Everyone has to grow up at some point in life, but one must face different challenges and obstacles to get there, Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger shows this idea. The novel takes place around the 1950s and is written in the perspective of Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy who struggles with moving into the adult world after the death of his younger brother Allie. He faces difficulties trying get there when he is kicked out of his fourth boarding school after failing four out of five classes, but he is not scheduled to come home to Manhattan until 3 days later. Holden soon decides that he has had enough of Pencey Prep and will go to Manhattan early, without the knowledge of his parents, leaving him to face New York on his own. The Curious …show more content…
Holden wishes to be free from the phoniness of Pencey Prep and also the adult word. The negative effect of leaving the school without his parents’ knowledge can be seen after Holden leaves Ernie’s and returns back to the hotel, “The whole lobby was empty. It smelled like fifty million dead cigars. It really did. I wasn't sleepy or anything, but I was feeling sort of lousy. Depressed and all. I almost wished I was dead.” (Salinger 90). Holden finally got what he had wanted, to be alone. As explained in chapter 25 when he reveals his wishes of moving away and becoming a deaf-mute. Instead of being happy in his isolation, finally free from the phonies in the world around him, Holden becomes deeply depressed, even expressing thoughts of suicide. This is also evident after Holden leaves the Wicker Bar drunk and is wandering around Central Park in the cold, “…it was getting very cold out again, and my teeth started chattering like hell. I couldn't make them stop…I started walking over to the park. I figured I'd go by that little lake and see what the hell the ducks were doing… I didn't have anyplace else special to go to--I didn't even know where I was going to sleep yet--so I went. I wasn't tired or anything. I just felt blue as hell.” (Salinger 153). Holden is in clear need of help and instead of calling home and telling his parents the truth, he pushes away further and decides to go to the duck pond, once again surrounded by his depressing thoughts. In Holden’s fight to become independent he only further launched himself into his depression. During adolescence a person needs things like love and encouragement in order to succeed, but by alienating himself from the people who love him most, he is taking that away from himself. Similar to Holden, Christopher also tries to become
In the controversial novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger expresses his opinion on social problems. The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is a troubled teen; he seeks help throughout the novel. Holden has been in and out of schools and can not seem to fit in. Holden has depression and turns to alcohol for all his problems due to the lack of love in his life. No one understood what he was going through which caused him to almost kill himself. J.D. Salinger uses Holden to protest society’s problems.
Teenage years are difficult. Time tells this story of struggle again and again. The Catcher in the Rye is a classic novel showing the struggles a teenager goes through while transitioning into adulthood. The main character, Holden Caulfield, is a judgmental and temperamental boy who struggles to see the positivity in life. Throughout the story, Holden searches to find himself, as he feels forced to grow up. He holds onto aspects of his childhood and isolates himself so much that it is even harder for him to transition. J.D. Salinger uses the red hunting hat, the museum and cigarettes as important symbols in the story to convey the themes of transitioning from childhood to adulthood, loneliness, and isolation.
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.
During the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, author J.D. Salinger brings Holden’s pessimistic, antisocial personality to life through what he says, how he says it, and through the characters he meets. Salinger bases Holden’s expressions off of the culture of the 1950’s, his own personal dialect, and the everyday occurrences of Holden’s life in mind. J.D. Salinger manipulates the diction, uses syntax to criticize others, and controls the character interaction and dialogue in order to create the protagonist, Holden Caulfield.
Why does Holden continuously judge people based on their physical appearance? Could this be a projection of his insecurities or a reflection of his mental health?
Holden Caufield emphasizes on the loss of innocence in children. He feels that once they lose their innocence, they will soon turn into phonies like everyone else. The loss of innocence is very common in the development in human existence. It is caused by many factors. Past a certain age, children are either forced or led unintentionally into a pathway of corruption. A child is also known to lose their innocence by desires, fantasies, and attention. But once they lose their innocence, they tend to desire to go back and pretend to be young again. In the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden discusses the importance of innocence in children's lives. He feels that once a child loses his/her innocence, he/she will soon be leaded to a
“I swear to God I’m a madman” (149) Holden Caulfield says, revealing the wicked nature of J.D Salinger’s 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye. The book follows 16 year old Holden Caulfield in his days spent alone on the streets of New York City after getting kicked out of prep school. During this time Holden goes on an alcoholic rampage, fueled by hate and filled with anger towards anything he sees as phony. The book has been the cause of major controversy since its release, with schools across the country banning it from the realms of teaching for decades. Now, it is read in many high school literature classes because of its alleged similarity to the way teenagers think. The Catcher in the Rye should not be taught to young, impressionable teenagers in public schools because of its rampant profanity, glorification of alcohol and tobacco use, and narration by a mentally ill, generally horrible person.
major factor in his detachment from society. Of course, he does it to himself, and
4. Who does Holden meet in the nightclub of the hotel? Why do these women depress him? Why does he spend time with them then? Three older women, because they are obsessed with movie stars
In the book, Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caufield, the main character is a negatively charged person, doesn't want himself or others around him to grow up, and suffers from depression because of his brothers death. This is obviously Holden's way of alienating the entire world and delaying the consequences of facing reality. Alienation is a big theme in Catcher In The Rye, and something that Holden depends on most often.
“I swear to God I’m crazy. I admit it.” It is very easy to automatically assume that Holden Caulfield is crazy. It’s even a logical assumption since Caulfield himself admits to being crazy twice throughout the course of the book. However, calling Holden Caulfield crazy is almost the same as calling the majority of the human race crazy also. Holden Caulfield is just an adolescent trying to prevent himself from turning into what he despises the most, a phony. Most of Caulfield’s actions and thoughts are the same as of many people, the difference being that Holden acts upon those thoughts and has them down in writing.
Holden isn’t necessarily the most reliable person in the aspect of school life. He failed all his classes but one and was kicked out of four schools for failing. Compared to his siblings, he is the one that has accomplished the least, the song “Perfect” by Simple Plan describes how he could feel about himself due to that. Holden’s brother is an author down is Hollywood and his sister Phoebe, is a smart beautiful young girl as well. Holden talks very highly of his sister, for example he says “You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life...I mean she's had all A's ever since she started school…”(Salinger 67). Holden, as mentioned has been kicked out of multiple schools, while his siblings are aspiring
Throughout my life I have been expected to live up to the expectations of not only my family but my community. This struggle is present in the lives of everyone from the day they are born. The problem with living up to someone else's standards is that nothing ever seems to be good enough. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden struggles to live life the way he/people are supposed/expected to. He is constantly striving to find a way to escape this confusing reality.
He sat at the edge of the bed with the pistol cocked in his mouth. He was ready to leave this merciless world, and become a distant memory. He did not know what happens after life, and he didn’t care.
"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of