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Holden Caulfield Personal Response

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REVIEW INSTRUCTIONS: YOU NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THE QUOATION WITH YOUR RESPONSE. (-) 4. In J.D. Salinger 's novel "Catcher in the Rye", the protagonist Holden Caulfield says these lines to his younger sister Phoebe when she questions him on the topic of his likes and what he wishes to do when he is an adult. Holden ideally, but unrealistically states that he wants to be "the catcher in the rye and all", a reliable figure to "catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff." Holden describes his desire to be someone constantly watching over children and his way of catching them is to keep them save from any physical danger as they are playing baseball and having fun. Holden 's metaphor of being the catcher in the rye also suggests his …show more content…

7. From these lines of J.D. Salinger 's novel "Catcher in the Rye", Holden is walking through the Museum of Natural History on his quest to find his younger sister Phoebe, but he has a somewhat nostalgic feeling about the exhibits. Holden recalls in the museum "that everything always stayed right where it was" no matter how many times he returns and despite how long time has elapsed since his last visit. The vivid descriptions of Holden 's memories demonstrate that he enjoys the constancy of the museum and it is more fond to him compared to the many aspects of life he views as phony or fraudulent. Holden 's memories of spending time at the museum as a child contribute to one of the reoccurring themes of childhood and holding onto the past. As Holden says "you could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish", there is a fondness and slight excitement in his tone that reveals how the museum figures being in the same place and looking the same are comforting to him. The preservation of the museum 's organization similarly reflects how Holden does not wish to grow up and lose his childhood innocence to the adult world. In a life that is in constant motion and experiences that do not cease to happen, the museum remains one of the few aspects of Holden 's life that remains the same, thus retaining a

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