How Does Holden Caulfield Change Throughout The Catcher In The Rye

“I felt like jumping out the window. I probably would 've, too, if I 'd been sure somebody 'd cover me up as soon as I landed. I didn 't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory” (104). Holden is a complex character with mixed emotions about everything; many times contradicting his own thoughts and beliefs. Holden’s struggles are due to the lack of parental attention, the death of his younger brother, and his unusual relationships with other characters in the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye.”

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.

The carousel and gold ring finally allow Holden to accept change as a natural part of life and that it is necessary for one to grow as a person. Holden buys a ticket for Phoebe, his kid sister, to ride the carousel but refuses her offer to go on as well. Instead, he sits and watches: “ I went over and sat down on this bench and she went and got on the carousel” (211). By doing this, Holden chooses to no longer be a child. He starts to accept that he needs to start maturing and watches Pheobe, like the other adults are watching their children. This is a step in the right direction for Holden as up until this point in the novel, he has refused to change because of his fear. While Holden watches Phoebe ride the carousel, he watches her reach for the gold ring. As she reaches, Holden thinks to

J.D. Salinger 's "The Catcher in the Rye" portrays a troubled teen in New York City. Over the few days the novel depicts, the boy displays his critical and unhealthy mindset. Eventually he has a mental breakdown. Through psychoanalysis of Holden Caulfield, one may suggest that Allie 's death, social development, and an identity crisis are large contributing factors in Holden 's mental breakdown.

In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger tells a story of a young boy, Holden, who never quite understood his stance on life. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles to adapt to the inevitable transition into adulthood, often worrying more about others than himself. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses connotative diction, repetition, and specific diction to convey Holden’s struggle of accepting life changes that led him to becoming mentally unstable.            To start off, Salinger illustrates Holden’s nature by using connotative diction.

Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye and save the children from falling off the cliff. This cliff, however, is the real world, and Holden himself is afraid of it so he wants to protect children from it. This is also demonstrated when Holden visits his sister 's school and sees swears written on the wall. This makes Holden very mad, "It drove me damn near crazy. I thought of how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they 'd wonder what the hell it meant…But I rubbed it out anyway, finally"(201). Holden was able to protect the children for a short while but a few moments later he sees the same thing written on the wall again. Only this time it is scratched in with a knife or something and Holden is unable to rub it away like before and realizes "It 's hopeless, anyway…it 's impossible" (202) he indicates here that growing up and facing certain reality is inevitable. Holden finally realizes that he can 't protect the kids from the real world when he watches Phoebe ride a carrousel at the zoo. "All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring…this thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let

Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden is in a rest home, where he speaks about his past and discusses his thoughts and feelings of his memories. Holden tells about his life including his past experiences at many different private schools, most recently Pensey Prep, his friends, and his late brother Allie which led to Holden’s own mental destruction.

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.

The transformation from childhood to adulthood haunts Holden throughout “The Catcher in the Rye” causing him to become mentally unstable. Holden is frightened by adulthood and is afraid that everyone will become an adult, therefore losing their innocence forever. Ally, Holden’s brother passed away young, keeping his innocence forever as he remained a child. Holden carries a red hunting hat in an effort to keep his innocence forever. Ally was a redhead, therefore, the red hunting hat represents Ally and his innocence.

    J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is the chronicle of a young man's metamorphosis from immaturity to unsure manhood. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, is a sixteen-year old boy who leaves the prep school he has been expelled from to escape the frightening reality of dealing with his parents. However, during his visit to New York City he is faced with the harsh reality that he cannot continue to hold onto his childhood. Holden is an extremely complex character and it is only by examining each layer of him that the reader is able to understand his painful metamorphosis.

Various factors like traumas and the occurrence of small incidents during childhood may affect your opinion on life. Catcher in the Rye chronicles the life of Holden and the way he perceives his surroundings with a childlike innocence and his wish to preserve the innocence and purity of others, especially children. Throughout the book, Holden has shown these characteristics in a subtle fashion. During his journey after his leaving of Prencey Prep, Holden went to visit his sister Phoebe at her school but discovers vulgar words written on the walls. Another incident that indicates his perception of the world was when he encounters an elevator boy who then introduces him to a prostitute.

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.

The Catcher in the Rye is a book about a guy named Holden Caulfield. He narrates the whole story to the readers. He starts off by telling the story about being at Pencey Prep school, which is a private school located in Pennsylvania. It is the day of the game and he misses it saying everyone is a bunch of “phonies.” He ends up getting expelled because he is failing four out of five classes and goes to say goodbye to his teacher Mr. Spencer. Before he leaves he goes back to his dorm to find his roommate, Stradlater, getting ready for a date with Jane Gallagher. Holden used to date Jane and he is very angry at Stradlater. When Stradlater returns from the date with Jane, Holden questions Stradlater immensely and Holden attacks Stradlater because he is in such a rage. Holden then realizes he has had enough of the prep school and leaves a couple days earlier to go back to Manhattan.

Catcher in the Rye starts off with Holden Caufield, the main character, alone at the top of Thomsen Hill above Pencey Prep. Holden has gotten kicked out of Pencey along with numerous other schools. Laziness is the reason of Holdens lack of success in school like many teenage boys. He goes back to his dorm and starts reading the book Out of Africa when his doofus roommate Robert Ackley walks in. His description to meet is just that awkwardly tall kid, like myself but with poor hygiene. Holdens roommate, Stradlater comes in and tells them about a date he is going on with none other than Holdens old fling named Jane Gallagher. Stradlater has a carefree attitude for her calling her by the wrong name multiple times. Stradlater also asks Holden to write an English composition for him since that is the only class Holden is not failing. Holden reluctantly agrees and that is when we get our first taste of why he is such an angry kid. He writes about his little brother named Allie who died a few years before of Leukemia. He specifically wrote about his baseball glove that he wrote poems on so he