How Does Holden Contradicts Himself

During Holden’s conversation with Horowitz, Horowitz talks a lot about the fish in the lagoon, which symbolize adults, and make Holden feel different, more desperate and like he doesn’t belong anywhere. In the course of the conversation, Horowitz keeps saying that the fish “don’t go no place” (92) because the lagoon is “their nature” (92) and Mother Nature takes care of them. Holden is not satisfied with Horowitz’s argument and he says that “the fish is different” (92) and that he is “talking about the ducks” (92). Holden seems to compare the fish to adults, in contrast to the ducks who he compares to himself, and he completely rejects everything Horwitz says about the fish instead of trying to apply it to himself. The fact that Holden can’t

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.

Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I

“All of a sudden, this girl came up to me and said, “Holden Caulfield!” Her name was Lillian Simmons. My brother D.B. used to go around with her for a while. She had very big knockers”(salinger 96). In “The Catcher in the Rye” Holden is portrayed as a whiny teenager that slacks off on his homework and performs illegal acts such as drinking and purchasing prostitutes. On top of that, another inappropriate characteristic Holden has is being sexist. The book itself is also sexist because of the way the main character thinks about women, the way the main character treats women, and the roles women play in the novel.

In the famous, but often times previously banned novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, seventeen year old Holden Caulfield is trying to find his sense of direction in a world where he describes the majority of people in his life as phony. As the first chapter begins, it is clear Holden is currently living in a mental institution, although the reasoning behind so is never directly stated, the reader can infer it may have to do with Holden's depression troubles. For the most part, Holden's troubles are to blame on his own actions, he fails to realize his irresponsibly is the major cause of the negative aspects in his life. Holden's troubles of being an academic layabout and being reclusive seem to center from his biggest issue

He hides under a visage of a cool ‘bad boy’ trope, seeing the world through a heavy filter- to him, anyone who's anyone is a phony, a liar, or just plain bad, despite him judging many things he later goes on to do himself. Over the course of the book we come to see Holden has built an opinion of the world that shields him from the pains and complexities of life. The author displays Holden’s traits quite prominently, especially through his use of language; he writes as Holden speaks- vulgar, rambling, and easily derailed, jumping from idea to idea infinitely

The Catcher in the Rye was about Holden, who admires in children attributes that he struggles to find in adults to talk to him and he is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital. Holden Caulfield,who is 16 year old teenager went to three schools, but fails four of his five subjects only passed English he also struggles with the fact that everyone has to grow up. In the novel, Holden tells the reader through a few days of his life, in which he flaunts his hostile environments. Throughout the book,

As a neurotic person, Holden exhibits Self-Hatred for himself through his tendency to deal with problems through childish impulses. Self-Hatred occurs when one attempts to cope with their existential anxiety by allowing it to manifest into mental illnesses. Holden shows this when he allows his innocence to make adult decisions. For example, he hires a prostitute and plans to have sex with her, which is something that signifies the loss of innocence and transitions into adulthood. When she arrives, he changes his mind and asks “‘Don’t you feel like talking for a while?’” (Salinger 95). This shows that Holden is unable to make adult decisions, and instead, relies on his childish impulses. Holden’s childish impulses also lead to violent outcomes, such as with

The ducks are first brought to the reader’s attention while Holden is visiting his teacher, Mr. Spencer, regarding his removal from Pencey. While conversing with Mr. Spencer, however, Holden’s mind drifts elsewhere. His mind drifts back to New York as he wonders to himself if the lagoon in Central Park is frozen over, and if so, where do the ducks go? A direct parallel can be drawn from the ducks in the lagoon to Holden’s present situation. He is mandated to leave Pencey, but has no idea where he belongs after leaving. Just like the ducks in the lagoon, “Holden is essentially homeless, frozen out” (Trowbridge par. 1). Holden’s life has not been filled with an abundance of stability and now what little he had is gone, albeit due to faults of his own, and he sees an unsure and hazy future. Holden inquires about the state of the ducks to the driver of the first cab he catches in New York, and the driver believes that he is kidding. Later on, he asks another cab driver if somebody came around “in a truck or something to take them away” or if they flew away “by themselves” (Salinger 81-82). Knowing what happens to these ducks, knowing that they are safe and secure even though the lagoon is frozen would provide Holden with a sense of comfort about his current state of affairs. What seems to be a ridiculous and meaningless question to the

Where do the ducks go during the Winter when the water is frozen? In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the character, Holden Caulfield, has an underlying mental condition. He failed out of four schools; he saw his friend commit suicide; and his younger brother died of cancer. These life-changing experiences paved the way for Holden’s insecure and unstable life. By his narration, Holden hints at his disorder throughout the book without fully explaining his condition. Holden’s many insecurities, his teetering on the edge of childhood and adulthood, and his irrational ideas help the reader realize that Holden has a mental problem.

In all three scenes Holden seeks escape through Allie, hoping that Allie will protect him from himself, his own fears, his own grief...never realizing that he's running from himself, from his reaction to Allie's death. This passage in particular hit a little too close to home. More and more often, I'm learning that I have this tendency to hide behind things, to blame things, and to seek respire through the activities I do. Just like Holden, I'm quite guilty of bottling up my feelings, concealing my pain, and putting on my red hunting hat. These past two years, my life has changed dramatically, and it is because of the changes, especially the end of my theatre program, that I have finally been able to realize how much I am able to hide.

The final symptom Holden experiences is his irrational behavior which is displayed several times throughout the novel. "You're a dirty...and you'll be-" (Salinger 103). Holden angrily backfires at Maurice, a man who began attacking Holden, clearly stronger than the teenager, thus only adding fuel to the fire. Holden's careless attitude results in him making ruthless decisions, such as agreeing to have a prostitute such as Sunny or willing to run away with Sally Hayes. "If you have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you're probably aware of the strong connection between your condition and impulsive behaviors. Most of the time, you do something impulsively as a way of finding relief from a stressful feeling--for example, a painful emotion"

The ducks represents how Holden deals with maturity throughout his journey. The ducks also represent running away. and this is why Holden have questions whether stay at the pond meaning stay with his parents or fly to the neverland meaning escaping. Holden wonders where do the ducks go when the pond freezes, even though Holden wants to escape from his family he wants to see his little sister, Phoebe. Just like the ducks Holden runs away when problems get harder, in case of the ducks the freezing lagoon is the problem and when there is no problems he does not bother to do anything just like the ducks. Holden runs ways when things get difficult; therefore, he does not want to run away when everything is fine.

Rather, he is saddened by her sitting in his room in her slip. He imagines her buying the dress she has just taken off and realizes that she is a real person and not just a toy to be used for his pleasure. Holden's desire to understand and feel for other people stops him. Holden also admits to being a coward, but the reader realizes he is just a scared boy trying to act like a man in an adult world. Even so, he doesn't flinch in the face of danger when threatened by bullies, such as his roommate Stradlater or the pimp, Maurice. Much more important than his physical courage is the moral tenacity with which he clings to his beliefs in the face of a hostile society. (Lettis, 5)

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