For my book of choice, I decided to read the book The Catcher in the Rye, written by J. D. Salinger. This story was published on July 16, 1951, by “Little, Brown and Company”. The reason I chose this book was because of the controversy surrounding the book. Numerous shootings, assassination attempts, as well as the assassination of John Lennon have been tied to Salinger’s book. This book is intriguing but I felt that there was not much of a plot. The story focuses on Holden Caufield, an underachieving college student that has been kicked out of school for not applying himself. I found Holden to be very negative. He would often describe things with a negative attitude. He frequently uses the words “goddam” when describing something and he would often refer to the boys at his school as “phonies”. The story ends quite abruptly. Holden goes from one sequence of his life to another, then he tells the audience that everything past a certain point does not matter. He also states that he became sick, and is now in an institution. …show more content…
The man who assassinated John Lennon, and the man who attempted to assassinate Ronal Raegan were both fans of this book. I believe that that the characters and the themes presented in this book are the reason these men carried out their acts of violence. Holden is a depressed young man who cannot seem to find the positive in anything. However, near the end of the story, Holden tells his sister that his dream job would be to catch children from falling off a cliff while their playing games in the rye. To me, this seems like an odd occupation to desire. Although, I do believe that the cliff represents evil, and Holden is stopping them from entering the evil. Perhaps the assassins that read this book believed they were being told kill people who were capable of influencing a grand audience. Ultimately preventing them from spreading
The Catcher in the Rye is one of J. D. Salinger's world-famous books about the disgruntled youth. Holden Caulfield is the main character and he is a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Navigating his way through the challenges of growing up, Holden separates the “phony” aspects of society, and the “phonies” themselves. Some of these “phony” people in his life are the headmaster whose friendliness depends on the wealth of the parents, and his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection. This book deals with the complex issues of identity, belonging, connection, and alienation. Holden senses these feelings most of the time and is guilty about many things in
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
J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is a remarkable book that gives readers a unique and perhaps gloomy perspective of the 1950's through Holden Caulfield, a cynical and peculiar teenager. Through The Catcher in the Rye Salinger describes important aspects of the 1950's. Salinger emphasizes several key characteristics of the 50's and criticizes them through Holden. In addition, Holden Caulfield is a very interesting character with several traits that put him at odds with society.
In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character and narrator Holden Caulfeild walks many different paths of life. He jumps around different aspects of his life throughout the book, showing the reader many different sides to himself. This theme is presented through the author’s technique in crafting the characterization and symbolism. J.D. Salinger develops a puzzle of a personality for Holden throughout the book, to show the complexity and multitude of sides to Holden’s character.
Literature has always relied on techniques to catch the reader’s attention and format the story, and “the Catcher in the Rye” is no exception. Salinger brought many different writing styles into his novel to make it a bestseller. With his knowledge, Salinger was able to depict the persona of Holden to the reader without directly stating his characteristics. Salinger proves Holden is a lonesome figure who wanted to fit in but struggles to be accepted. The Catcher in the Rye depicts Holden as one who struggles with his sexuality and adulthood and wants to save children from adulthood because of the difficulties that it has brought himself. Salinger greatly expresses Holden through the use of metaphor, imagery, symbolism,
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is the story of Holden, a boy who struggles with emotions and how to tell his parents he got kicked out of school, again. He is always travelling around New York trying to find something to entertain himself and have fun. But you can tell by the subtle hints he drops throughout the entire book he hates change. As he tries to tell people about how he feels he finds himself alone and isolated. Throughout the course of Holden’s journey we clearly see he struggles with isolation as he tries to find comfort in different people, all he can find comfort in is his red hat and Phoebe.
The Catcher in the Rye, a story surrounding the teenage angst and downward spiral of main character Holden Caulfield, has captivated many audiences through its controversial writing. Although many consider Holden to simply represent the anger in adolescence and fear of becoming an adult with responsibilities, his angst, alienation, and depression represents much more: the stripping of childhood innocence all too soon. Due to Holden's need to rescue so many others and the consumption of the need to regain his innocence, he cannot rescue himself from his own downfall.
One of the greatest American Literature writers, J.D. Salinger, was familiar with a rough childhood by experience. He was able to parallel his experiences to the experiences of Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in Rye. In this novel, Holden experiences conflicts that most youth are not familiar with. The conflicts in Holden Caulfield’s life are caused by various forces and circumstances.
The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caulfield is shown in this book to display multiple different personas. Holden has a tendency to tell lies, acts in a careless, self-destructive manner. However, Holden has also shown a personality in which he acts in a caring, empathetic demeanor, shown in scenarios such as his outlook towards the prostitute, and his refusal to allow his sister to come along with him to the cabin in the woods. Furthermore, Holden Caulfield’s attitude and problems mainly stemmed from his refusal to accept his brother’s passing, as Holden had exhibited a deep connection and love for his brother. These incidents collectively show the storyline of our troubled protagonist as he progresses
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.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a story about growing up. It explores the obstacles we all face during our transition from child to adulthood. The tragedies and triumphs, the breakthroughs and setbacks, the happiness and heartache. As you follow the book's protagonist, Holden, through his journey into adulthood, you learn about his life, but more importantly, you learn about your own. You grow to sympathize with the young rebel, and you begin to see traces of yourself in him.
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 novel by J.D. Salinger. It is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a cynical teenager who recently got expelled from his fourth school. Though Holden is the narrator and main character of the story, the focus of Salinger’s tale is not on Caulfield, but of the world in which we live. The Catcher in the Rye is an insatiable account of the realities we face daily seen through the eyes of a bright young man whose visions of the world are painfully truthful, if not a bit jaded. Salinger’s book is a must-read because its relatable symbolism draws on the reader’s emotions and can easily keep the attention of anyone.
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The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was an overall easy read, with very few points of difficulty to any degree. I read the entire novel without encountering a problem with the prose, however, I did struggle through parts that I found irrelevant or stagnant in terms of plot. The most lagging parts of the narrative were the sections where Holden was alone for indeterminate periods of time, stumbling around New York with no real objective in mind. Holden was the driving factor behind why I struggled to progress through the book. I attribute this to the fact that the purpose of The Catcher in the Rye was for Salinger to present Holden, a character designed to be a not-so-great person yet also relatable, and turn him into a mirror for the reader, hoping that they might recognize flaws in themselves after recognizing those same flaws in Holden. Unfortunately for me, I missed out on this part of the experience, as I didn’t find Holden to be very relatable.