When Is Holden Selfish In Catcher In The Rye

Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye Holden sees the world as an evil and corrupt place, however it is clear that he gradually comes to the conclusion he cannot change it. The first instance demonstrating Holden’s progression is when he sees the profanity written all over Phoebe’s school. In this moment he finally understands that it is inevitable to enter adulthood and realizes the impossibility to try to rid even half of the profanity within the world if given a million years. The first majority of the novel displays Holden’s pessimistic view on everything in life and his desire to contain the innocence he has left. Holden’s evolution as a

Although you may be worried about your son being admitted to this mental hospital, I assure you my time with him has allowed me to psychoanalyze your son. Listening to his story has given me a greater understanding of his character. Although he might seem to be an unsocial, pessimistic young man, his true colors reveal a morally confused character. It might take a long period of time to fully explain Holden's condition so I will shorten it to outline the important points I am trying to make. Holden's sadness is caused by his inability to understand others.

He doesnt want to accept the reality and prefers to live in his own world where adults arent superficial and hypocritical. He can not come up with anything better to live by than his fantasy of being the catcher in the rye and reflects his innocence in the uncorupted youth, and all he wishes to do is protect that spirit. I see where he comes from though because its hard to accept the real world and have to grow up leaving behind that purness. Its something holden didnt want to loose and protet others who might be in danger of loosing it

In the novel The Catcher In The Rye, the main character Holden experiences a massive amount of struggle. One major struggle he experiences is depression. Many teenagers can relate to Holden because throughout the novel he shows some of the struggles that anyone could be going through. While I was reading I felt sympathy for Holden and wanted to reach out and help him get through his struggles. There are many red flags repeatedly showing Holden being depressed. These red flags are not only found in Holden but can be noticed in other people who are depressed.

    In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher In The Rye, Holden is excluded and isolated from the world, due to his confusion about life experiences, adult world curiosities, and his discontent with society. He says to Mr. Spencer that he feels trapped on "the other side, where there aren’t any hot shots"( Salinger 8). He always attempts to discover his way in the world in which he believes he doesn't belong in. He enjoys being the one that stands out and is distinct standing in an average crowd. He claims that "All morons hate it when you call them a moron"( Salinger 44). He is against most of the people in his life because he believes that they are selfish and stupid. He feels unique by being different from everyone and as the novel progresses, we begin to recognize that Holden's alienation is his method of protecting himself from the world. One example is the red hunting hat, which sponsors his

In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger captures a teenage boy’s struggle with adolescence. The story is told from the perspective of Holden Caulfield, who embarks on a journey to New York City after being expelled from his boarding school. He meets new people and has experiences that reveal his personality and interactions. In the story, Holden is “fed up” with the world, he feels that everything and almost every person he encounters is “phony,” (a word often used by Holden). Anyone who Holden perceives to have affectations, he deems to be different from him. These people appear to be socially intelligent and are generally accepted into society, unlike Holden. Although Holden is very judgemental, he fails to recognize his own phoniness as well. So,

The Catcher in the Rye was about Holden, who admires in children attributes that he struggles to find in adults to talk to him and he is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital. Holden Caulfield,who is 16 year old teenager went to three schools, but fails four of his five subjects only passed English he also struggles with the fact that everyone has to grow up. In the novel, Holden tells the reader through a few days of his life, in which he flaunts his hostile environments. Throughout the book,

In the famous, but often times previously banned novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, seventeen year old Holden Caulfield is trying to find his sense of direction in a world where he describes the majority of people in his life as phony. As the first chapter begins, it is clear Holden is currently living in a mental institution, although the reasoning behind so is never directly stated, the reader can infer it may have to do with Holden's depression troubles. For the most part, Holden's troubles are to blame on his own actions, he fails to realize his irresponsibly is the major cause of the negative aspects in his life. Holden's troubles of being an academic layabout and being reclusive seem to center from his biggest issue

