Catcher In The Rye Reflection

“The Catcher in the Rye” explores a teenager’s struggle with the rejection of growing up and his confusion within society. The novel starts off with Holden getting expelled from Pencey Prep around Christmas time. Holden tends to criticize everybody around him. Only a few times in the book does the reader have actual evidence of Holden self- reflecting. Holden is a very troubled 16 year old who cannot seem to get past the death of his brother, so his mental state breaks down. Holden does not understand that growing up is inevitable. To the extent of reading “The Catcher in the Rye” I have learned how scary and lonely the world can be. In the “Catcher in the Rye”, I liked the symbolism of the museum of natural history. To Holden, the museum

Antolini, who was his old English teacher at his previous school, Elkton Hills. I believe it was intentional for Salinger to include Phoebe in the book because she seemed so mature in contrast with Holden’s immaturity. Phoebe, according to Holden, is the only one who understands him, while the majority of the characters in this novel i.e. Carl Luce and Sally Hayes, did not give a damn about Holden’s emotional or mental state. Phoebe is also one of the few characters in the book who can make sense of Holden’s irrational way of thinking. Mr. Antolini feels sympathy in terms of Holden’s confusion and suffering in society. Salinger quotes: “This fall I think you’re riding for-it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit the bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn’t supply them with. Or they thought their own environment couldn’t supply them with. So they gave up looking.” (Salinger, 207). We can relate this quote the imagery of “The Catcher in the Rye” in which Holden feels like it is his duty to catch the children from falling off the cliff and into

To Holden, phoniness is symbolic of everything that’s wrong in the society around him, and it gives him an excuse to not interact with the world around him. Instead, he retreats behind his protective wall. “I listened to their conversation for a while, because I didn’t have anything else to do. He was the most boring guy I ever listened to. And you could tell his date wasn’t even interested in the goddam game, but she was even funnier-looking than he was, so I guess she had to listen.”(Salinger, 95). Although Holden is making fun of the conversation, he really wants interaction with people. Holden’s alienation is part of his mental breakdown. He desperately desires human contact and love, but at the same time he wants to be isolated. For example, because Holden felt lonely, he arranged a date with Sally Hayes, “Finally, old Sally started coming up the stairs, and I started down to meet her. She looked terrific. She really did….The funny part is, I felt like marrying her the minute I saw her. I’m crazy. I didn’t even like her much, and yet all of a sudden I felt like I was in love with her and wanted to marry her.” (Salinger, 138). As a reader, Holden’s narration can sometimes cause confusion. Holden said he didn’t like Sally that much, yet when she came down the stairs Holden