The Catcher in the Rye

In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a rather unique character. He has several complications with other characters that he runs into, and does not seem that he is able to relate to anyone. However, Holden has a younger sister named Phoebe, and he seems to connect with her in a way that he does not with anyone else. She is only ten years old, so she and Holden both have a childlike mind. On the other hand, Phoebe seems to have a positive outlook on life while Holden sees most things in a negative light. Another contrast between them is that Phoebe puts in effort at school, and Holden is clearly not concerned his performance at school.

Holden has very noble goals, he wants to protect children’s innocence. He says to his little sister “‘Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I’m standing on the edge of

Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I

JD. Salinger’s 1951 book, The Catcher in the Rye, shows us how society treated their confused and changing teenagers during their transition into adulthood. The book’s main character Holden Caulfield is being pressured into growing up even though he doesn’t feel ready, to lead an adult life. He is still struggling socially and mourning for his deceased brother whose death turned Holden upside down and into a negative, hopeless person from a young age, which causes him to be distracted, indifferent and to flunk every school he goes to.

The novel The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, contains many complex symbols, many of the symbols in the book are interconnected. A symbol is an object represents an idea that is important to the novel. I believe the most important symbol in this novel is Holden 's idea of being the "catcher in the rye".

J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is widely recognized as one of the most self-destructive novels ever written. The novel’s protagonist Holden Caulfield is known for his anti-social behavior and his self-loathing, self-isolating character in the book. Holden’s traits could widely be compared to Napoleon Dynamite the protagonist of the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite directed by Jared Hess. Napoleon is characterized by his clichéd “school nerd” behavior and of course his own self-isolating habit just like Holden. Like Holden, Napoleon tries to put down people to isolate him from others. But even though Holden and Napoleon are alike on how they assume the traits of the people they meet,

William Butler Yeats a writer and irish poet once said, “The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time.” In the book, “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J. D. Salinger, a boy named “Holden” is dealing with the consequences of growing up and losing innocence. The story details the importance of being a kid and going through maturity. It also shares the knowledge of learning from mistakes and growing up. Holden experiences all of these elements through loneliness and innocence throughout the book.

In The Catcher in the Rye, the reader is first introduced to Holden Caulfield, as first person narrator. He is a radically independent adolescent who tosses off judgments at ease unselfconsciously. The introduction scene is set where he is, voluntarily isolated from the rest, looking down upon a hill during a Pencey Prep football game. He then goes into introducing primary characters that impacted his life, such as, Mr. Spencer, Ackley and Stradlater. Later on that night, Holden leaves campus enraged with anger and hatred towards everyone and sets on an adventure to find himself in the city of New York. Throughout the novel, Holden goes on a pursuit in search of maturity, intimate love, moral innocence, and acceptance despite his hatred for phoniness.

            Holden is quite skilled at citing exactly what is wrong with other people.  However he never acknowledges his own faults.  He was sure the entire world was out of step with him.  As Alan Stewart explains, ?Holden seemed to divide the world into two groups.  He was in one group, along with a few other people such as his little sister, Phoebe, and

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is the story of a young man making his way through New York city, enduring hardship, and figuring out life along the way. Although the story focuses on Holden at this point in his life, the story also details events that have happened previously, throughout his childhood and adolescence. These events have been a part of the development of Holden as a character, and make up the reasons Holden behaves and does things a little differently than others. Holden Caulfield is a lonely person who becomes increasingly depressed throughout the story. He is also judgmental towards others and continuously lies as a form of entertainment.

Holden also has a sister, he fears that one day he will lose her too. Holden was very close with his siblings before Allie’s death. He now is afraid he will lose his connection with Phoebe because she is the only one that is able to deal with him and his raving. Everyone else leaves him when he tries to communicate to them how he feels. Phoebe is a symbol to Holden of how innocent his childhood was, and how he wishes that he could have it back. When Holden and Phoebe are on the Merry go round Holden realizes that Phoebe will always come back, such as how she keeps coming back on the ride. This makes Holden happy because she is the

Holden does not realize his misconstrued state in life. He believes he is an adult; however he is clearly a young man who has lost his way in life. He has every confidence that the world works in the way he imagines and even says: “It’s funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want (Salinger 84).” Holden displays a sense of arrogance in the way that he envisions that he is better than the rest of the world. Holden believes he is an adult who knows how to handle himself, but he must constantly rely on the guidance of his little sister Phoebe for direction in his life (Svogun n.p.). Holden is just a boy who portrays himself as more than he is, but soon realizes that what he believes himself to be is in fact not genuine.

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.

“Is The Catcher in the Rye, as a work of literature still relevant for today’s youth?”

He drinks, he smokes and rebel against both his teachers and adults. Holden is a very negative person and is constantly trashing other people, if not he is lying to them. He likes calling people ‘phonies’, even tough he acts like a phony himself. And this is his hefty scare, he is terrified of growing up, yet he realises it is time for his body is changing and turning him into a man. Holden has had an uncomplicated life if you disregard away from his brother’s death. He comes from a good family, has never lacked anything and has agreeable opportunities. An instead of using this to his advantage, he gets sucked down into a pessimistic and sad vortex. He never feels at home anyplace or feels a strong connection to people. Rebelling is an ordinary thing to go through in your adolescence and Holden has it bad. He is indeed a ‘rebel without a