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Catcher In The Rye Struggles Essay

993 Words4 Pages

Lonesome…depressed…negative. In the thought-provoking book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to form relationships after his brother’s death, and becomes careless after flunking out of multiple schools. Holden has no feelings besides negativity towards all of his surroundings. He thinks of everyone as phonies when he himself is phony as well. Holden has many struggles, but they are all mostly formed by his inability to grow up. He believes that everyone is pure and innocent as a child, but they lose their perfection when they grow up. This causes more problems for him, as he believes he cannot grow up either. If Holden were to move to Kwajalein he could put aside all of his struggles and live a full life as a Kwaj …show more content…

Throughout his life, Holden tries to find many people to start a relationship with, but never has the right people to reiterate the want of a friendship. An example was when Holden came across a prostitute, but instead of having sex, his immaturities and need for a friendship had him ask, “Don’t you feel like talking for a while?” (124) The misfortune continued as he was rejected on a drink with his taxi driver. And also, when he met three women in a bar and had no luck striking up a conversation with them as they continuously ignored him. On Kwajalein, Holden would fit in as a Kwaj kid because he would meet people that would love to construct a sturdy relationship with him. Kids on Kwaj love to meet new people and create new friendships with everyone. When kids hear of news that a new kid is coming, they like to find out as much information as possible and greet them at the airport. Kwaj kids like to be outgoing and hangout with big groups of people at a time. They invite new kids and have a big beach day or cookout. Throughout the year the kids at school plan a school-wide cookout full of food and fun. With all of the activities and outgoing personalities of Kwaj kids, I think Holden would be pulled out of his shell to enjoy all the new friendships brought upon

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