Crazy People

Holden Caulfield loves to call people phonies. In fact, he uses the word phony 35 times throughout the book, The Catcher in the Rye. A phony, by definition, means not genuine, or fraudulent, however, Holden’s version of it is much different. Holden uses the word phony so much in order to help himself understand the world and people around him. He has to put everyone into a category of personalities, and phony is one of those categories. He repeatedly calls Stradlater, his roommate at Pencey, a big

innocence of the little children. He does this because of his own struggles growing up. Holden’s enemy is the world and how cruel it can be. Holden is trying to make people keep their innocence and he is trying also trying to keep it himself. We are all innocent at some point, but we can’t hold on to it forever. Holden looks up to the people that are still innocent. Like for example his little sister Phoebe, who is still innocent and hasn't been exposed to the real world. Holden thinks that children need

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

Anyway, it was the Saturday of the football game. […] I remember around three o'clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill. […] You could see the whole field from there, and you could see the two teams bashing each other all over the place. […] You could hear them all yelling. (Chapter 1 Page 2) This quote is significant to The Catcher in the Rye because it displays the ongoing theme of isolation throughout the novel. Holden clues the readers immediately by illustrating

big, I mean – except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out and from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know its crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.” Holden Caulfield’s response and the way Robert Burns poem instills

brother, Allie, had passed away when Holden was 13. Holden wore a red hunting hat to believe Allie was still with him since Allie had red hair. Also, Holden brought up ducks and wondered where they go during the winter. Holden wants to know where people go when they die and if it is a good place or

“That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write "Fuck you" right under your nose. I think, even, if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all, it'll say "Holden Caulfield" on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and then right under that it'll say "Fuck you." I'm positive, in fact.’’(204)

time people are very indecisive just like Holden. They react in their own way not like a child but not like an adult either. He has his ways but usually it is the wrong way. He is very immature for 16 but yet

struggles growing up and facing the real world he is living in. Holden unable to accept growing because he is not mature enough to take responsibilities. Holden is a teeanger who refuses to grow up because of his sad childhood and he does not understand people around him. Holden is afraid to take responsibilities so, Holden chooses not to grow up and refuses to acknowledge it. Holden’s immaturity displays through inability to take advice or decisions. To illustrate,”Oh..well, about life being a game and

Sarah Sjoholm Mr. Gott Scale English 4 30 October 2017 In many novels the title of the story is more important than most people initially think. It often reveals important information about the story. The Catcher in the Rye is a title whose significance gradually becomes apparent as the novel progresses. Written by JD Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye is a coming-of-age novel in which the main character, Holden Caulfield, wishes to preserve the innocence of children. Through the title, this theme