Literary Analysis Essay On The Catcher In The Rye
While some members of society desire to isolate themselves from the impurities and imperfections that plague the world around them, achieving the societal utopia of truth and perfection is one that stands in contradistinction to the definition of humanity itself. In J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, we are situated inside the mind of Holden Caulfield, a teen who has trouble fitting into the apparent “phony” norms and contours that he is expected to assimilate into. In other words, Holden Caulfield is rightfully marked as a deviant misfit, often alienating himself from the ever changing world around him. In my opinion, it would be of value to look away from society as a whole and begin to problematize the totalizing nature of Holden’s rationality. Throughout the novel and society, the evidence to support my viewpoint is ubiquitous. Consider the case of …show more content…
Holden himself begins to attest to this himself subconsciously when his sister, Phoebe, questions Holden’s ability to mature and fit into society. When asked about his aspirations for the future, Holden says “...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.” (Salinger 22.51-55). Holden’s desire to catch kids falling off the cliff is symbolic of his drive to remain innocent and prevent the world around him from falling off the cliff and
How Does Holden Change Throughout The Catcher In The Rye
536 Words | 3 PagesFrom the very beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is disgusted with the world and his attitude towards it wasn’t good. He always says how it was full of phonies and how evil and corrupt it was. He often thinks about shutting himself out of society. However, by the end he realizes he must accept he can’t change the way the world works, and that he must find his place in it.
Holden Caulfield Thesis
236 Words | 1 PagesJ.D. Salinger depicts his character, Holden Caulfield, as a young man with strong moral convictions. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden constantly comes face to face with situations that test the moral fiber of his character. Each time a challenge presents itself, he does what he feels to be decent and right. His respect for women and intimate relationships comes to light when he confronts his roommate, Stradlater, for disrespecting Jane, Stradlater 's date and Holden 's friend (56-59). He visits his sick professor because he respects the professor’s loyalty to his students (6).
What Are The Effects Of Holden Dying
851 Words | 4 PagesWhen Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to be when he is older, he says, “Thousands of little kids... 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 don’t look where they’re going…I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.” (173) Holden states that he wants to stand in the rye, and catch kids all day if they happen to run over the cliff. Keeping children sae is very important to him because he does not want to experience the death of a young child again, since it will bring back the sadness of Allie dying. Furthermore, the two people closest to Holden are both children, Phoebe and the late Allie.
Examples Of Grief In Catcher In The Rye
937 Words | 4 Pages“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. (Salinger, 224)” This quote is very see things to leave out of your paper handout significant in his grieving process because it deals with Holden's relationship with his brother and the denial of him growing up. Past the cliff refers the adult world and this means he wants to “catch” all the kids from growing up.
What Is The Significance Of Holden's Loss Of Youth
283 Words | 2 PagesSalinger draws Holden into the idea of becoming a catcher in the rye, "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..." Salinger utilizes the poem and Holden's idea of a "catcher in the rye" to symbolize Holden's desire to protect kids from entering adulthood. This aspiration mimics that of Salinger's, who wished to preserve his generation's innocence after witnessing their
Holden Caulfield Character Analysis
779 Words | 4 PagesHolden embodies a child who has problems that he feels only he experiences. He fills and brings to life a stereotypical rich kid, who has all sorts of opportunity given to him, but is too occupied with his own problems. Many teenagers could never imagine the prospect of having the wealth of Holden’s family, much less relate to any of the emotional problems that Holden may
Essay On The Catcher In The Rye
658 Words | 3 PagesHolden confides in Phoebe his dream occupation: “I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all... that's the only thing I'd really like to be” (Salinger 191). The significance of this quote is that when asked what he would like to be, Holden does not name a profession, but a catcher in the rye. Instead of working at a real job, he wants to save children from losing their innocence and having to deal with adult responsibilities. Holden exemplifies being a catcher in the rye when he does not sleep with Sunny. When Sunny takes off her coat, Holden notices she is wearing a green dress, and he thinks nothing of it until she takes the dress off.
Analysis Of Catcher In The Rye
4785 Words | 20 PagesCatcher In The Rye:Chapter 1: Significant Passage: “He just got a Jaguar. One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour. It cost him damn near four thousand bucks.” Speaker: Holden Caulfield Audience: the reader
Catcher In The Rye Narrative Essay
849 Words | 4 PagesI wake to the now familiar smell of smoke, and the blaring ring of sirens. I sit up to see my mother crouched on the floor, cooking breakfast. During breakfast, my mother and I reminisce of our old life, the life we had before Syria was at war. I dream of our house, and our lush, beautiful garden. I remember how the sweet fruit trees filled the air with a beautiful fragrance.
Examples Of Phonies In Catcher In The Rye
1475 Words | 6 PagesBy becoming the catcher in the rye, it allows him to have an excuse for not actually fighting phonies because he needs to protect kids. Holden believes that he is fighting the phony world by protecting kids from falling off this cliff which he mentions when Phoebe is telling him about being wrong. He pictures “little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around-nobody big” except for Holden who is “standing on the edge of some crazy cliff” and if the kids are not looking where they are going; Holden has to “come out from somewhere and catch them” (224, 225). Being the catcher in the rye metaphorically means that there is a very steep cliff, and at the top of the cliff, there are children playing around while Holden is at the edge of the cliff protecting them from not falling down.
Catcher In The Rye Holden's Journey Analysis
656 Words | 3 PagesHolden says that all he want to do is be the catcher in the rye protecting children from falling. The whole novel Holden makes observation around him that are taking away from children's innocence. This is what upsets him the most the fact that everyone will eventually have to grow up. While he is trying to go get Phoebe he is reminded this in the following quote. “I went down by a different staircase, and I saw another "Fuck you" on the wall.
Holden Caulfield Personal Response
651 Words | 3 PagesREVIEW 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.
Theme Of Maturity In Catcher In The Rye
837 Words | 4 PagesHolden 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
Catcher In The Rye Analysis
1485 Words | 6 PagesThe novel, “Catcher in the Rye”, was written by J.D. Salinger. Even though he wrote numerous novels, people regard this one as one of his best. The main character Holden Caulfield throughout the plot is on a progression of heading to ultimately a mental breakdown. Which is inferred more as the novel continues. Holden’s peregrination to a mental breakdown conveys how the moral ideals that are taught to kids become lost to the hypocrisy of adulthood by the deterioration of innocence and the artificial facade of society.
Theme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye
1851 Words | 8 PagesMany people harbour a desire to accomplish something specific in life. Sometimes this desire stems from the background of a person, and sometimes desires are developed over time and with age. “The Catcher in the Rye” narrated by Holden Caulfield, who is an overly disturbed teenager, is about the change from childhood to adulthood. Holden, like many, has a burning desire to protect the innocence of children; this desire is tied to the themes of relationships, intimacy and sexuality which are carried throughout the novel. In a stroke of genius, the author, J.D. Salinger, sums up this desire in the title, which is taken from a poem by Robert Burns: Comin ' thro ' the Rye ( 1796).
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