How Is Holden Caulfield An Ambivalent Character

Many teenagers often find themselves struggling to find their own identity and place in society. Catcher in the Rye is a story about the main character, Holden, who explains his troubles in the world through events in his life. Holden is a fairly misunderstood teenager, who constantly is on the verge of a mental break down. In “The Catcher in the Rye,” Holden’s lack of friendship, loose of a brother, and his need for acceptance from others causes him to feel loneliness in the world around him.

Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger is a classic novel that is not only controversial but contains relatable characters such as Holden Caulfield. Holden is a 16 year old boy who has gone through so much pain and hurt throughout his life that he has given up in school and during the novel you start to see that he has given up at life itself as well. Holden struggles with depression, unhealthy drinking habits and with failing out of school. These three struggles are very relatable to teenagers these days. In the following paragraphs I will show you the connection between teenagers these days and Holden and the the similarities that make him such a relatable character. Holden is an ideal and universal representation of teenagers.

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,

Holden’s date with Sally Hayes exhibited his difficulty at cooperating with others. At first he gives us a dire impression of Sally, “I wasn’t too crazy about her, but I’d known her for years.” (p. 105) Later, he wants to marry Sally and says he is in love with her. The biggest mystery of all when it comes to women is with Jane Gallagher. Constantly mentioning Jane, Holden recalls playing checkers with her before he got sent to boarding school. When his roommate, Stradlater, has a date with Jane, Holden asks him a peculiar question, “Did you ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row?” (p. 42) Holden, jealous of Stradlater’s date with Jane, longs to see Jane but never has the courage to call her. Interactions with other people especially women perplex and overwhelm Holden. He therefore resorts to isolation, illustrating a characteristic of his mental state.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel about a sixteen year old boy, Holden Caulfield, who tells the story of his experience of exploring New York after being expelled from his high school, Pencey Prep. Throughout his travels, Holden seeks to find truth and a sense of belonging in the “phony” realm of adulthood: the stage of life that he is entering but is not yet willing to accept. Over the course of the novel, Holden often ridicules the adult world, idolizing the idea of childhood instead, as well as the purity and innocence it contains. His strong feelings of alienation constantly incite feelings of wanting to run away from, or escape the situations that he is put in. Furthermore, Holden feels as if he needs to protect children from transitioning

Holden spends most of his time in the middle of the novel looking for someone to talk to or have drinks with that doesn’t qualify on his terms to be a phony. When holden first arrives at his hotel, he sees a couple out his window spitting their drinks into each other's faces, which makes him feel extra lonely. He calls up this girl whose date at a party gave holden Her address and said “She’s not exactly a whore or anything but didn’t mind doing it once and awhile.” The girl declined and holden just went down to the club that was built into the hotel instead. Holden states throughout the middle and part of the end how depressed he is, and this depression is most of the time brought on by being lonely and having no one to get drinks

Holden feels very lonely and still feels like a child with no experience in relationships. Just like any other societal norm that he does not conform to, Holden writes off relationships. In his heart of hearts, Holden likes Jane. He feels he can connect with her, he trusts her, he feels comfortable with her, and he even showed her Allie’s baseball mitt. However, he and Jane are separated and he cannot be with her at the time he goes on a date with Sally.

Most people won't show that they are lonely but Holden make it clear he is because he is always trying to make plans with people he knows or even in one case a girl he never even meet but his friend told him about. Holden is a very judgemental person and he does this to help isolate himself from society. He can't stand phonies which is almost everyone he meets is. Holden judges people who he considers boring, insecure, and people who are fake. When makes plans with people he soon realizes that it was a mistake because he finds the persons flaw and he feels like it ruins his plans and wonders why he even asked them in the first place. The people he asks to do something with are people he sees as non phonies but after doing something with them he realizes they are and tells himself he won't hang out with them

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel of teenage angst. The main character and narrator of the novel Holden Caulfield describes his last few days before his parents receive a letter informing them that Holden has been kicked out of Pencey Prep for flunking every class but English. Holden discusses the real world around him as he sees it and talks about how phony the people around him are due to his own insecurities and phoniness. Holden’s biggest flaw is that he is afraid to change and grow up.

Holden Caulfield is the main character and the protagonist in the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger. As Holden starts to tell his story, you can see that Holden holds a peculiar behavior towards himself and everyone else around him because he is psychologically unfit. Throughout the story it becomes relatively apparent that Holden is not just an average teenager going through typical problems but rather he is an emotional and mentally damaged teenager who finds a hard time conforming to society and can not find stability and acceptance. Holden deals with delusional fears, fantasies and depressive and manic impulses and thoughts that all contribute to his underlying emotional problems.

And although Holden is portrayed to be a misunderstood introvert he’s often sociable and somewhat outspoken to those around him. Throughout the novel, Holden is constantly reminiscing about old foes and had the tendency to find comfort in the wrong things and people. For example: Holden bought himself a prostitute because he had felt depressed and he hadn't been thinking. When the prostitute finally arrived, Holden closed off and cowered into his shell. “Don't you fell like talking for a while…are you in a very big hurry?”(Salinger 95) Holden constantly claims that he loves to be alone but inside he is in desperate need of comfort and companionship – looking for a temporary fix to feel the void left inside by unforgettable

In the book The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is introduced as the main character and as the protagonist. Holden is a unique character, who suffers from a mental disorder. Although it is never mentioned, one can infer that he has one. These mental disorders never stop him from showing who he truly is and what he feels. A very important emotion that he has is how caring he actually is towards everyone despite his actions.

Holden Caulfield plays a timeless character in the sense that his way of life is common for the American teenager, in his time as well as now. Today parents dread the terrible and confusing adolescent years of their child's life. In J.D. Salinger's book, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is in this terrible and confusing point of his life. At this point in his life, as well as in modern teenager's lives, a transition occurs, from child to adult. Holden takes this change particularly rough and develops a typical mentality that prevents him from allowing himself to see or understand his purpose in life.

Later on Holden recalls when he was attending Pencey College how his gloves were stolen by some crook. He continues describing the situation of confrontation hypothetically, at first with assertion and authority. Eventually he admits to himself, “Only, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I’d just stand there, trying to look tough” (Salinger P. 99). Holden goes on to describe to the reader his unaware fear of confrontation and violence, hinting at a dread of vulnerability and a closed off persona, another clear sign of Major Depressive Disorder. When Holden was a younger boy he knew a girl named Jane Gallagher whom he was childhood friends with, they often even held hands and had an emotional bond. Ever since he heard about Stradlator (his old roommate) taking her out on a date he’d been thinking of calling her up. Finally on page 130 he calls her up and her mother picks up. Startled, she hangs up and admits he should’ve asked for Jane, “But I didn’t feel like it. You really have to be in the mood for that stuff” (Salinger P. 130). His inability to feel motivated to make an effort for somebody he once loved shows his social-isolation.

Throughout the course of the novel, Holden goes on a road of self-discovery. This concept is explained by American author Alan Alda when he says “You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition (Alda,1980)”. What you 'll