Outline For The Catcher In The Rye

Salinger tries explaining the woes of growing up in Holden’s shoes as the poignant message of turbulence that comes with growing up still resonates

In The Catcher in the Rye J.D.Salinger depicts a vivid picture of a teenager standing at a crossroads of childhood and adulthood. The story is an overlapping of ideas when truth get mixed with lie,alienation absorbes a solitary teenager,insomnia veils reality with reminiscences and in the middle of it all stands Holden Caulfield,the main character of the book. He shares his perspective of things during few days while he roams the city of New York and looks for a person who would be able to get into his shoes at least for a second. This alienation leads Holden to sleep deprivation,panick attacks and constant state of depression.

Andrei Nastase Grade 9 English Ms. van Der Meer The Struggles of Holden - The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger The Catcher in The Rye is a great book in the American Literature written for teenagers. The author, J.D. Salinger displays the boring life of Holden who is surrounded by people he does not like and calls them phonies. It is written from Holden’s point of view and it is about a week full of conflicts which change his whole life from that point on.

The study includes the comparison between The Cather in the Rye and his previous Holden story called “I’m Crazy” (1946) in order to point out the unique structure of The Catcher in the Rye, which is consisted of two stories: one is a story which has the narrator who tells his story about him being crazy around the last Christmas and the other is a story conducted by the hero Holden around Christmas half a year before the narrator tells the story. In the third chapter, we shall analyze what characteristics the narrator Holden has. In the last chapter, despite of the fact that Holden has been called as an unreliable narrator, we shall understand that he is not perfectly fit as one when we apply the definition of an unreliable narrator by Wayne

Extended essay: Narrative and voice in The Catcher in the Rye One of the primary elements that shape a reader’s initial impression of a text is its narrative. Such a role is inflated in texts which are character-driven, as is with J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. This essay examines the unorthodox voice of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, specifically, how its stylistic features create incoherence and unreliability. The Catcher in the Rye is a first-person narrative told from Holden’s point of view.

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Mr. Antolini gives Holden Caulfield advice when he is at one of his lowest points. Already aware of Holden’s mental state and position on school, he quotes Wilhelm Stekel, a psychoanalyst, “The mark of the 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.” (Salinger 188). Although Holden fails to grasp Mr. Antolini’s message, the quote applies directly to his life because of his relationship with death as a result of his younger brother, Allie’s, death. Mr. Antolini uses this quote specifically because he wants Holden take a step back and try to live for a noble cause instead of resorting to death.

Maturation is the journey from childhood to adulthood, where time represents everyone’s unavoidable passageway to adulthood. An awakening in life can help one become aware of the world around him. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger, traces the process of maturation through the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Firstly, Holden commits many wrong doings and hurts others through his actions. Secondly, he encounters pain and anguish and thirdly, he is healed.

‘’I felt so lonesome, all of the sudden. I almost wished I was dead,’’ a quote from the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger which relates to how some teens felt at one point in their life. The novel was published to attract adult readers and has become popular for its themes, motifs, and connections an individual has with the main character, Holden Caulfield. We tend to feel a connection to the struggles of Holden Caulfield as we put ourselves in his shoes and see life through his perspective. The book is still pertinent due to Holden facing challenges such as loneliness and the inability to make a connection to make with a purpose thus the readers see themselves in Holden.

Growing up is a period of time full of problems such as losing friends, becoming more independent, the pressure of college, and building careers. As expressed in J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield and the many literary symbols associated with his story illustrate the depths and struggles of those problems. One of these symbols are the ducks that live in the lagoon at Central Park. The ducks, constantly swimming through his thoughts, represent his anxiety about children and what will happen to them after they grow up.

Every child wishes to grow up without fully comprehending that adulthood is a cruel reality. Once that child becomes an adult, he immediately wishes for a younger, simplified lifestyle. Through the use of symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger demonstrates the theme that a manipulative and corrupt adult world revokes childhood innocence. The red hunting hat symbolizes individuality that the adult world criticizes.

“New York's terrible when somebody laughs on the street very late at night. You can hear it for miles. It makes you feel so lonesome and depressed. I kept wishing I could go home and shoot the bull for a while with old Phoebe,” explains in The Catcher in the Rye, a novel written by J.D. Salinger, that Holden suffers with hopelessness when he hears other person’s happiness. (81) Holden starts off his story in a boarding school, the fourth one in insert amount of years, and is flunking out.

In J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, the coming of age archetype is inevitable, as the protagonist matures greatly throughout his physical journey. Holden starts off blinding his eyes to the difficulty of accepting the loss of his brother, Allie. More Often, dark thoughts spiral out of control in Holden's mind, constantly disrupting his state of tranquility, and giving way to his physical journey. Grief causes a sense of sadness, and the deterioration of Holden; however, it does not kill him, it only makes him stronger. This journey that Holden prolongs, explains a lot about himself, and the reason for each location he attends.

Plot advancement in The Catcher in the Rye is driven almost completely driven by the decisions of the protagonist, Holden Caulfield. The story is told in a stream of consciousness style, which lets us into his head and lets us witness Holden's thought process first hand. Holden is a character with a strong moral center, he never looks to wrong anybody, and that is what drives his decision making. A major idea in the novel that correlates with his moral center, is his need to protect the innocence of the young. Holden knows that the adult world is not as glamorous and great as it might have seemed at first, and he strives to protect children such as his younger sister and deceased younger brother from what he couldn’t avoid himself.

The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood exists as a complex path, which often uncovers questions that cannot be answered. J.D. Salinger explores Holden’s transition into adult life and how he copes with modern society’s cruel and unforgiving face. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s traumatic experiences directly explains his immaturity and unhealthy obsession over the preservation of the fragile childhood state; although some instances highlighting Holden’s maturity may suggest otherwise, flashes of these instances do not outweigh his immature ideology and opinions. Holden’s dysfunctional family life stemming from the death of his brother Allie and his inferiority complex clearly explains Holden’s unhealthy obsession

“The Catcher in the Rye” J.D Salinger In the book “the Catcher in the Rye”, Holden Caulfield demonstrates what a rebellion teenager is. At a young age when his parents contemplate Holden being psychoanalyzed, when he loses his temper on people, and all his lies. Rebellion back in 1950 compared to now is different for so many reason from, things that would not be considered as bad as they would be back then and things are bad now that you could get away with back in 1950.