1. Title- The title refers to the misinterpretation by Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the story, of the poem “Comin’ Thro’ the Rye”. Holden Caulfield mistakes the line “if a body meet a body” to his understanding as “if a body catch a body”. Caulfield pictures children playing in a rye field near a cliff and his dream job would be catching them before they fall off.
2. Time Period- The novel is set in the early 1950s just after World War II had concluded, depicting a state of social unrest. At that time in US history, social codes and conducts pressured teenage conformity that Holden Caulfield didn’t want to fit into.
3. Purpose- The purpose is e. from the AP Survival Packet, which states “Authors’ thinking often runs counter to their own cultural training”. A biography of J.D. Salinger stated that he
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Universal Truth- the universal truth was a quote by Mr. Antolini saying “The mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one” (Chapter 24 page 244). This quote means that it could be easier to run away from trials, but to truly overcome a tough circumstance hard work and sacrifice needs to be given. For Holden to show he has matured as a man he needs to face his battles with full intent.
7. Symbol- Holden’s red hunting hat is a symbol of Holden’s uniqueness and difference from the others in the book. It is also the same color as his sister Phoebe’s hair and his friend Allie’s hair which could help connect the important people in his life. Holden never wears the hat when he is around people he knows giving the reader insight that when he wears the hat he feels the need for his isolation.
8. Imagery- Salinger uses visual imagery to paint a picture in the reader’s mind of each moment in Holden’s life. Since the story is in perspective of Holden himself, it only makes sense that the narrator is trying to explain each detail of every event that crossed his
Throughout the Catcher and the Rye, the story follows the main character, Holden, after his dismissal from Pencey Prep, journeying through New York City, and along the way giving a biased narrative. As the story goes on, Holden talks about his brother, Allie, who died of leukemia, his sex drive, his childhood friend Jane, and his love for his little sister, Phoebe. In Catcher and the Rye, Salinger portrays that inner needs and wants can affect people in negative ways, such as holding onto the past (Body 1), and making poor, impulsive decisions (Body 2). Holden, in the story, is known to be quick to judge people, especially when it happens to coincide with his past.
This obsession causes him to alienate himself from the world around him for fear of any alteration to his daily life and strays from ideas of love, terrified of losing those close to him. This belief likely originates from the passing of his brother, Allie. As a matter of fact, to take out frustrations caused by Allie’s death, he decides to shatter all the windows in the garage to the point of losing the capacity to fully create a fist. As a result, it the event gives a sensitivity to reality; creating a belief that the world was the cause of his downfall. In Salinger Seems to Agree With Holden by Lawrence Jay Dessner, he states, “Holden wants a guarantee of the purity of human motive.”
Theme: Individuality 1. “... I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.”
B. Holden’s hat’s color represents his purity and innocence. The color of his hat, red, is the same as the color of Allie and Phoebe’s hair. III. Painfulness of growing up A. Throughout the book, the Catcher in the Rye, Holden
Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short, stems from many different events that has impacted a person's life. In the The Catcher in the Rye, By J.D. Salinger, the main character is a troublesome teen boy named Holden Caulfield. He tells the story in a rehab where he has been sent to get therapeutic help. We learn early on that Holden cares very little about things and doesn’t apply himself, which is why he gets kicked out of his private school. From the way he presents himself I gathered that something terrible must have happened to him, especially since he will not talk about his early childhood.
Salinger is demonstrating in this phrase the fact that Holden admires his
In „The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Sallinger, the title of the book has a great meaning, while also being a very important symbol, that helps to understand Holden Caulfield, the main character of the book. The title is taken from a song „Comin’ Thro’ the Rye ”, that Holden refers to while thinking about his future dream job. The song, „Comin’ Thro’ the Rye ” is first brought up, when Holden remembers its lyrics that he misheard a long time ago, which was what he based his fantasy, of catching little children from falling from a ciff, -on. "I thought it was 'If a body catch a body, '" I said.
Salinger used many literary techniques in order to tell his story. The most prominent literary device is the allusion in the title. The title “The Catcher in the Rye” is an allusion to the poem, of the same name by Robert Burns and the first verse which Holden, upon hearing a little boy sing it, thinks is “if a body catch a body coming through the rye” (Salinger 117). This later on points to the theme of the novel and how Holden wants to be the Catcher in the Rye, preventing other children from falling down the cliff and facing adulthood. The second literary technique is the flashback.
He sees himself as the useless member of the family, and states that he’s “the only dumb one in the family” (67). The most heartbreaking cause of Holden’s loneliness is the death of his young brother, Allie, to leukemia. The brothers’ connection is shown through the symbol of Allie’s red hair, which Holden could have a “hunch” for even if Allie was sitting “a hundred and fifty yards” away (38). The cut of a bond this deep devastates Holden. Unfortunately, because of his inactive parents, he deals with it through anger and isolation that is symbolized by the red hunting hat he wears.
The Catcher in the Rye In the novel The Catcher in the Rye J.D Salinger writes about a teenager struggling to find his place within the existence of the reality of others. Salinger creates shocking events that lay out the foundation of the the main character Holden Caulfield’s life in the novel. Salinger uses Holden’s characteristics throughout the novel such as Holden’s stubbornness to establish a much bigger theme in the book along with many other symbols.
REVIEW INSTRUCTIONS: YOU NEED TO COPY AND PASTE THE QUOATION WITH YOUR RESPONSE. (-) 4. In J.D. Salinger 's novel "Catcher in the Rye", the protagonist Holden Caulfield says these lines to his younger sister Phoebe when she questions him on the topic of his likes and what he wishes to do when he is an adult. Holden ideally, but unrealistically states that he wants to be "the catcher in the rye and all", a reliable figure to "catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff. " Holden describes his desire to be someone constantly watching over children and his way of catching them is to keep them save from any physical danger as they are playing baseball and having fun.
“The mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” Mr.Antolini gives that advice to Holden hoping it would change the mindset about life to Holden. The quote has a purpose to portray that a mature man will understand that he can benefit a cause by being alive and living his life for the cause whereas the immature man dies for a cause and the death wont benefit the cause. People can do more by staying alive than being dead.
At the start of the novel, Holden uses his hunting cap to protect himself from both the phonies and pain. Holden then uses his cap as a way to distance himself from other people since he struggles to make connections as he feels that no one else is able to relate or understand him. After he goes back home and reconnects with Phoebe, Holden no longer feels a need for the hat to protect him. In the short time of just three days, Holden goes from isolating himself from others to reconnecting with Phoebe, which brings him a bit of joy. Throughout the many preparatory boarding schools Holden flunked out of, he has had no one be able to understand his thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
The 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!"
The story is told over three day period as Holden wonders the streets New York avoiding going home to tell his parents he has been kicked out of school. He later visits his old teacher, Mr Spencer, who tries to get him in order to no avail. His rebellious spirit leads him to wander alone in New York. Holden is a personification of Camus definition of a rebel; he turning around his hunting hat is a symbolical gesture of refusal to submit to societal values and norms. His dislike for phony’s, a