How Does Holden Caulfield Existentialism

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.

Holden’s changes throughout the story are testimony, to his own sincere transition in life. In the book Holden’s symbolized transition

Throughout the novel, Holden attempts to find the true from of himself as he struggles with the social interactions around him. Due to the struggle and confusion that arouses from it,

On page 61, in chapter 8, Holden just got in the taxi and heading to his hotel. He says in a desperate way, “would you care for a cocktail.” The diction choices can infer that his maturity level is higher than the people in his age group. The author has purposely crafted the narrator in this way to show that he had no other option but to grow up fast. He continues to develop as a character, on page 68, in chapter 9, Holden thinks to himself, “I didn’t care much i was too depressed to care whether I had a good view or not.” The reader can infer that the main character is starting to reveal his true self. The author craft in this way to make the reader have sympathy for the narrator. On page 68, in chapter 10, Holden thinks to himself, “ I danced with them all - the whole three of them-one at a time.”The diction choices can infer that the narrator treats the three women like trash by fooling around with them and have no respect for them. The author has purposely crafted in this way to show that he is isolated from the world because he has not been interacting with others in such a long time. On page 87, in chapter 11, the narrator flashback to his childhood, “anyway, I was telling you about that afternoon Jane and I came close to necking.”The diction choices can infer that he starts to reveal the other side of himself, the real him is someone who actually cares about people who he loves.

As Holden observes the elders and adults in his world, he senses a loss of innocence from when they were children. He sees the adult world as “phony”, influencing himself to avoid falling in to the cruelty of the adult world. He wants to catch children before falling in to adulthood before they lose their innocence just as how many children are lost while playing in a rye field. “That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.

This quote says much about Holden as a character and his efforts to be somewhat of a “bad boy” who has little apprehension regarding his future (removal from school, failing academically, and even admitting this to his parents.) 2. (p.9) “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life.” This quote contradicts all of Holden's comments, regarding phony people because he himself is even not trustworthy.

Throughout the novel we see Holden’s division of adulthood and childhood. Holden is a 16-year-old male who is currently growing as a young adult having a feel for the adult world and what it brings. Holden fears becoming an adult, because he believes that the way adults live is “phony”. He does not agree with many things they do. This makes Holden cling onto his childhood and any innocence still left in his life.

Until this point in the book, his view had been set in stone with the many examples he presented for the reader. Nonetheless, after this quote, he presents to us the towering reason for his own phoniness, the fact that he is not fully sane. This changes everything for the reader because it shows that everything he has said in the book could have been a lie to cover up a secret. On top of this epiphany, he also states that he lied about loving Sally in the very same quote. This lie is another prime example of Holden being a phony and not being truthful.

The only Constant in Life is Change Classic books are called classic for a certain reason. Classics keep interests high and almost always has a deep meaning behind it. The Catcher in the Rye is no different. The Catcher in the Rye is a novel about Holden Caulfield finding his way in life, changing in many ways and ultimately finding who he is as a person. In the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, existential elements are quite prominent throughout the story shown through the actions of Holden Caulfield.

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 CATCHER IN THE RYE ESSAY Criticism of Capitalism, a socio-economic ideology where material capital and profit are prioritized, is often a theme in works of literature. One such example is The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and this theme is demonstrated through the main character Holden Caulfield’s thoughts and words. Holden’s opinions and conversations are reflective of the author’s own, especially since The Catcher in the Rye is semi-autobiographical. These thoughts and words make up Holden’s perspective on adulthood, a view which critiques materialism and motivation in Capitalist societies. Holden’s conversation with perhaps the only person he is still truly close with, his sister Phoebe, about his future reveals his perspective of adulthood.

Understanding characters are never finished. Even if you dig deeper than the surface meaning there will always be more to the story or the characters. In this case we are trying to understand Holden, a 16 year-old teenager who criticizes everyone and is always complaining about something. Most people will think because he is just an angry teenager who thinks he is the best but our problem is to figure out if that is really everything. At the surface you will see him just as another teenager who hates everything but the way he criticizes and what he says makes me wonder if thats it.

Although there are essentially two Holdens, there are still traits that remain the same. Throughout the story, Holden feels the need to explain and justify himself, as though people don’t believe him. Holden tells the story

Both find themselves at a point of loneliness or confusion and they just read. Throughout the novel, Holden mentions, “what really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.” Many of Holden’s views on the world derive from this necessity of literature in his life. On the other hand, to explain the significance of his life and this world, Holden states that, “the mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.”

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