Catcher In The Rye Response Essay
The Catcher in the Rye is, for lack of a better word, a controversial novel that remains so almost seventy years after it was penned down. Written from late 1940s to early 1950s, this post World War II novel constituted the only solitary work in the infamous oeuvre of J. D. Salinger. The specialty of this work is that it reflects the real life and personality of the author himself, and we can hope to understand him by following the protagonist. Another marked aspect of this novel is that it renders very polarizing thoughts in the minds of the readers, implying that they either hate the constant ranting of the protagonist, or inculcate the world views within their own personalities by the time they are done with the novel. To start things off, the plot of the novel is a very monotonic one. The novel is devoid of any climax, or the climax takes place behind the scenes at the end, oblivious to the reader. It shows repetitive instances of the protagonist, Holden …show more content…
D. Salinger, the author, manifests his own life at various points within the novel. He also shifted through various colleges, throughout his studying life, due to some reason or the other. He once went attended Columbia University, the school where Carl Luce is from. Salinger himself was once enrolled in McBurney School in Manhattan, the intended site of the novel's canceled fencing meet. In addition, scholars often compare Pencey Prep to Valley Forge Military Academy, which Salinger attended from the ages of 15 to 17. He has also said various times to the press that his best friends include mostly children, and he is best able to connect to them, same as Holden. This was why he was very offended when his book was banned in some areas for children. Salinger also went into reclusion after 1960s, once his short stories started getting critically riled. This further led to the popularity of this novel, since Holden also connects to nobody and lands up in
Holden Caulfield Biography
686 Words | 3 PagesShortly after, Holden describes his experience at Elkton Hills and says, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by goddamn phonies…they were coming in the goddamn window…old Haas…he’d be charming as hell and all…except if some boy had funny looking parents” (17). This suggests that while Salinger was growing up, he was reluctant to conform to society and used it as an excuse for his inability to make connections with other people. Furthermore, it helps support Salinger’s absence from society, as all he saw was uniform individuals hiding their true
Catcher In The Rye Response
1379 Words | 6 PagesTHE CATCHER IN THE RYE The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger and published in 1951. The controversial novel was first written aimed at adult audience but gained popularity with adolescent readers because of its ' themes of adolescent rebellion. The main focus is not put on the events but on the main protagonist himself including his emotions, views and morals.
Rhetorical Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye
455 Words | 2 PagesThe book The Catcher in the Rye is a story of internal conflicts and the shallowness of adulthood. The main character, Holden, is struggling to maintain his strong voice of innocence in a fight only involving himself. One of the many reasons for Holden’s emotional devastation is the death of his younger brother Allie. Allie passed away three years earlier from leukemia and this of course highly affected Holden’s mental state at the time even if he didn’t know it. Salinger’s tone held the most importance of this book.
Catcher In The Rye Rhetorical Analysis Essay
652 Words | 3 PagesIn every novel around the globe you can find carefully constructed paragraphs, written by the author to send a specific message to the readers. In The catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, one particular section overflows with symbolism, metaphors, and hidden messages. By analyzing the passage’s diction, setting, and selection of detail it is possible discern the less overt statements hidden in the text and reveal the turbulent nature of the main character, Holden Caulfield. The diction of this passage appears to be the key in unraveling Holden’s mood swings.
Jerome David Salinger Research Paper
1113 Words | 5 PagesThe first words said from Holden Caulfield were “You’ll probably want to know what my lousy childhood was like...but I don’t feel like going into it”(Salinger 1). He mentioned this as if he did not want to tell his story, while telling it Salinger was sent to Europe with some extra money lended from his father to pick up a new language and learn more about the import business.(A&E) It was then that Jerome found interest in writing and turned away from the traditional family business. Along both Salinger and Caulfield’s travels, both struggled for love. Salinger married twice and divorced twice; Holden tried for many dates but all ended on a false note (15 Interesting J.D. Salinger).
