J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, cannot accept that he must move out of childhood and into adulthood. One of Holden’s most important major problems is his lack of maturity. Holden also has a negative perspective of life that makes things seem worse than they really are. In addition to Holden’s problems he is unable to accept the death of his brother at a young age. Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality hold him back from moving into adulthood.

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.

J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye features a complex narrative surrounding a troubled young student, Holden Caulfield. Difficulties he faces throughout the story force Holden to confront his fears of adulthood and maturation and the responsibilities therein through the difficulties he faces throughout the story. Academic controversy surrounds whether Holden learns from these confrontations and adjust accordingly, maturing throughout the story. While initially this seems rather subjective, a thorough analysis of Holden’s actions throughout the story as well as of the symbolism injected by Salinger makes it quite clear that Holden does undergo a significant maturity arc as the story progresses. Holden’s social development and maturation

In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield, our protagonist, makes a mental journey in relation to dealing and coping with the grief accompanied with the death of his brother, and we are able to see how his mental status changes and how he needs guidance from loved ones. In this journey, he learns about how to make connections and that staying close to the people he loves can improve his outlook on life and overall mood. During the book, he isolated himself from others and always found the negative in everything, which did put him in a very grim place. In fact, he even becomes clinically depressed, as we can clearly see from our point of view. He soon learns that being with his younger sister Phoebe almost brought

In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a very complex and interesting person to take into consideration and psychoanalyze. His various traits make him a different person from the rest of the phonies in the world. Holden says, “All you do is make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink Martinis and look like a hot-shot. How would you know you weren't being a phony? The trouble is, you wouldn't.” What Holden doesn’t realize is that he is a phony as well. This is ironic because he says you don’t know if you are a phony, but he is. Salinger’s life is reflected in the book, there are many similarities to his life and Holden’s. Holden is a perfect example of Freud’s

Anyone who has lost a beloved relative to cancer or other illnesses can understand how difficult it is to return to a normal living routine and move on with their lives without the relative. In J.D. Salinger’s novel, Holden Caulfield has to deal with the loss of his younger brother to leukemia. A few years after his younger brother, Allie, passed away, Holden finds himself being kicked out of yet another boarding school, this one being Pencey Prep in Pennsylvania. Holden decides to leave school three days before he is supposed to go home and catches a train back home to New York. In those three days, Holden thinks about his late brother a lot, attempts to speak to people in his own cryptic way with confusing questions, speaks to his younger sister, Phoebe, in the dead of night, and works his way towards an emotional breakdown, all while ignoring his own needs to keep himself well. Sleeping and eating a precious few times, Holden makes himself sick and delirious in a short 72 hours. In Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, one can tell by analyzing the novel that Salinger uses the red hunting hat and the museum to show that dealing with the death of a loved one can be overwhelming for young people who don’t know how to cope properly.

Holden is not happy with himself, because he is acutely aware of his own faults and because he lacks direction in life. To make himself feel better, he points out the flaws of others. Because of his negative attitudes towards others, Holden’s sister, Phoebe, accuses him of being a hateful person.

Holden’s best friend is his wise and likeable little sister Phoebe. When Phoebe is first introduced, Holden makes a point to note how she is different from kids her age. She is intelligent, “You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life. She’s really smart. I mean she’s had all A’s ever since she started school.” (75) Obviously Phoebe cannot be the average 10-year-old if a sixteen-year-old boy seeks solace in her company. Phoebe is so intuitive, meaning Holden can bring up and topic and she can pick it up instantaneously. She knows exactly what her big brother desires to be told even if he refuses to admit aloud. Holden describes Phoebe as emotional, at times too much, and creative. She displays these characteristics through stories about the orphan, ‘Hazle’ Weatherfield (76.) Another example of her empathic, nearly psych, nature is when she guesses that the reason Holden was home early was because he was expelled. Of course when her fear is confirmed, she has a meltdown claiming that, “Daddy’s gonna kill you,” over and over again (182-183.) Throughout Catcher in the Rye, Holden is seen not having anyone truly care about where he will end up as a young man that is until Phoebe illustrates the intense devotion and admiration she has for Holden. Once Holden resolves to running away from New York and starting a new life out

Holden realizes he must let go of children trying to take risks, “If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (Salinger 232). Holden realizes his dream of being “a catcher in the rye” is impossible. Holden cannot dictate a child’s future because it’s his or her choice and not Holden’s. Holden finally comes to a conclusion that he himself will have to grow up too in order to accept the complexities of adulthood that he has a hard time with grasping, such as relationships with women. If he doesn’t grow up like people around him, then he will become embedded with bitterness and loneliness. Holden finally learns that he should take risks in order to gain new experiences that will help him transition to adulthood.

J. D. Salinger’s, The Catcher In The Rye, is a coming of age story about a young man named, Holden. Holden is a troubled young man that wants to maintain his innocence, because he believes adults live fake lives, and are unhappy. Throughout this book Holden is constantly having doubts about growing up and maturing, but in the background is slowly becoming what he despises the most.

J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye captures the story of a young teenage boy, Holden Caulfield, who struggles with the acceptance of change in his life. As Holden flaunts his misanthropic attitude to others, he constantly refers to the doubt of where the ducks and fish go when it is winter and the lake is frozen over. Holden’s fear of change from his dear brother Allie’s death can be portrayed by Holden’s constant recapitulation of the ducks and fish in the lake, alluding to his hope for someone to pull him out of the deep end.

Irving Howe, a literary and social critic said, “The knowledge that makes us cherish innocence makes innocence unattainable” (BrainyQuote). The Catcher in the Rye, a novel by J.D. Salinger tells of a very important part Holden Caulfield 's life. Holden, a 17 year old from New York, writes about the events that follow him flunking out of Pencey Prep School. Holden is very critical of everyone around him, except the small group of people that he protects with his life. He cherishes the youth children have, and hates the qualities that adults share. He acts very young for his age, but has the responsibilities on his shoulders that an adult would have. Holden is very defensive of other’s innocence and attempts to selfishly protect it from the

Depression can come at many different times in your life and in many different ways. Dictionary.com defines clinical depression as: A depression so severe as to be considered abnormal, either because of no obvious environmental causes, or because the reaction to unfortunate life circumstances is more intense or prolonged than would generally be expected (Random House). Throughout the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” the reader is inside the head of the troubled and depressed main character and narrator, Holden Caulfield. We, as the readers are able to see every thought that Holden has throughout the novel. Many of Holden’s thoughts scream depression. Holden is an ideal example of how someone with clinical depression would behave, how he

Although there are approximately 171,476 words in the English language, Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye limits his vocabulary to a select few. The Catcher in the Rye recounts the days following Holden’s expulsion from Pency Prep and his mental health decline. With such a diverse group of words to choose from, Holden’s are symbolic of his slipping control over mentality as he searches to find comfort in others. But because Holden cannot feel this security and protection, instead he searches to find stability in the sameness of words. Holden’s use of language and the significance of repeated diction reveal his fears of a lack of human connection and a “phony” adult existence; consequently, Holden’s choice of words and

Often, Authors use specific objects, ideas, or characters to express larger meanings in the book, or in real life. In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Salinger uses many symbols in his novel to show the difficulties of Holden’s life. By including the symbols of Holden’s red hunting hat, death, windows, James Castle, and the ducks, Salinger explores many of Holden’s inner thoughts and difficulties of growing up, especially with the loss of loved ones.