Maturity In JD Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye
In JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, a teenage boy, struggles with the idea of maturity and growing up. The novel chronicles Holden’s journey to find what he should do with his life after being kicked out of school. Being both confused and lost, Holden encounters many moments where he doesn’t know where to go or what to do next. To help him make the right decision, Holden considers the ducks he sees in Central Park. These ducks are an important symbol used throughout the book to describe Holden’s journey toward maturity. Throughout the novel, Holden ponders whether the ducks are taken away to a zoo to be cared for when the pond in Central Park freezes over or if they are left to fly away and fend for themselves. Holden …show more content…
He is extremely ambitious and has a desire to improve his life. Holden is a confused young man because he is stuck between childhood and adulthood, and he struggles with isolation and loneliness throughout the whole story, contributing to his continuous depression. One instance in which Holden tries to fill his lonely life is when he makes conversation with Ernest Morrow’s mother. Ernest is a schoolmate of Holden’s in which he considers him “the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey…” (54). To avoid being lonely for the rest of the trip, Holden makes conversation with Ernest’s mother and gives generous compliments about her son. Then he starts “chucking the old crap around,” and he keeps Mrs. Morrow entertained with the intriguing facts about her son (56). However, Holden also has a sexual attraction to Mrs. Morrow which made the conversation a lot easier to bear. Holden feels the effects of isolation another time when he takes a cab and converses with the driver. Holden talks about how quiet and lonely the cab and New York is late in the night. Then he begins talking to the driver about the Central Park ducks to break the looming silence. Before Holden reaches his destination he asks his driver, Horwitz, if wants to get a drink at the bar. This moment really stood out to me that Holden was on the verge of childhood and adulthood, but it also served as a basis that Holden wants to drown his loneliness in
Analyzing The Conscious Mind Of Holden Caulfield
808 Words | 4 PagesThe loss of his older brother and the absent parents have really affected Holden’s behavior. He lives a life without any care but with exception of younger children. Holden has a fascination with younger children and their innocence possibly because he wasn’t able to enjoy his adolescent years and nor did his brother. Holden mentions “‘Every time I'd get to the end of a block I'd make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I'd say to him, "Allie, don't let me disappear.
Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And It's Kind Of A Funny Story
1077 Words | 5 PagesCraig and Holden similarly struggle with depression and can create a deep connection with the reader. Overwhelmed by the world, these characters become unable to remain content with their lives. It is this that ultimately makes them relatable characters as they fight an internal conflict throughout the story. Holden’s struggle with transitioning into adulthood and Craig’s undeniable pressure from his surrounding circle are topics that many teenagers can identify with. When Holden is in central park and passes by a lagoon, he says, "I was wondering if it would be frozen over when I got home, and if it was, where did the ducks go.
How Does Holden Mature In Catcher In The Rye
917 Words | 4 PagesIts kind of like Holden sees himself in the ducks. The ducks “disappear” or “run away” from the cold ice because they can’t handle it. While Holden is “disappearing” or “running away” from the people around him. Maybe knowing if the ducks don’t disappear it will keep Holden from not
How And When Does Holden Grow In Catcher In The Rye
1224 Words | 5 PagesWhen 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?
Examples Of Thematic Essay On The Catcher In The Rye
1107 Words | 5 PagesLater on into the novel Holden is talking to Ernie Morrow’s mother, a boy who goes to Pencey. He sees her on a train when he is going to New York City and
Catcher In The Rye Rite Of Passage Analysis
1142 Words | 5 PagesThe beginning of Holden’s journey starts with the innocence and naivety of childhood. Childhood is the stage that ignorance is bliss with no care in the world. Holden goes to a prestigious boarding school for boys and he believes that everyone in that school is a phony in some way. Holden is an observant character as he stays in the background, but he can also cause the most trouble. Like a child, he asks many questions and he is very curious to the point that he can be annoying.
