Moreover, Holden here representing the motif of alienation reveals how humanity is in need to exploit their time with people and express even if they are a closed person, like Holden who is against the world. Holden was begging to release his emotions, “ When I finally got down off the radiator and went out to the hat-check room, I was crying and all. I don't know why, but I was. I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome” (Salinger). The fact that Holden is aware that he has no one make him depress , this was a cry for help for Holden.
J. D Salinger´s masterfully created coming-of-age novel,” A Catcher in the Rye " takes place on Pencey Prep School and New York City during the early 1950´s, when the world is just recovering from the physical and psychological damage WWII caused. Holden Caulfield, a failed student at every school he attends, is still trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. Holden is not only the main character, but he is also the narrator of the story. “A Catcher in the Rye” is not only a timeless classic that will live forever in the memories of whoever reads it, but it is also an incredible representation of the hardships of a common American teenager, an asset that few novels can brag about possessing.
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.
He is frightened by the idea of losing his innocence in exchange for adulthood and wonders what will happen to him. Throughout the novel he uses motifs to describe his fear and anger of this change. The motifs he uses are the museum, the cliff and the ducks. Holden is terrified of change. In the book he tries to become a catcher in the rye who protects innocent people from the corrupt adult world.
Holden seems to be ostracised and victimized from the world around him. Interactions with others confuse and overwhelm him, so Holden is usually isolated. Holden is in this weird situation where he desires companionships or to interact with others but he ends up backing out. The reason behind his alienation could be the fact that others alienate him, he alienates himself, or both for that matter. In chapter twenty, he
He cannot do either of these things because of his internal battle. The novel can be considered a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age novel where the protagonist matures Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye expresses the hardships of growing up through the symbolism of Jane Gallagher, Allie’s baseball glove and the Catcher in the Rye poem. Holden Caulfield calls many people
What would be different if Salinger didn’t use so much humor to help make light of Holden’s situation? Holden was depressed the whole entire novel. Women kept rejecting him, nobody respects him, people take advantage of him, his best friend is his sister, and his crush is someone who he wants to talk to all the time but won’t because of the fear of rejection. He also gets really depressed when he sees something sad. “That’s what I liked about those nuns.
The use of metaphor ‘you felt you were disappearing every time you crossed a road’ reflects his feelings of isolation and inability to connect with people. It could also show how he feels insignificant since he is unable to meet his family and class expectations by consistently failing in school. Holden comes from a middle class American family in the 1950s where parents often worked exceptionally hard to earn money for the family in order to send children to high school and good colleges. The lack of care and comfort from his parents could be a reason why Holden fails to fit in with society as he has not been exposed to a warm and loving family life during childhood. His feelings of loneliness and isolation are transformed into cynicism as he is extremely judgmental towards everything and the world around him.
The “Catcher in the Rye” is a novel written by J.D Salinger and focused around the main character Holden Caulfield’s life. Holden Caulfield is a teenage boy who is suffering with many problems within him. When he was 13, his younger brother Allie passed away, which took a great toll in his life. Holden shows many signs of developing the disorder PTSD. PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and its affects Holden throughout the entire book.
While Holden believes that everything around him are wicked and phony, there is part of him trying to protect the innocence of those not corrupted by such phoniness. Although Holden wants to protect and save the innocence of children, can he really do so if cannot protect himself and trust those around him. Though Holden believes the world around him is phony and wicked, and while he wants to be the catcher in the rye, catching those who will fall over cliff; Holden does not only want to save those children but he also wants to save himself. Holden displays his desire to be the catcher in the rye by expressing his wish to protect the kids from falling off the cliff. Throughout the novel, Holden often states that everything around him seems to be phony; however, there is one thing in which Holden believes is real, and that is the children he encounters in the novel.