The Catcher In The Rye Analysis

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.

The coming of age phase in a young person’s life is a transitional phase which prompts the idea of individualism, decision making, acceptance, moral challenges, disappointment, and individual needs. These years are essential for the overall learning and growing-up part of someone’s life. Coming of age characteristics transpired in the novel The Catcher in the Rye and The Absolutely True Diary of a part-time Indian pertain to, but do not exclude, the acceptance of the complexities and “grayness” of the world, confrontation with the adult world, and the individual needs and desires vs. external pressures/expectations/norms. In both novels, young boys are faced with tough choices that will later help them in the overall transition from

“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.

In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy who has recently expelled from school, had lost his younger brother to Leukemia and witnessed the suicide of one of his peers, struggles in his journey of coming of age. He isn’t fond of the idea of having to mature and be exposed to responsibilities and problems of the real world. As a result, he tries to preserve the innocence of his younger sister, Phoebe. One way in which he aims to accomplish this goal is through a Little Shirley Beans record which he buys in hopes of giving it to Phoebe. Salinger utilizes the symbol of the broken record to develop Holden’s loss of innocence and deteriorating character.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger that occurs around the 1950s. The story’s protagonist and narrator is Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old white male, who journeys to various places as he mourns over the death of his little brother, Allie. As a white male in a capitalist society, he has tremendous amounts of privileges that allow him to get. However, as the novel progresses, Holden describes his society as a place where honored human qualities are suppressed and capitalist ideals are embraced. Throughout the novel, we see that capitalism, “the social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned”, destroys the overall society for Holden and his generation (Rand).

Most teens seem to believe that they are more prepared for drinking, drugs, and sex than they actually are. This mindset is no different for 16 year old Holden Caulfield in the book, The Catcher in the Rye. As the novel's main character, Holden attempts to participate in adult activities, although he is inexperienced, because his brother's death stole his childhood innocence. Holden felt as though he was responsible for protecting his sister and other young children by pushing himself to become an adult. Although Holden thought forcing himself to grow up would help himself and others, it only resulted in his mental relapse. Since Holden's failed attempts at adulthood resulted in his insanity, the challenges of change are consistently reiterated

American literature is full of classic novels containing heroic protagonists; Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye is not one of these classic heroes. The article Some Crazy Cliff by Arthur Heiserman and James E. Miller Jr. provides one interpretation of the novel suggesting that the protagonist is unique compared to others commonly found in American literature; most heroes are seeking acceptance while Holden is seeking something within the society he is trying to leave. The novel follows Holden Caulfield, a young boy who recently flunked out of high school, over the course of three days. During this time, the protagonist returns to New York via train, but does not want to be with his parents until they have already learned of his

In J.D. Salinger’s novel Catcher In The Rye, it starts off with young man named Holden Caulfield at his school football game at Pencey Prep talking about his life. Following that the sudden and unexpected death of his little brother Allie occurs due to cancer. Holden becomes depressed and rebellious. He is aggressive towards anything and anyone who stands in his way and will knock down anything that tries to stop him from doing whatever he wants. Holden shows that the effect of Allie’s passing dawns on him throughout his life and he greatly shows it from time to time. Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden represents the voice of real people by getting expelled, being depressed, and smoking/drinking.

Holden Caulfield has a simple positive view of children in The Catcher in the Rye. One can tell he idolizes childhood. Holden idolizes childhood because he believes that children are themselves and not “phony” like typical adults (Salinger, 9). He feels that children are honest and innocent. The three people that Holden idolizes for childhood aspects are Allie, Phoebe, and Jane. Allie, Holden’s younger brother who died, was the cause of Holden’s downfall. This may be because he was the person Holden idolized the most. One can see that Holden sees only the goodness of his younger sibling. Further, the reader can tell how much love Holden has for Allie when he says, “God, he was a nice kid, though. He used to laugh so hard at something he thought of at the dinner table that he just about fell off his chair” (Salinger, 38). Another aspect that allows the reader to see how Holden idolizes Allie is when he talks about

The novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a narrative which examines the growing process of Holden Caulfield, a rebellious, sardonic teenager. Initially, Holden is portrayed as a rash, somewhat physiologically disturbed adolescent rebelling in the face of society. However throughout the novel he undergoes a noticeable psychological change. Holden’s transformation through his experience in New York examines the nature of maturation and protection of the innocent. These themes are developed by the extensive use of symbolism. Through Salinger’s use of symbolism, Holden’s progression can be traced from his rash cynical outlook to his compassion and responsibility demonstrated at the end of the novel. Holden’s hunting hat, the character of

Young Catcher Songs can connect to lives of characters in books. There are similarities in between the song Young Forever by Jay Z feat Mr. Hudson and the main character Holden Caulfield in the novel Catcher in the Rye. Although there are similarities there are differences too. Many desire to stay young forever so they can avoid responsibilities and just enjoy life . This is one similarity between the song Young Forever and the character Holden Caulfield is that both talk about wanting to stay young.

A very significant part in the beginning of the book is when we are introduced to Holden’s neighbour Ackley. We get to see who Ackley is but we also get to see how Holden feels about him and how he deals with certain people. During chapter three Ackley is perceived as being annoying, thoughtless and crazy trough the eyes of Holden. He stands in Holden’s reading light, he doesn’t take the hint that Holden wants him to leave and touches all of his stuff. Holden reacts by horsing around, calling him “Ackley kid” (which he doesn’t like), and more but he also speaks to Ackley like he’s normal. He has conversations with him, demonstrating that although he finds Ackley bothersome there is still something that he likes about him. Holden is able to

Gaydosik said, “Alienation is a negative consequence of individualism, particularly when individualism is combined with a skeptical attitude toward the existence of universal truth or the purposefulness of human life.”. Holden is a boy with psychological issues, that is true, but its cause is something different. Holden has been influenced by his upbringings and how he was raised is what makes him today. Nurture not nature. He may stay static and continue his antics such as flirting with women, but he has an internal turmoil that changes his views. Being a boy ostracized by friends and family, his only resort is alienation, but that takes a big toll on anyone’s mental health and he knows that he will have to grow up.

Today’s teens can still relate to the story of, “the catcher in the rye”, by J.D. Salinger by a great deal. Many teens have the same tendencies and habits and beliefs like Holden does. The story pulls in the reader, with the intent to put you in the shoes of Holden Caulfield, a teen that goes through trouble in his life trying to figure out what it is that makes life impure, and along with his dream protecting children’s innocence from the cruelty of the dark adult world. I believe that this story is still relevant to the average teen. This story involve obstacles that teens face and have to bypass to get to the other side to learn from their mistakes and what they want as they enter into the adult world.

Throughout life, we do not want to accept the fact that we all have weaknesses. We strive to be perfect but we can’t be because of setbacks, for example: mental illnesses. In the novel, “The Catcher In The Rye” Holden struggles to connect with people that don’t sympathize with him. He writes from an institution where he receives help from a psychoanalyst, and through this, we learn that Holden is a teenager who suffers from the loss of a loved one, his brother. Although Holden could suffer from psychotic depression, society isn’t supplying the right guidance for his sadness, hallucinations, and paranoia.