Holden Caulfield Rejection
1158 Words | 5 PagesThis leaves Holden feeling unwanted and out of place. He feels a wave of depression and loneliness wash over him that is so strong that it drives him to leave Pencey all together and take to the streets of New York to try to mend his broken
Catcher In The Rye Rhetorical Analysis Essay
652 Words | 3 PagesWhile most people would relish contently in their childhood memories, Holden becomes agitated when he enters Central Park, searching restlessly for the duck pond. After stumbling blindly through the increasingly “darker and darker and spookier and spookier” (170) park, Holden finds the pond “partly frozen and partly not frozen.” (171). The significance of the park’s aura of eeriness and the half frozen pond in relation to Holden’s mood is that the increasingly darkening park can be seen as Holden’s darkening thoughts of death and drawn out speculation about what would happen if he caught pneumonia and died; it also connects to a larger metaphor that the pond represents Holden’s view of the world, the half frozen, half not frozen, state of the pond resembles Holden’s transition from a teenager to an adult, and the ducks are symbolically associate with rebirth and
Catcher In The Rye Allie's Mitt Analysis
779 Words | 4 PagesFurthermore, Holden starts to hate all the adults or loses faith in them, calls them phony. Holden has a second thought of becoming an adult he loses hope in his future and it seems to him nothing in the world matters to him anymore. We can see that throughout the book. He smokes, gets drunk, and does daring acts like getting a prostitute in his room. He also tries to escape all this guilt and grief by wasting time with unnecessary people he calls phony.
How Does Holden Caulfield Change Throughout The Novel
693 Words | 3 PagesCatcher in the Rye In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the narrator and protagonist Holden Caulfield a sixteen year old junior undergoes a series of changes. Holden learns multiple life changing lessons; one of them is you must grow up. In the beginning of the novel, Holden starts out as “that kid”; the one with the parents who expect him to get into an ivy league school, and end up with a kid with no intentions of doing so. At the beginning of the book it is very apparent that Holden lacks motivation; he also has hit rock bottom.
Catcher In The Rye Rhetorical Analysis
828 Words | 4 PagesAs the book starts Holden describes his childhood and how he has been kicked out of several school and once more again from his currently school, giving a sense of irresponsibility and no care in the world. Holden later on mentioned slowly the loss of his brother due to leukemia and how he reacted outrageously by breaking the windows of his garage home. As a reader one would view that behavior as abnormal, but Peter Shaw descried it as a normal behavior for a fictional character in the 1950s and by mentioning that Holden, “is presenting in a somewhat different manner than are the sentimentalized young people in other novels if his period” (par. 3), admitting that Holden was somewhat of an outcast of a character even for its time he is still considered normal. Shaw also challenged the reader’s view of Holden by emphasizing that Holden is not a real person, but a fiction character developed in the 1950s and in fact a mad psychological character is normal and made the reading rather more interesting and acceptable during that time. As readers someone may come across as understanding Holden’s behavior due to a loss and everyone mourns differently and as Shaw said, “ the one period of life in which abnormal behavior is common rather than exceptional” (par.
Catcher In The Rye Holden's Journey Analysis
656 Words | 3 PagesAlthough others may say that Holden was successful on his journey, saying that he grew up he. Holden showed lots of immaturity throughout the novel and was the biggest phony of all.. Holden’s attitude throughout the novel was very immature and made constant poor decisions. While he was still at Pencey he put in no effort and had the attitude that nothing mattered. As he moves on from Pencey and goes to New York, he shows no care for anything as he blows lots of his money and doesn’t even take care of himself. He doesn’t clean himself up or get any sleep because of his attitude towards life.
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
Holden's Use Of Materialism In Catcher In The Rye
1695 Words | 7 PagesAttending school in the 1950s, Holden is a victim of a conformist American society. In a historical context, postwar America is characterized by a booming economy, industrialization and the creation of uniform suburban communities throughout the country. There was also a call for a united America, with the tensions of the Cold War taking hold and a need to fight communism. This attitude of uniformity could be seen in the American education system at the same time, where students were expected to fit the mould of the ideal American child. This child was idealized as being obedient, respectful and subordinate to their superiors.
Coming Of Age Symbolism In Catcher In The Rye
464 Words | 2 PagesJ.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is considered a coming of age novel. Throughout the novel, Holden, a confused teenage boy, matures and understands more about himself. Salinger conveys Holden’s increasing levels of maturity by using a variety of symbols. The ducks in central park, the red hunting hat, and the carousel ring symbolize the the development of Holden’s adulthood.
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