include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, and many more.

The Catcher in the Rye follows the adventures of a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield. Holden has changed schools several times over the past years — because he either failed all his classes or harbored strong feelings of hate and disgust towards his school. Holden, during the book’s events, is 16 years old, quite tall, and already has some gray hair.

Holden is overwhelmed by change, and it leads him to prefer things that stay the same or do not change. We see that when Holden goes to the museum that he realizes that the only thing that ever changes is the people. At the museum the exhibits never

In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a rather unique character. He has several complications with other characters that he runs into, and does not seem that he is able to relate to anyone. However, Holden has a younger sister named Phoebe, and he seems to connect with her in a way that he does not with anyone else. She is only ten years old, so she and Holden both have a childlike mind. On the other hand, Phoebe seems to have a positive outlook on life while Holden sees most things in a negative light. Another contrast between them is that Phoebe puts in effort at school, and Holden is clearly not concerned his performance at school.

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is faced with multiple “phonies” that divert him from those he really holds affection for. Throughout the novel Holden shows disgust for certain characters but his ability to build relationships of intimacy are most eminent. Through Allie Caulfield, Holden is able to make a more personal connection. Seeing as how he is now dead, Allie is a savior in the eyes’ of Holden when he is in the time of need. Phoebe Caulfield, Holden’s ten year old sister, shares similar tastes with Holden earning his respect as well as his time, allowing Holden to show affection to her more than any other character. Jane Gallagher although never physically present in the novel holds a special place in Holden’s heart, his first love. Through Jane, Holden is able to experience things that his brother and sister couldn 't give him, earning her his ability to show affection. With the struggle between adolescence and adulthood, Holden Caulfield, of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, finds himself through the relationships he builds with Allie and Phoebe Caulfield as well as Jane Gallagher.

In J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caufield, describes in detail the parts of his life and his environment that bother him the most. He faces these problems with a kind of naivety that prevents him from fully understanding why it is that he is so depressed. His life revolves around his problems, and he seems helpless in evading them. Among others, Holden finds himself facing the issues of acceptance of death, growing up, and his own self-destructiveness.

Are 50’s teens able to survive the hurtful but unavoidable transition of becoming a grown up as they struggle with the changes that come along with it?

Holden's younger sister Phoebe, is also in need of Holden's protection. He must protect her because he failed to protect his brother Allie from death. Holden feels that it is his responsibility to protect Phoebe from whatever may put her in danger, even himself: "I was glad. All of a sudden I wanted her to cry till her eyes practically dropped out. I almost hated her. I think I hated her most because she wouldn't be in that play any more if she went away with me." (207) He does not want Phoebe to turn out like himself. He wants

The Catcher in the Rye is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy who has just flunked out of his third private boarding school. Unwilling to remain at school until the end of the term, Holden runs away to New York City. He does not contact his parents, who live there, but instead drifts around the city for two days. The bulk of the novel is an account, at once hilariously funny and tragically moving, of Holden's adventures in Manhattan. These include disillusioning encounters with two nuns, a suave ex-schoolmate, a prostitute named Sunny, and a sympathetic former teacher who may be homosexual. Finally, drawn by his affection for his ten-year-old sister, Phoebe, Holden abandons his spree and returns home.