Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger tells the story of Holden Caulfield and his three day journey through the streets of New York after getting expelled from Pencey Prep. Holden experiences a vast variety of emotions and experiences that past events have lead up to. One of the few positive experiences Holden has would be talking to his younger sister, Phoebe, about his dreams of being “the catcher in the rye.” Holden’s dream of being “the catcher in the rye” has Holden standing guard on the edge of a rye field, located on a cliff, watching children play and being there to catch the children before they fall off the
Catcher in the Rye is the recounting of the weekend after the main character gets expelled for the umpteenth time from another uppity private school. The name of the main character, "Holden Caulfield," can be broken down in such a way that it reveals the character in question's tendency to hold onto and protect happier memories and childhood innocence from this big, unfair, scary game we call life, without realizing that he would be stunting the growth of those whom he is protecting. The character's first name, "Holden", can be interpreted as a pun for how he wants to "hold on" to better times. Throughout the story, Holden speaks fondly about his childhood summer memories, talking about when he used to play checkers with Jane Gallagher (p.17), or when he, his younger siblings, Phoebe and Allie, went to the park every Sunday (p. 37) to play, and often brushes the more serious moments he has experienced off, instead of going on a tangent like he usually does (p.21).
Holden goes through many different changes throughout the novel and becomes very different from how he was at the start. Although many would argue that he does not change and that by the end of the novel, there is no development. There is a lot of development as he continues to change throughout the novel and has many different ways of perceiving his surroundings in the end. The main reason he changes is that by the end he thinks that everyone should grow up out of their childhood, he has also gained a deeper understanding of himself, and he is finally prepared and able to fight the real world as an adult. One of the biggest things that Holden realizes towards the end of the book and throughout it is that everyone should grow up out of their childhood.
About 15 million children suffer from mental illness disorder nationwide, but only about 7% of those children actually get the help they need from health professionals. (https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children/anxiety-and-depression) Throughout the book The Catcher in the Rye written by J. D. Salinger, the main character, Holden, has to face many scarring challenges at an extremely young age, such as the death of his younger brother Allie. Holden feels extremely lonely, and doesn’t have anybody to turn to, causing him to seek out attention from strangers. His parents have been absent throughout his life and have sent him off anywhere but home. Because Holden faces difficulties with Allie’s death due to a lack of parental support he finds it challenging developing strong personal relationships, causing him
Was Holden successful in his Journey This is an essay on whether or not Holden Caulfield is successful on his journey throughout the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by Jerome David Salinger. This book shows how hard it can be for teenagers that are going from an adolescent to adulthood. Holden, who is sixteen years old, has been kicked out of several schools. Pencey Prep. was the latest.
The idea of having a character that struggles to find themselves is quite a common idea in many books. This is seen in the Catcher in the Rye where JD Salinger puts Holden the main character through different struggles throughout the book to finally realise what his purpose is and what he aims to be. There are many different situations that Holden is put through but they all aim to the same purpose, being a catcher in the rye. Two of the main struggles are his journey into adulthood and to retain his innocence. The second is how he is almost alienating himself from others and very rarely opens up to anybody, and his relationships with people are not great because he thinks of many of the people he meets are phony.
The Catcher And The Rye by J.D. Salinger is an epic novel where our main character Holden Caulfield faces many challenges that challenge him as a young man such as growing up, rebellion, and love. Holden like most teenagers is rebellious but to an extreme nature. After flunking out of his fourth school the last one being Pencey Prep he refuses to tell his mother and father. In wanting to avoid this confrontation he leaves three days earlier taking a train back to Manhattan. Where he goes on adventure that turns him into a young man.
The Catcher in the Rye is a story about loner Holden Caulfield who recounts his past few days where he was kicked out of school, left to visit New York, and shares his thoughts on almost everything in his everyday life, such as women and his dreams to be a catcher in the rye. First, to establish the shabby setting, Salinger uses similes. When Holden travels to his former teacher's home, he sidetracks from his original thought to complain about the bed he is sitting on. Salinger writes Holden thinking, "'It is. I was.
He talks to his brother as if he 's there searching for help from him. This novel is about him moving through New York and witnessing this and not wanting to be a part of it, yet knowing he has to fit in there somewhere. Holden grows a very dangerous drinking problem. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, Holden is a lost and depressed boy looking for a purpose in life. Holden believes that growing up is going to cause him to lose all innocence in himself.
Holden’s Struggle To Find Himself: Throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to find himself and who he truly is in order to be happy. His struggles relate to many things that he does or say in particular. Holden lacks with a social status with women and his family, whether it’s a relationship or being antisocial. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the complexities and struggles involved with both physical and emotional relationships.
“I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall. But I don’t honestly know what kind…It may be kind where, at the age of thirty, you sit in some bar hating everybody who comes in looking as if he might have played football in college. Then again, you may pick up just enough education to hate people who say, “It’s a between he and I. ‘ Or you may end up in some business office, throwing paper clips at the nearest stenographer. I just don’t know…
If anyone had ever asked Holden the classic, "a penny for your thoughts?", you're liable to get an answer that was all over the place, that you couldn't understand and if you asked him to explain, he wouldn't have a clue either. Classic Holden. However, Holden’s thinking is organized in a very distinct way. Holden not only acts like a child but thinks like one too, and it makes his psyche easier to decipher. Much like a child, Holden finds solace in adventuring through things out of the ordinary and then noticing every little thing along the way.
The Catcher in the Rye In the novel The Catcher in the Rye J.D Salinger writes about a teenager struggling to find his place within the existence of the reality of others. Salinger creates shocking events that lay out the foundation of the the main character Holden Caulfield’s life in the novel. Salinger uses Holden’s characteristics throughout the novel such as Holden’s stubbornness to establish a much bigger theme in the book along with many other symbols.
The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was about the journey of a adolescent boy finding his way to adulthood. In the book Holden Caulfield was unsuccessful in finding his way to adulthood. Holden’s attitude in the novel throughout his journey was very immature. He also can't accept the fact that innocence can’t be forever protected. Lastly, Holden calls everyone a phony when in reality he is the real phony.
Holden, the protagonist of the Catcher in the Rye often makes decisions under the influence of his problematic emotions and caught himself into many rough and self-harming situations. In the first place, Holden made self-harming decisions under the emotion of anger and sadness when his brother passed away "I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it (21). " Holden is making idiotic decisions under the influence of anger and sadness and caused himself a lifelong injury. Similarly, later in the Catcher in the Rye Holden again makes another decision under his emotion of jealousy about Stradlater 's date with Jane. Holden relentlessly insulted Stradlater, driving him crazy until
Throughout the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a deep character that shows(possesses) many personality traits. His character is what connects many readers to him and helps in understanding him. Some character traits Holden possesses are that he is generous, kindhearted, usually honest, very intelligent, makes quick judgements, speaks his mind, is anxious about change, and likes kids. Considering his many character traits, it is easy for the reader to understand and relate to Holden. There are many character traits that I share with him.