Three seconds remain in the tied basketball game. The point guard shoots and the ball goes in right before the buzzer sounds off. I bet for a long time, that player worked hard in the gym to practice and perfect his shooting for game time situations like that. It just goes to show that nothing great can ever be achieved without hard work. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In The Rye, however, does not quite understand this saying. In the story, Holden does not apply himself to his education at Pencey Prep, which results in his expulsion from school. Throughout the story, Holden, as well as a few other characters, represent the terms expressed in Freud’s Theory of Personality known as the Id, Superego, and Ego. According to Freud, the Id operates …show more content…
The Ego makes the decisions and compromises between the Id and Superego. Jane Gallagher, Holden’s old companion, and Sunny, the prostitute, make a good representation of the Ego. While staying at the hotel, Holden thinks about the times he spent with Jane and how they got close to one another. He also remembers a time when they were alone on her porch and they kissed. Jane portrays the Ego here because Holden decides not to make any further advances towards her. He respected her and did not want to make her feel anymore uncomfortable. Meanwhile, during his stay at the hotel, Holden requests a prostitute, Sunny, to come to his room. Sunny also serves as the Ego because when she attempts to seduce him, he gets tense and decides to make conversation with her instead. After she gets annoyed and decides to leave, Holden pays her anyway. In conclusion, Holden, as well as a few other characters, from The Catcher In The Rye represent the terms expressed in Freud’s Theory of Personality known as the Id, Superego, and Ego. Looking back on the situations involving Holden, he most definitely has trouble fitting into society. We should never expect affairs to go easy for us without putting in the work required. Sometimes it is okay to turn rebellious in order to get a point across, but sooner or later, we just have to persevere and obey
Holden represents the typical teenager. He demands his independence and refuses to view himself as anything but invincible. In his mind, he has life figured out and everyone around him is simply stupid. He fails out of multiple schools and cannot manage to find friends because he is looking for his environment to cater to him. He does not want to put in the time or effort required to succeed.
Along his journey Holden is looking for someone that is truly authentic, not a phony like everyone else. Holden ultimately
He talks quite a bit about sex, but his virginity is the last existing innocence to him. Holden pays for a prostitute to have sex with, but he cannot go through with it. He is very hesitant about losing his innocence. Holden wants to be “the catcher in the rye” (191) and save all the innocence in the world. He believes that that is what he wants to do in the future as he tells his little sister, Phoebe.
These works decribe stories of rebellious tennagers and reveal that in order for a person to identify their true-self, he/she must go through a series of rebellious acts. Holden Caulfield, the main character in the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” realizes his true-self by performing rebellious acts against his parents and society. Holden is kicked out of Pencey Prep because he is failing three of his four subjects. In the book Holden says, “ I knew I wasn’t coming back to Pencey. They kicked me out… I was flunking four subjects and not
From the outset, I have to say that “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger has been one of the most important and influential pieces of literature I have ever read. At its core, the book is a superb coming of age novel which discusses several extremely powerful themes such as the difficulties of growing up, teenage angst and alienation and the superficiality, hypocrisy and pretension of the adult world. These themes resonated deeply with me and were portrayed excellently through the use of powerful symbolism and the creation of highly relatable and likable characters. One such character is Holden Caulfield whom the story both revolves around and is narrated by.
The only motivator that Holden has to continue living is his younger sister, Phoebe, who is extraordinarily intelligent for her age. After he gets kicked out of Pencey, Holden is lost in life. He speaks to many people, seeking advice and comfort, but they are not able to help him find a human connection. Holden’s depression increases throughout the novel, almost to the point of suicide. He criticizes many people and ideas, labeling them as ‘phony’.
Holden’s Struggle To Find Himself: Throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to find himself and who he truly is in order to be happy. His struggles relate to many things that he does or say in particular. Holden lacks with a social status with women and his family, whether it’s a relationship or being antisocial. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the complexities and struggles involved with both physical and emotional relationships.
Holden is a very complex character. He has a very angsty, angry, and escapist personality. He classes most other people as "phonies" yet craves closeness with another person. Instead of facing his problems, he prefers to run away from them. The major conflict is within Holden’s psyche.
Although Holden fails and can't seem to fit in right, he does try and want to fit into society. In the famous controversial novel by J.D. Salinger, titled “The CATCHER in The RYE” Holden tries to fit into Society by acting or saying what he thinks is right, and shows that he wants and has emotions. In the story, Salinger wrote, “I know he does, I said. Then I started shooting the old crap around a little bit.
They quickly realized that Holden did not think it was funny or a joke. He perceives himself as the older man by kissing one girls on the forehead. When he does that she thinks it is weird and strange because she is much older than him. Again Holden is trying to connect but at times when it is not appropriate at the wrong times. This leaves Holden very sad and lonely.
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.
Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the
In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, the protagonist Holden Caulfield demonstrates his unusual behaviour. The narrator introduces the story of an emotionally damaged teenager whose suspicions and personal issues prevent him from being “normal” in a society full of phonies that he does not seem to get along with. It becomes clear that Holden has clouded judgement as he rides an emotional rollercoaster of mood swings with the people he likes, and dislikes. Therefore, it becomes obvious that some of his personal flaws include his distrust, depression, and unreasonable attitudes and thoughts are based on his underlying emotional problems. Holden Caulfield has a variety psychological problems, such as his skepticism, depressive behaviour, and
In particular, an instance of Holden’s willingness to die for a noble cause rather than living is his encounter at the Edmont Hotel with Maurice and Sunny, the prostitute who he doesn’t even have sex with. When Holden is confronted by the duo to steal five dollars from him, he speaks out and refuses to pay. His efforts were to no avail though, as he not only gets punched but also his money taken away from him. After pretending to be shot, he finally reveals what he felt like doing, which “…was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window.”
Purpose: To show how a small change in choice could affect holden’s life The Catcher in the Rye is about Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy from New York. The novel starts with Holden, writing in his book, hinting that he is in some sort of mental facility .Even though he comes from a wealthy family,because of his loss of interest in studies,and low grades, he gets expelled from all schools he has studied in .Holden leaves his final school, Pency Prep and decides that he will stay in New York City until his parents learn of his expulsion and “cool down” .Most of the novel is dedicated to Holden’s time in the city, Holden lives in a hotel room for a few days during his stay .Holden then starts meeting with people that he used know, some strangers and goes to places with. From his conversations, he