Allie’s death causes Holden to become obsessed with death and this obsession makes him believe that growing up and becoming a “phonie” is like dying; this belief that is planted inside Holden’s head when Allie died is what sends him on a quest to preserve children’s innocence and save them from the “death” of growing up.
Holden’s little brother, Allie, passed away some years before the story takes place, and is one of the biggest factors in his refusal to let go of the past. For instance, even after so much time has passed, Holden names his dead sibling when asked by Phoebe if there’s anything in the world he cares about. Without memories of Allie, there is apparently nothing else to fit that claim. Allie’s old baseball mitt is still Holden’s most prized possession, and, due to its close personal nature compared to any other items on hand, he writes about it for an assignment even when it goes against the prompt. Therefore, taking note of the effects the death still deals presently, and considering Holden “broke all the windows” in the garage with his fists the day after the death occurred, it makes sense to conclude Allie’s loss has caused him to embrace a jaded view of life and humanity (Salinger, 39). Despite it all, Holden’s venture to the park with Phoebe seems to
In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the narrator and protagonist Holden Caulfield a sixteen year old junior undergoes a series of changes. Holden learns multiple life changing lessons; one of them is you must grow up. In the beginning of the novel, Holden starts out as “that kid”; the one with the parents who expect him to get into an ivy league school, and end up with a kid with no intentions of doing so. At the beginning of the book it is very apparent that Holden lacks motivation; he also has hit rock bottom. Although Holden is a very intelligent character he finds the hypocrisy and ugliness in the world around him and quickly associates it with the adult world.
In The Catcher in the Rye, it is observed that the novel is about grief. There are 5 stages of grief: denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and finally acceptance. The Catcher in the Rye shows how Holden goes through the grieving process. By the end of the novel it shows how Holden has reached closure or a way to let go.
Today we are dealing with Holden Caulfield, a 17 year old student who attends Pencey Prep in New York City. Holden is maturing quickly and has happened to grow six and a half inches in the past year. He has grey hair at the age of seventeen and is very skinny for his age. Holden’s family consists of his mom and dad, his brother D.B, and his sister Phoebe. Holden did have another brother, Allie, but he passed away when Holden was thirteen years old. Holden does not communicate with D.B often but they keep in touch once in awhile. On the other hand, Holden cares for and loves Phoebe with his whole heart; he would never let anything happen to her and he continues to worry about her and care for her. Holden is very passionate about his family but
Holden Caulfield is the narrator of Catcher in the Rye. He tells us about his life and describes his relationships with all the important people in his life. He just got kicked out of another school and does not want to go home. He just wanders from place to place. Holden has so many important people in his life. They all impact his life in different ways. Someone who plays a big role in Holden’s life, is Allie, his deceased younger brother. He impacts Holden because he was “the trigger” for all the chaos in Holden’s life, he makes Holden feel obligated to protect the innocence in children, and causes Holden to only want to live in the past.
JD Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is about a boy named Holden Caulfield and his struggle with life. As a teenager, he has one goal and that is to simply find his place in the world. Unlike an ordinary teenager he has a severe case of depression, and displays many signs to exhibit this mental illness. As we escalate through the novel, we notice that his depression seems to be getting worse and that he is feeling despondent more often. This state of depression is the main reason for his downfall, and can be attributed to three main causes. Holden is exhausted and worn out both physically, mentally and emotionally.
Holden Caulfield experiences flashbacks to the traumatic events that have occurred in his life. Holden is constantly reminded of his younger brother Allie who passed away when he was 11 years old. “So what I did, I wrote about… did, and he had very red hair,” (Salinger 38). The reader can see that Holden is constantly thinking of Allie, and that Allie was one of the people in Holden’s life that made him happy. Holden’s ability to remember the vivid details of Allie and his life prove that these traumatic events, occurring upon those who brought him joy, will always be with him. Not only does Allie pass away, but Holden’s close friend, James Castle, jumped out of the window and committed suicide. “Finally, what he did… didn’t even go to jail,”
The teenage years act as a boundary to either permit or prevent one from reaching adulthood. While some find the transition to be smooth, others become stuck in their past, remaining tied to their innocent childhood. Holden Caulfield, in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, is an iconic representation of the American teenager. Holden refuses to accept the inevitable processes of life. Maturity, to Holden, is more than just a natural biological process. Instead, maturity represents a path to perverted and corrupted guilt. The idealized view Holden has toward his younger siblings leaves him wanting to remain innocent, which entails not becoming an adult. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden finds himself at the awkward intersection between
People have many different comfort tools, some big, some small, some round, and some tall. Some people use teddy bears, while others use blankies; People can even sometimes use others as their comfort tool. In the book The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden goes through a lot; Sometimes good and sometimes bad. When he is confronted by something bad it usually ends in him being quite depressed. Allie is Holden's little brother who died of leukemia when Allie was eleven and Holden was thirteen. Allie's death acts as a weight slowing down Holden’s development and making him get stuck in his grief. When Allie died it caused Holden to start a long and painful descent into depression. The time period of where he hits
Salinger uses the symbol of Allie's mitt to express the theme of innocence as demonstrated in a major symbol, big factor in Catcher in The Rye, and overall connection to the theme of the book.
As one grows up they may experience dramatic changes in their life that they wish had never occurred. In The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger, the main Character Holden Caulfield, goes through loss as his life begins to change right in front of him. His brother Allie who Holden was very close with, passes away, and his family and friends are all moving forward with their lives. Meanwhile, Holden is still stuck in the past. The change that is occuring in his life is affecting his current emotions and his ability to move forward. When forced with abrupt, unforeseen change, people desire to hold onto the familiar.
In literature, loss of innocence refers to an adolescent character who experiences an event that leads to a greater awareness of pain and suffering which profoundly reshapes their life. The loss of a loved one at a young age can cause disruption and irreparable damage to the innocent mind. After a tragedy of losing a loved one, the naïve mind is ill-equipped to deal with the loss, which can cause it to spiral out of control. Esther and Holden are two fictional characters who are both unfortunate enough to experience this trauma during their adolescence and both suffer the negative mental consequences. Throughout The Bell Jar and The Catcher in the Rye, Plath and Salinger use their protagonists’ to demonstrate the motif of loss of innocence, caused by tragic events in their youth, to teach the reader that buried childhood trauma can have a negative impact on mental health.
The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger in 1951, is the story of an angst-ridden sixteen year old Holden Caulfield as he learns to deal with growing up. The story follows Holden through his three day experience through New York as he learns about the truth about innocence, sex, and mortality, making The Catcher in the Rye one of America’s most notable coming-of-age stories. One of the largest influences on Holden’s life was his younger brother Allie who died from leukemia at age eleven when Holden was thirteen. The death of Holden’s brother had a profound effect on Holden emotional state, which eventually caused his complete mental breakdown by the end of the novel.
In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger readers are introduced to a young man named Holden Caulfield who introduces himself and begins to tell his story of how and why he left his school; Pencey Prep. In the story, Holden explains how he is being kicked out of school and doesn't want his parents to know and so leaves school early. throughout the story, Holden explains what happens to him before he must go home and act like he is home from school for a break instead of being kicked out. When it comes to the topic of Author's purpose of The will of individual vs the will of the majority some will think the purpose is to show that Holden going against the will of society to rebel, however, I think the author’s purpose of The Catcher in the Rye was to show that the individual will manifest in his desire for isolation comes from his is fear and damage done by fear of pain, failure, rejection, and is unwilling or unable to go along with the majority. This all shown through Imagery, symbolism, and diction.