How Does Holden Caulfield Change Throughout The Novel
693 Words | 3 PagesAlthough 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. Holden is a very introverted character who hesitates throughout the book to share information about his life . J.D Salinger makes sure to portray Holden that way to
Catcher In The Rye Rhetorical Analysis
828 Words | 4 PagesAs the book starts Holden describes his childhood and how he has been kicked out of several school and once more again from his currently school, giving a sense of irresponsibility and no care in the world. Holden later on mentioned slowly the loss of his brother due to leukemia and how he reacted outrageously by breaking the windows of his garage home. As a reader one would view that behavior as abnormal, but Peter Shaw descried it as a normal behavior for a fictional character in the 1950s and by mentioning that Holden, “is presenting in a somewhat different manner than are the sentimentalized young people in other novels if his period” (par. 3), admitting that Holden was somewhat of an outcast of a character even for its time he is still considered normal. Shaw also challenged the reader’s view of Holden by emphasizing that Holden is not a real person, but a fiction character developed in the 1950s and in fact a mad psychological character is normal and made the reading rather more interesting and acceptable during that time. As readers someone may come across as understanding Holden’s behavior due to a loss and everyone mourns differently and as Shaw said, “ the one period of life in which abnormal behavior is common rather than exceptional” (par.
Alienation In Catcher In The Rye
999 Words | 4 PagesSalinger’s attitude showed how Holden didn’t want to be part of what people did in society. It also showed how people around him kept alienating him. Holden first points out his feelings of alienation from friends and school society by referring to the fact that he is alone at during the football game because he misplaced the fencing team foils on the subway right before a competition: "The whole team ostracized me the whole way back on the train" (3). Next, Holden explains his feelings of alienation from family because he is getting kicked out of another school. He does not want to face his family when they first get the news because "My mother gets very hysterical" (51).
Stubbornness In Catcher In The Rye
1493 Words | 6 PagesIn the paradoxical personality of Holden we discover something much deeper. As Holden makes himself out to be tougher than what he actually is, Salinger introduces stubbornness. Holden’s true nature of gentleness and sensitivity offered throughout the book often brings bedlam into his life, though Salinger brings into
Jd Salinger Biography Essay
662 Words | 3 Pagesreturned to New York in 1946 and went right back into his writing career. In 1951, The Catcher in the Rye was published. The book gained mixed reviews, with many critics seeing Holden's story as immoral, but the book quickly gained popularity in America. The book is now part of many high school's curriculum and has sold more than 120 million copies. Salinger did not like his fame and moved to Cornish, New Hampshire two years after Catcher in the Rye was published.
Catcher In The Rye Internal Conflict
1032 Words | 5 PagesIf the book is read solely on its surface level, it just seems like a book about an annoying teenager who just complains about everything, but the messages it carries are actually profound. For example, near the end of the story Holden is upset by some profane graffiti on the wall at a museum that says “F*** you” (Salinger 224). He is upset by it because he is worried some little kids will see it and wonder what it means, and then be curious enough to find out adn have their innocence stolen. He finds the graffiti multiple times in the museum. The profane graffiti, if looked at beyond the surface level, symbolises the fact that Holden can not do anything to stop little kids from losing their innocence.
Examples Of Character Development In Catcher In The Rye
2081 Words | 9 PagesIn this novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is the narrator that goes through a variety of problems. He has dilemmas, but meets/reconnects with people on his quest of life. This novel is more than just a simple story about a protagonist and his life events. This novel follows the structure of bildungsroman. There are four parts to it- character’s growth in social structure, a form of loss, process of maturity, and if the character ends in a new place of society.
Catcher In The Rye: Summary
442 Words | 2 PagesThe book starts off with Holden Caulfield beginning the story of what happen to him last Christmas. Holden had just been kicked out of the his third or fourth boarding school for failing his so many of his class. He was failing four of five classes and English was the only one he was passing which he was very proud of. He uses words like "boy" and "all" a lot. He explains, "I also say "Boy!"
Catcher In The Rye Literary Analysis Essay
1322 Words | 6 PagesIn the beginning of the novel Salinger portrays Holden as a antisocial person who is often seen alone and describes the world as a “ world full of phonies” one example of this is at the beginning of the book wherein the
Catcher In The Rye Research Paper
628 Words | 3 PagesEven though this may be a valid point of view, the life lessons taught to the reader greatly outweigh the old nature of the book. The book discusses Holden’s dead brother, and the suffering that Holden goes through after this event. Holden like many teens today is going through hard times. Everyone goes through frustrations in life, and the book reinforces this idea and makes it clear that people are not alone in what they are feeling. Article 2 further discusses this idea by saying, “[the book] can help readers understand that they aren't the only ones coping with problems” (source 2).
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