He does not have many friends because he chooses not to make any. He also has a total lack of interest for his studies and for his school. Holden feels that school work is unnecessary and he doesn’t even try to succeed. In the beginning of our session, Holden mentions his old teacher Mr. Spencer. He then talks about a letter he wrote to Mr. Spencer and it said, “It is alright with me if you flunk me though as I am flunking everything else except English anyway. Respectfully yours, Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye).” From that point, I can already observe that he doesn’t care about any of his studies. In addition to this, Holden doesn’t seem to want to grow up. The fact that he’s failing every school he attends, drinks underage, and rebelling against every grown up, shows this detachment. Everyone just wants Holden to grow up and live a decent adult

In the beginning of the chapters, Salinger makes Holden seem relatable to other teens. “I could feel a terrific lecture coming on. I didn't mind the idea so much, but I didn't feel like being lectured to and smell Vicks Nose Drops and look at old Spencer in his pajamas and bathrobe all at the same time.” (Chapter 2) Many young teenagers can relate to this quotation, since not many people find it amusing listening to an elderly lecture. Later on in the book, his childish personality begins to show more and more as the plot moves. At some points, he would like to connect to the adult world and at other points, he rewinds to the idea of every adult being “phony” or insincere people. One example of this is when Holden meets with Sally Hayes on a date. At first, Holden seemed to believe he is in love with her at first, but he came to the state of annoyance and exasperation when he couldn't connect to the adult world Sally was living in when he asked her to move out of state with her. Holden imagines himself as the “catcher in the rye.” He conceptualizes a field of rye perched high on top of a mountain cliff, full of

Alienation: it’s a touchy subject for many. For some, it’s second nature to alienate themselves. But, for others, it’s a concept foreign to their knowledge. In the book Perks of Being a Wallflower, main character Charlie goes through multiple stages of self-discovery all the while experiencing highschool firsthand. In Catcher in the Rye, protagonist Holden Caulfield leaves his boarding school on a whim while trying to discover his true identity. Throughout both of the novels, the concept of alienation is debatable. Was Charlie alienating himself? Was Holden alienated from society? Were neither alienated at all? Reading both novels have drew the conclusion that both Holden and Charlie were alienated by society. This was determined because of

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden’s problems are reoccuring. The constant fights he is involved with cause him to think that everyone in the world is against him. His constant judging mindset causes him to believe that everyone is a phony, and his constant fear of unwanted contact causes him to not reach out to anyone at all. Holden’s awful attitude about pretty much everything leads him to live a life of loneliness. Although it may seem near impossible due to his unpleasant attitude, Holden still just wants to be the catcher in the

Holden Caulfield, a 17 year old boy who is reminiscing a about his 16 year old self’s journey from childhood to adulthood. This in such journeys one tends to make big decisions and loses their innocence, but Holden refuses to. In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye one may only see Holden Caulfield as a rich boy with first world problems that are way too trivial to feel lost about. Throughout the duration of the novel Holden spent it in New York City, where he moped around for a few days. While there he found himself in different situations asking the same questions about change. Holden has immense issues with change, specifically growing up. Like any person growing up requires one to understand the benefits of change and to embraces them,

A disparate situation is presented to readers in The Catcher in the Rye. Early in the novel, Holden expresses the reason for his difficulties in school as his being: “always surrounded by phonies.”(Salinger 13) Holden is correct; he is completely incapable of relating to his peers. However he takes no time to consider potential solutions to his problem. During his conversation with Mr. Spencer, Holden communicates that he deals with his troubles by simply quitting; putting minimal effort into academics and socialization. Since Holden never addresses his emotions directly, he fails to realize

Holden is a profoundly negative person, he is constantly judging other people, calling them ‘phonies’ and criticising them. For instance when he says “I was surrounded by phonies.” of his time at Elkton Hills. (CITR, 14) Throughout the novel, Holden repeatedly behaves immature and makes irresponsible and destructive decisions, even if he knows it is the wrong thing to