Catcher In The Rye Holden Caulfield Analysis

The struggle of adolescence combined with the themes of loss and isolation through one Holden Caulfield. This coming of age story of Holden in J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is a famous all american masterpiece. Within the book, Salinger’s is known for his frequent and detailed use of symbolism from Holden’s hat representing his shield and childlike vulnerability to the ducks in Central Park as a reflection of his subconscious mind trying to get help. One famous symbolism is the small detail of Holden’s right hand, specifically his inability to make a fist gives a window into his character and reflects his current state of mind and his path to adulthood.

This could be linked to the fact that he is unable to fit in and so he decides to act superior and be negative towards those around him to make himself feel better. The reader would think that Holden feels like he’s disappearing because he has no one to share his thoughts and feelings with or feel that the lack of family support contributes to his mental instability. Perhaps, Salinger presented Holden in such a way to highlight the importance of family support or suggest how significant its effects are. This is shown at the beginning of the novel to reflect how his childhood was traumatised in the past and highlights the significance of childhood in later

But while this is a good point, because there are many situations where we see this (like when he is chatting with professor Spencer, and he is telling him how he is just going through a phase at that moment, and Mr. Spencer answers by denying that with, “I don 't know, boy. I don 't know.”), it fails to account for how he treats people. The way Holden isolates himself makes him become more and more of a narcissistic jerk. The changes that either he causes or that simply occur around him always seem to make him worse as a person. It is not that Holden is misunderstood, but that Holden has never really understood himself and that is why he maintains himself within the confines of his own miserable loneliness.

In the novel, Holden fantasizes a life in which he is a deaf mute. He says “I thought what I 'd do was, I 'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn 't have to have any goddam stupid useless conversations with anybody” (Salinger ). Being a deaf-mute will ensure that Holden can’t communicate with anybody. People will leave him

The ambiguity in the message relates to the Holden’s overall inconsistency with his opinions and personality. Throughout the book, we get the idea that, although he does like meeting his friends, Holden hates, or at least believes he hates, most people (excluding children of course). However, this final sentence implies Holden has in fact ‘started missing everybody’, meaning he is possibly finally growing up and losing his unreasonable hatred of others. On the other hand, it can also be taken into account that Holden actually regrets ever talking to anyone, as the pain of losing them out balances the joy he gets from his relationships. This would mean that throughout the novel Holden hasn 't changed that much after

Holden feels helpless and alone. In summary, Allie’s death plays a large role in forming Holden’s personality. He tries to graze over the subject without much emotion because Allie’s death was sudden and tragic, and he has been unable to seek support for most of his

He was expected to act like an adult though he was still considered a child. Inside, Holden was struggling with the conflict of reluctance to become and adult because he thought it meant leaving behind his brother. He was pushing aside the fact that people change, and that change was not always a bad thing. On July 18, 1946 Holden’s brother Allie died of leukemia, and he never got over it.

‘’I felt so lonesome, all of the sudden. I almost wished I was dead,’’ a quote from the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger which relates to how some teens felt at one point in their life. The novel was published to attract adult readers and has become popular for its themes, motifs, and connections an individual has with the main character, Holden Caulfield. We tend to feel a connection to the struggles of Holden Caulfield as we put ourselves in his shoes and see life through his perspective. The book is still pertinent due to Holden facing challenges such as loneliness and the inability to make a connection to make with a purpose thus the readers see themselves in Holden.

TITLE OF THE STORY ‘The Boarded Window’ itself represents Murdock and tells the readers that he was under a great amount of stress. The readers are also told that he did not board the windows due to his hatred of light and fresh air, but some other reason such as his wife’s death. Windows are generally the passageway to something, but when boarded up, it blocks any such entrances. “Anyone knew why it was so closed; certainly not because of the occupant’s dislike of light and air,” these lines justify the aforementioned

The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey are two stories written by the author JD Salinger. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye suffers from depression within the reason of not being able to conform to the society around him. Over his four day escapade in New York City, the reader learns that Holden's depression is exacerbated by his unhappiness with society. Franny and Zooey's protagonist is named Franny, and she is similar to Holden in The Catcher in the Rye. Franny had difficulty dealing with society because she feels that her society does not accept her the way she is throughout the story.

Nandan Shastry In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield struggles with many internal and external conflicts that change his attitude on life and how he approaches and confronts various situations. Throughout the novel Holden is always labeling people and situations that he disagrees with as phony instead of respecting that someone may have different opinion than him and it might be right. At the conclusion of the novel Holden is faced with the questions of whether he will apply himself when he goes to school that coming fall. He replies that he wants to but will never know until that time has come.

Holden wants to protect people’s innocence which cause to reflect about his innocence time and how they have changed. When Holden was younger he would visit the Museum of Natural History almost every Saturday. The charter Holden believed “the best thing, though in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was,” (Salinger 135). Holden thinks about this because he realizes that people and himself are always changing, but things around him necessarily aren’t changing. When people start to change, their innocence will slowly go away because they are growing up.

Teenagers are so damaged and emotionally broken that at least twenty percent of teenagers suffer from depression before they become adults. That only could explain Holden’s need to self protect and not trust people. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger shows the theme of alienation for the purpose of self-protection . The main character Holden Caulfield uses his red hunting hat when he is looking for protection, refers to the museum when he wants everything to stay the same and Allie’s baseball mit when he wants to have comfort. Holden’s red hunting hat is used as a symbol a surplus amount of times.

How Holden matured People go through rough stuff in their lives, such as losing a close sibling. It seems impossible to pull yourself out of the pain and guilt of your loss. It appeared Holden was in the same predicament, but through his experiences in the novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger he learns to grow up. Aside from being very immature, holden refuses to grow up and dislikes people who have grown up.

In JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, a teenage boy, struggles with the idea of maturity and growing up. The novel chronicles Holden’s journey to find what he should do with his life after being kicked out of school. Being both confused and lost, Holden encounters many moments where he doesn’t know where to go or what to do next. To help him make the right decision, Holden considers the ducks he sees in Central Park.