The Catcher in the Rye is not just about a boy going through life calling everything “phony”. It’s more so about Holden Caulfield dealing with the death of his brother. Rebelling his way through life is something that helps him deal with the death of his brother. Holden is truly struggling to “bury Allie before he can make the transition into adulthood”(74). Holden’s life changed forever when he was only at the tender age of 13; that's when his brother Allie died of leukemia. Since he hasn't accepted the death of his brother, emotionally he's still that same person that he was 4 years ago. His mom is too occupied in grieving over his brother Allie that she can't comfort Holden; that creates more of a downfall for Holden. He stated after the
Have you ever struggled with the thought of growing up, well Holden has the same problem. The Catcher in the Rye is a book based on the life of a teenage boy who is a very troubled individual. Holden refuses to grow up, and he struggles with the thought of losing his innocence. The way he chooses to deal with this is very strange. Holden is a very immature boy. He got kicked out of the high school he was attending. Since he got kicked out, he is now scared to go home and have his parents find out. He is also very immature in the way he lies about anything and everything he can. I think he is a compulsive liar and he lies for his own amusement. Something that you will notice about Holden is, he criticizes everyone he sees. He makes fun of people
In the Book The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield takes on the role of caretaker to whomever he meets, as many good hearted people do, but who is there to take care of him? Holden is telling his story as a flashback as he is currently in a mental health facility suffering from a nervous breakdown. At first Holden is an annoying person whose thoughts are all over the place, and are hard to follow. Shortly through the book I not only found him comical, but quite relatable. I empathize with Holden as he continuously finds the good in people and tries to protect them from the harshness of reality. Holden is a brilliant boy who is much wiser than his young age of 16, although he is 17 when he is telling the story. I believe that if his parents had been there for him more often, he wouldn’t be in a facility at all. Although his parents are still possibly in mourning, they themselves and the rest of the adults in this book let Holden down.
Holden himself is guilty of being phony because he is hypocritical at times throughout the book. Holden is angered by the words written on the school walls because kids will see the word and later think about them.Since he believes in child innocence, he wanted the writings on the walls to be covered. Although, Holden Believes in child innocence he goes around smoking, drinking, and having close experiences with sexual activities. In the novel, he claims to hate people who repeat themselves, yet he repeats the same words over and over again throughout the book. He claims to be illiterate, yet he reads a lot. He says something, and his actions don’t relate with his words, therefore making Holden a
In the novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden, the main character, is in a mental hospital where he is telling the story of how he got there. Holden starts his story around the time where he gets kicked out of his school, Pencey Prep. Holden, who has gotten kicked out of two schools including Pencey has to face his parents who do not know that he got kicked out of Pency yet. Up to now, Holden has had a rough life between his brother Allie dying of cancer and having to go to multiple different schools. On the other hand, Holden cares about very few things.
Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye exhibits unusual behavior during the course of the novel. His actions resemble those of one who suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder. After his younger brother, Allie, dies of leukemia, Holden’s feelings toward the world change drastically. He begins to isolate himself from others. Even when he feels a connection with someone, he finds something to dislike about them and pushes them away. Holden also experiences frequent flashbacks to times when Allie was alive. He holds on to these memories and blocks Allie’s death from his mind. His PTSD also causes Holden to endure anxiety attacks. These attacks further push away the people he loves and makes it difficult for him to cope with his feelings.
Escaping the Phoniness of Holden Caulfield in Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a disconnected, disillusioned, and alienated high schooler suffering from academic failure and living life in a jaded way. Holden spent his Christmas break scrounging NYC from one bar to the next, pushing his luck and trying to re-ignite romantic relationships from the past to remedy his devastated heart. Holden frequently refers to his relationships with his siblings throughout the book and how reminiscing brings him back to the enjoyable days of his childhood. Allie, Holden's late brother who passed away years prior, held a special place in Holden's heart by enabling Holden to see the beauty in childhood innocence and moral purity. Allies death greatly affected
Throughout the novel of Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is on his own psychological journey. This journey tells a lot about who Holden is as a person and the problems he is dealing with. It all starts when Holden has flunked out of Pencey Prep. His psychological struggles are triggered by the traumatic event of his brother, Allie, dying 4 years prior. The death of Allie has affected Holden in all aspects of his life, including friends, school, actions, and thoughts. This causes concern in Holden’s parents. They are concerned with his health and well-being, therefore send Holden to a rehab center. His parents fear that Holden may have Post - Traumatic Stress Disorder, and have him psychoanalyzed. So, Holden struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder because he shows the causes, symptoms, and effects of the chronic disorder.
