Holden Caulfield : The Character Of Holden In The Rye

I read the book and watched the John Lennon assassination video and the million dollar question is Mark David Chapman Holden Caulfield? I have to say no he isn’t. I will explain why I came to this conclusion. On the day of the killing, he carried two things with him when he shot and killed John Lennon at the Dakota apartments in Manhattan. He had a handgun and a copy of The Catcher in the Rye book.

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

Like Allie, Phoebe is well liked, intelligent, and enjoys writing. Before Allie died, he was described as the smarted person of the three siblings in Holden’s family. “He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent. He was terrifically intelligent.” (43). This is just like his

The only person that understands him and can give advice is his sister, Phoebe. A Tpassage were we can see that connexion between Phoebe and Holden is when he buys a gift for her and he uses a time to think about her “The first record store I went into had a copy of “Little Shirley Beans” (p.128).

    When Holden describes Phoebe, he has an earnest and uplifting tone as he continues to rain praises about her. He emphasizes Phoebe’s intelligence and innocence; Holden describes her as “a little kid so pretty and smart” while worrying about her being “a little too affectionate sometimes.” She’s portrayed as a cute, “roller-skate skinny” little sister with “pretty little ears.” In contrast, Holden introduces the three women at Lavender Room as “pretty ugly” and labels them as “the three witches at the next table.” Holden is easily annoyed by their personality and actions and only stays with them due to a shallow physical attraction to the

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s life is composed of a great amount of contempt; he perceives society through pessimistic lenses, continuously dismissing its ways. Trying to veer off his path to adulthood, Holden often holds people accountable for their “phony” ways. He aims to “save” the children from such an outcome that he makes it his responsibility. The pivotal moment of which he transcends to maturity occurs is when he witnesses the children reach for the gold ring. Rather than blindly believing that he can save the children from sinking into the “evils” of the world and maintain their innocence, he ultimately decides to let them make their own decisions and grow up.

Holden and Phoebe have many contrasting character traits that display the differences between the two characters. Holden says he’s the dumb one in the family, while he describes Phoebe as “really smart”.(Page 67) He also states that Phoebe is very neat, for a child(Page 159). Holden believes that he often acts like a 13-year-old, although he was 16 at the time(Page 9). Holden is regularly depicted as immature and depressed, while Phoebe is more mature and has a more cheerful outlook, such as when she

Holden Caulfield and Phoebe Caulfield are siblings in the novel The Catcher in the Rye. Being siblings, they have many similarities as well as differences. Holden is the main character in the novel, and the narrator of the story. Holden is writing from a mental hospital about his experience, “around last Christmas just before I got run down.” (Salinger, 1) He writes about his journey from Pencey Prep School, in Agerstown, Pennsylvania, to his home in New York City. Along the way he encounters many different important people to the story, one of the most important characters he encounters along the way is his sister Phoebe who teaches Holden what it means to be mature.

On the contrary, an acceptance for Holden came from Phoebe, his sister, whose innocence he admired greatly. Phoebe was the one who supported Holden when he felt rejected and depressed. Holden saw that his mission was to protect this childish innocence from the adults and their phoniness, and Phoebe listened and accepted this “crazy” idea (Salinger, 191). Phoebe agreed to get in the carousel when she and Holden both understood that she was a little old for the ride. This acceptance from Phoebe forced Holden into adulthood; she wanted him to let go of his childish dream and to be a

Not only does Holden feel great affection for Phoebe, Phoebe feels great affection for Holden as well. It isn't too hard to understand that she and Holden are especially close since one of their brothers is dead and the other lives miles from their home. It is also surprising on how quickly Phoebe realizes that Holden came home earlier than expected. It is obvious that Phoebe is much more mature and articulate for her age to realize something like that so quickly. It is as if she is Holden's older sister instead of the younger one.

Lastly, Allie Caulfield is important to the book because Holden wants to keep Phoebe young. Near the end of the book when Holden spends some time with his younger sister Phoebe there are a few occasions were he tries to keep Phoebe young. For example when he tries to get her to ride the carousel but Phoebe didn’t really want too because she isn’t a little girl

Throughout J.D. Salinger’s novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” protagonist Holden Caulfield undergoes a difficult transition from childhood to adulthood. Holden’s fear of growing up is revealed during a trip to the museum where he expresses feeling numb upon realizing that “he changed, but the museum remained the same.” Distraught by the thought of adulthood, Holden wishes “[c]ertain things” in life to remain unchanged like the Eskimos, deer and bird statues at the museum. Holden’s wish for life to remain unchanged roots from his negative outlook towards adulthood. According to him, the adult world is filled with “phoniness” since adults are hypocrites who constantly lie about themselves.

Throughout the entire novel, Holden searches for the simplicity of childhood in the adult world. Holden wants to hold on to this innocence and never wants to grow up. He wants to stop the time, so that children do not have to grow up. In his world full of “phonies”, he considers Phoebe as a place of mental shelter, who symbolizes the purity of childhood. Phoebe helps him realize the truth of life, which is that everyone has to go through the transition period and experience the reality of life.

“I mean if you tell old Phoebe something, she knows exactly what the hell you’re talking about. I mean you can even take her anywhere with you.” This shows how Phoebe is one of the few females in the in the novel that Holden feels a connection to and respects.

Holden is a complex character who suffers from an identity crisis, which we can notice in his constantly fluctuating behaviors. He is an adolescent who struggles to comply with the adulthood, but keeps failing as he associates it with phoniness and corruption. Furthermore, his strong attraction to innocence and pureness that childhood connotes is also a barrier for him to reach the adult world. Depression, which is a diagnosis Holden has, is an illness most acknowledged in wealthier regions of the world. (Rettner, 2011) Considering the social class to which Holden belongs and the typical upper class-attributes that can be found in his life, we can assume that Holden’s illness derives from his culture. Even though the novel does not share many