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Comparing The Catcher And The Rye, By J. D. Salinger

525 Words3 Pages

The novel The Catcher and the Rye by , J.D. Salinger follows the trials of a mentally ill teen on the run from his school in an attempt to reconcile his life. Holden wants to protect all those who are innocent, but due to his disgust for the phoniness of the world, this leads him to disengage from society. Isolation causes Holden tremendous distress leading to severe depression. The author uses ducks to symbolise innocence in the novel; along with Holden’s obligation to save all things pure due to the guilt he bears in not being able to save his brother from leukemia. This guides the reader through Holden’s journey with the hope that he will be capable to adapt to the changes in his life and obtain emotional stability. Holden 's fixation for innocent beings prompts him to constantly think about their welfare, and how he can protect from them from harm by becoming a catcher in the rye. These thoughts subconsciously direct Holden 's attention away from his own …show more content…

Since Holden did not properly deal with the death of his brother, he never accepts the changes this brought to his life, as he still finds himself stuck in the denial phase of grief. While in New York, he finds himself riding in a cab, and in an attempt to reach out to someone, “[he] thought of something, by any chance do you know where they go, the ducks”(Pg. 67). When Holden ask his cab driver about the ducks; he is relating this question towards himself to find out what is wrong with him. When the ducks environment changes to winter, they learn to adapt, by moving west to survive. Contrary to Holden who tries to alter his own environment to his liking, by isolating himself from society, but this only leads Holden into forming depression. Due to Holden’s lack of knowledge of social interaction, “[he] began crying and all, [he guessed] it was because [he]was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome”(pg. 169). Holden 's resentfulness to adapt to change and engage in society causes his depression consume

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In the Catcher in the Rye, a young boy named Holden Caulfield gets kicked out of Pencey Prep School. Before heading home to tell his parents about getting kicked out of school, he recounts many adventures in New York City. Three objects or symbols are important to Holden. The first symbol is Holden’s red hunting hat. Second are the ducks at the lake, which is a symbol that symbolizes his struggle with change.

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Catcher In The Rye Dialectical Journal Essay

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2.Holden symbolism of him and the fish/ducks shows his impatience. Holden’s conversation begins when he asks the taxi driver about ducks and the fish. "If you was a fish, Mother Nature 'd take care of you , wouldn 't Right? You don 't think them fish just die when it gets to be winter, do ya?"(Salinger 82)Holden, who becomes anxious about everything in his life and seeks to avoid difficulty, is like a duck, who takes off when the going gets rough.

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How And When Does Holden Grow In Catcher In The Rye

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When the weather turns cold, we all know, birds fly south for the winter. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden brings up the question about where the ducks go when the lagoon in Central Park freezes many times during the course of the first 14 chapters. I think there is a significance in that. Why and when does Holden bring up the ducks? What do the ducks and the frozen pond symbolize and why are they significant enough to take into account?

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1145 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel The Catcher in The Rye by J.D Salinger the central character Holden Caulfield portrays some very concerning behavior. At only sixteen years old, Holden has experienced many adult like situations. After readers finish this book, it is clear to all that Holden suffers a form of Depression. Depression is defined as a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal;sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason. Always being surrounded by phonies, loss of a sibling and extreme loneliness are factors that lead Holden Caulfield down the deep dark tunnel that is depression.

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577 Words | 3 Pages

In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the tragic events in Holden’s life and his loss of innocence has led him to become a victim. To begin with, Holden has lost many people throughout his life. When Holden’s brother died he had a mental breakdown:“I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage”(Salinger 50). Holden was going through a formative period in his life where any Negative experience, let alone the death of a close family member, could affect him greatly;

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944 Words | 4 Pages

The novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, contains many complex symbols, many of which are interconnected. The symbols in the novel are a way for Holden to express sensitive topics indirectly, a way to attempt to be himself, and a way to give insight into how he really feels. The symbols in the novel allow us to better understand Holden in a manner that he, the narrator, does not want to openly confess. The ducks in the lagoon symbolize burdens in Holden’s life.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

In Holden’s mind becoming “the catcher in the rye “means that he can still catch Allie from falling off the cliff. This is relevant to Holden’s depression because everything around him is telling him to grow up but instead he runs away from it in fear that is will pull him farther apart from his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden is on the edge of becoming an adult which creates more pressure and leads him to

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When Holden gets older he wants to protect children, specifically he wants to protect his sister, and in order to he aspires to become a catcher in the rye. He wants to defend the virtues of children by being a catcher in the rye, and because of that it becomes one of the ways that Salinger demonstrates the effects of trauma.

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This book’s motif conclude is Frozen Images and Ducks, while Holden is frozen he is trying to find out what to do using the ducks motif. While Holden is frozen all over, he starts wondering, where do ducks go? If it gets all frozen all over, where do they go? If they can escape the frozen then maybe he can too, or at least that's what he thought. He takes a lot of walks

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Holden's Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

1230 Words | 5 Pages

Holden’s unusual fantasy metaphorically displays this desire to save children’s innocence on his quest, and literally displays his obsession with death and preventing it, as being the catcher in the rye would accomplish both goals. F. Literary Critics also note that Holden’s catcher in the rye job is a dream of his that he pretends to be a reality to hide the fact that he secretly knows that he is unable to save the innocence of all children. G. Authors James E. Miller jr, and Arthur Heiserman explicitly state that, “Holden delights in circles – a comforting bounded figure which yet connotes hopelessness” (Miller, Heiserman 496). H. The “comforting bounded figure” is Holden’s catcher fantasy that he literally uses to comfort himself against the reality he refuses to believe because it “connotes hopelessness” and he is still too innocent and naïve to accept that. I. Holden possesses this dream as a weak attempt to save the innocence of children and to avoid a hopeless reality of defeat he has yet to accept.

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923 Words | 4 Pages

We learn from Mr. Antolini in chapter twenty-four that the cause of Holden's depression as his lack of personal motivation and being able to view his own flaws. Holden has so much personal pride that he easily overlooks his own flaws but views the flaws in others to motivate himself. But anything from Holden’s perspective can seem depressing and

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1073 Words | 5 Pages

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1571 Words | 7 Pages

The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of Holden Caulfield who is a teenager growing up in the 1950’s in New York, has been expelled from school once again for poor achievement. In order to deal with his failure, Holden decides to leave school a few days before the end of the term and escapes to New York before returning to his home for the punishment. Written entirely in first person, the book describes Holden’s experiences and thoughts over the few days he takes for himself. During these few days Holden describes a nervous breakdown he experiences with symptoms of unexplained depression, impulsive spending, and unpredictable behavior. The strongest theme in The Catcher in the Rye is the main character Holden Caulfield 's fascination

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