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. Holden misses
He is mentally ill and does not want to talk to either of his parents or anyone his age. He only wants to talk to his little sister who is 11 years old. This is because she is still young yet she is mature for her age. The Catcher in the Rye can be read as a ‘coming of age’ story. Holden’s character changes or matures during the course of the novel by seeing who he likes to be around, how he handles his mental health and how he looks at family and how he treats them.
Holden Caulfield dreams of being a “catcher in the rye”. This job would entail preventing small children from accidentally skipping, running, or hopping off a cliff. We are led to believe that the edge of this cliff is adolescence, with adulthood waiting below, claiming the innocence and joy of those who fall victim to it. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden frequently expresses his thoughts, including thoughts on politics, Lillian Simmon’s “knockers”, phonies, and the loss of innocence. He seems almost fascinated with innocence, whether he recognizes it or not.
The Catcher in the Rye Thematic Essay Imagine living a lonesome life, full of fear and little hope of better days to come. Imagine the toll this would take on a person’s life and how they develop as a person. For Holden Caulfield, the main character of J.D Salinger’s classic The Catcher in the Rye this, is his reality. Holden is a sixteen year old troubled boy suffering through major mental issues and living a rather a depressing life for a teenager. Throughout the novel he goes through many hardships that only worsen his depression making him feel hatred towards his seemingly hellish world.
Protection Of Innocence In “The Catcher in the Rye,” it focuses on many things but one in particular, protection of innocence, especially of children. For most of the book, Holden paints this as the main virtue, Holden’s longing to preserve the innocence of childhood. As the definition for the loss of innocence is, “An experience or period in a person's life that leads to a greater awareness of evil, pain and/or suffering in the world around them.” With that said, Holden is afraid of adulthood because, after the suicide of James Castle, he fears that he will not survive the transition from childhood into adulthood.
In the novel he states how he wants children to be protected from vulgarity and therefore wants to be ‘The Catcher in the Rye’: the one who rescues adolescents from falling into, what he considers to be, the phoniness of adulthood. Throughout the novel, Holden has a positive attitude towards children and these relationships are essential to him. When Holden found out about the tragic death of his younger brother, Allie, he was devastated. He ‘slept in the garage’ and ‘broke all the goddam windows’.
These two struggles are what causes Holden to realise his purpose is being a catcher in the rye. His struggle to adulthood is quite evident. Holden states that the adult world is a nasty and horrible place, he thinks that the adult world is very phony, fake, and corrupt. These are words he uses quite often to describe the adult world, proving that he despises the thought of being an adult.
When she asks what he wants to do with his life. Holden answers, “I’d just be the catcher on the rye and all (173).” He so badly wants to save kids from plunging into the adult world. All adolescents mature, no matter how aware, and they must encounter evil. Holden realizes this as the good he strives to preserve is threatened.
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.
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. Quite often does Holden show his desire to protect children from the corrupted adulthood that he
Holden has grown out of the innocence of his childhood. Holden often finds his happiness from children as he states, “I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy but that's the only thing I'd really like to be”(Salinger, 191). What Holden means, is that he would save all the children from falling off of the cliff, which represents adulthood, preserving their innocence. Holden likes the
This connects to the theme of the story, which is that people should not force themselves to grow up when they are not ready yet. Throughout the novel, this theme is emphasized by Holden's love for the innocence of children. Overall, The Catcher in the Rye is an amazing novel to read, and very much deserves its position as a classic of American
Keegan Good Mr. Porter English IV 17 September 2015 Analyzing Archetypes in The Catcher in the Rye [ROUGH DRAFT] Archetypes are presented in almost every novel ever written. They assist in providing symbolic and figurative examples to support literary arrangements. The Catcher in the Rye is set in the 1950s. It is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a problematic sixteen-year-old boy. Holden does not specify his whereabouts while he’s telling the story, but he makes it clear that he is undergoing treatment in an insane asylum.
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
The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of Holden Caulfield who is a teenager growing up in the 1950’s in New York, has been expelled from school once again for poor achievement. In order to deal with his failure, Holden decides to leave school a few days before the end of the term and escapes to New York before returning to his home for the punishment. Written entirely in first person, the book describes Holden’s experiences and thoughts over the few days he takes for himself. During these few days Holden describes a nervous breakdown he experiences with symptoms of unexplained depression, impulsive spending, and unpredictable behavior. The strongest theme in The Catcher in the Rye is the main character Holden Caulfield 's fascination
Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, embodies the classic teenager in the process of discovering himself, and how the world works. But, regardless of Holden 's rich, prep school lifestyle, the series of events that have mapped out his life up to this point have utterly affected his emotional well being and perception of the world. Many traumatic events such as the death of holds brother Allie, the death of a class mate, and countless numbers of awkward incidents with adults have all added up to affects Holden 's well-being and detach him from reality. The death of Holden 's younger brother Allie has caused him to confuse his perception of reality and to alienate himself.