Holden Caulfield is a character who has been through rejection and wishes to protect others innocence. He is a teen boy who is the main character in Catcher in The Rye by J.D.Salinger. He has an older brother named DB, a younger sister named Phoebe, and a younger, deceased, brother named Allie. Holden retells his story on him, trying to be the catcher in the rye. Holden has been kicked out of different colleges. He has been rejected by different girls. Holden goes through his life story. He talks about being kicked out of Pencey, his friend Jane, his “acquaintance” Stradlater, and how, when, and where Allie died. Society is to blame for Holden Caulfield's decline in mental stability. Society does not help Holden. Instead, they ignore his
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a 16 year old boy who is growing up in the 1950’s. Holden is afraid of growing up, and doesn’t like adults. He has a bad habit of calling people “phony.” Holden uses phony in many different ways to describe negative people, such as those that are hypocritical and think highly of themselves, however, Holden has a tendency to act phony himself by lying, exaggerating, and acting like someone he isn’t.
Other people may also think that Holden is acting the way he is because he's struggling with problems within society, school and family. Holden is probably saying and doing the things he do because, of the death of his brother, which goes back to PTSD. In the book Of “The Catcher in The Rye” by J.D Salinger, chapter 5, {Holden} He was terrifically intelligent. His teachers were always writing letters to my mother, telling her what a pleasure it was having a boy like Allie in their class. And they weren't just shooting the crap. They really meant it. But it wasn't just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways.”. Holden was talking about his little brother Allie, and how nice, and kind he was. Holden thinks of his brother throughout the novel, mostly when Holden starts to get lonely or does something
Holden has endured devastations throughout his adolescence, which alter his perception of adulthood. At a very young age Holden is faced with the tragic loss of his brother to leukemia. Which saddens Holden that his brother Allie was unable to even grow up. Holden believes that Allie is perfect since he did not have to endure the pain and tragedy growing up has to offer. Holden wants to protect children from the corruption of adulthood, by being a “catcher in the rye” (Salinger 127). “I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be a catcher in the rye and all.” (Salinger 172-173). Holden believes that adulthood only causes more devastating than he has already endured, which results in him wanting to prolong not only his adolescence but all children’s for as long as
In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden is a teenager with unique and resolute opinions. He is very stubborn and gets kicked out of multiple schools, winding up back in New York City chasing his younger sister. The novel captures the essence of his character and perspective, which focuses on alienation and adolescence. Holden expresses fear in losing memories of his older brother, Allie, which explains his anxiety facing adulthood. Holden tends to isolate himself because he believes if he gets close to someone or loves someone like he did Allie, he or she will leave.
In J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, a young man named Holden Caulfield is on the edge of adulthood. He is a bright kid but struggles with many mental diseases mainly because of the passing of his brother Allie. This has caused him to not focus on school and has got him kicked out of many schools. He did not have many friends and he did not like many people. He thought of everyone as phony. Holden does not want to confront adulthood in fear of losing his childhood because of the fear of change, conformity to the phony world and the passing of his younger brother Allie.
Holden wants to be a catcher in the rye. This is mentioned in the novel when Holden sees a little boy and his parents walking down the street. The little boy seems to be in his own world, but he’s still protected by his parents. Holden longs for this childhood innocence
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, cannot accept that he must move out of childhood and into adulthood. One of Holden’s most important major problems is his lack of maturity. Holden also has a negative perspective of life that makes things seem worse than they really are. In addition to Holden’s problems he is unable to accept the death of his brother at a young age. Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality hold him back from moving into adulthood.