Theme Of Loneliness In Catcher In The Rye
Mother Teresa once said “Loneliness, and the feeling of being unwanted, is the most terrible poverty”. As a result of this loneliness, people become motivated to take drastic measures to end the desperation it causes. The desperation to not be lonely often causes people to lie about themselves to others to look better. Holden Caulfield, the narrator of J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, shows this struggle of loneliness as he attempts to find his purpose in the world. The novel begins when Holden is expelled from the prestigious Pencey Prep High School, and then, without telling his parents, he roams the streets of New York, confronting the adult world while searching for a friend. This search for friendship leads Holden to see the dark side of humanity and reveals his own hypocrisy. His struggles, however insignificant, are decidedly human and his opinions fluid and flawed. Holden's desperate tone makes him an unreliable yet powerful narrator as he lies to himself and others in order to decrease his loneliness, showing the dark side of humanity.
Holden’s desperation leads him to make a fool of himself as he attempts to relieve his loneliness. This is particularly shown when Holden is speaking
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J.D. Salinger incorporates elements such as theme to catch the reader's eye and show them that they are not much different than the main character. Holden lies like no other character, similar to the Giver from the book The Giver. The Giver lives in a dystopian world where people have no life choices, and therefore cannot lie, he is the only person who lies. Therefore, no one knows that he is lying. Holden, on the other hand, lies so much that the reader cannot tell what is fiction and what is the truth. Holden is unreliable yet powerful as he is constantly desperate to decrease his
Examples Of Holden Caulfield's Journey In Catcher In The Rye
1495 Words | 6 PagesIn J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the author illustrates Holden Caulfield’s journey after leaving Pencey State and traveling to New York from Holden’s first-person perspective. This journey he partakes in is one of self-discovery and acceptance. Though Holden is seen having little to no character development throughout the novel, it is still difficult to fully address who he is. Stemming from his own desire to be stuck in his childhood state of mind and tendencies, Holden creates a complex and disputable persona that challenges who he truly is.
Isolation Catcher In The Rye
159 Words | 1 PagesSometimes when one pushes people away, it is to protect themselves. In the Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger’s protagonist, Holden Caulfield, creates reoccurring gestures of isolation throughout the novel. Holden clearly suggests the requirement of love and affection, however, fails to generate the opportunity to maintain a formulated conversation. During his childhood experiences, Holden becomes emotionally scarred which brings him to push people away. As Holden believes he is protecting himself, he is actually harming himself, as well.
Catcher In The Rye Symbolism
176 Words | 1 PagesHolden can identify with the main character, or child in the story. Holden believes growing up into adulthood is a bad thing, thus he tries to avoid it. The short story symbolizes Holden’s obsession of innocence
Holden Caulfield Lies In Catcher In The Rye
1378 Words | 6 PagesThomas Jefferson once wrote, “He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual”. In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s lies become habitual throughout the book. Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy, who has been kicked out of several schools including, most recently, Pencey Prep. Holden’s younger brother, Allie, died when Holden was only thirteen and his older brother is too busy working for Hollywood to care about Holden. Although his mother cares immensely for him, Holden saddens her by failing academically.
Catcher In The Rye Setting
890 Words | 4 PagesSalinger used many literary techniques in order to tell his story. The most prominent literary device is the allusion in the title. The title “The Catcher in the Rye” is an allusion to the poem, of the same name by Robert Burns and the first verse which Holden, upon hearing a little boy sing it, thinks is “if a body catch a body coming through the rye” (Salinger 117). This later on points to the theme of the novel and how Holden wants to be the Catcher in the Rye, preventing other children from falling down the cliff and facing adulthood. The second literary technique is the flashback.
Essay On Phony In Catcher In The Rye
714 Words | 3 PagesHe takes the reader on a journey over a few days from him leaving the school to roaming the streets of New York. The question is Holden a Phony often pops into the minds of the reader. Holden is a phony because he is a hypocrite who does things that he criticize others for. He is a phony because he pretends to be someone that he is not,
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.
The Theme Of Isolation In Catcher In The Rye
1615 Words | 7 PagesIsolation and Depression: A Vicious Cycle Grief. Depression. Isolation. What do you think when you hear those words? Holden Caulfield has been through a lot, from being kicked out of several schools to being so depressed he wonders why he should go on living. Holdens family keeps pushing him away and that’s where he learns his tendency to push people away who he cares about.
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 Caulfield's Mental Illness In The Catcher In The Rye
366 Words | 2 PagesAlong with Holden’s many health problems, he is also mentally unstable in that he makes very erratic and irresponsible decisions, particularly when it comes
Hate Of Society In Catcher In The Rye
963 Words | 4 PagesIn the novel “Catcher In The Rye” by J. D. Salinger a young man named Holden Caulfield has just been kicked out of the school he is currently attending called Pencey. During the novel we follow him as he goes through his everyday life, although he cannot return home yet, or his parents will realise he was kicked out school again. During his adventure the reader notices something's about Holden more and more as the story progresses. He gets mad and bothered with certain things and people in society. Many examples of this are spread out throughout the entire book, but in the eyes of the reader they all should be able to see the common thing tying all Holdens hate of society throughout the novel society is making everything a phony or fake.
An Alternate Ending to The Catcher in the Rye
1400 Words | 6 PagesPurpose: 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
Misfit In The Catcher In The Rye
1418 Words | 6 PagesThis describes Holden to-a-t, because of his alienation problem, his conflict with “phoniness” and his struggle of growing up and leaving his small problems behind him. Throughout the novel,
Coming Of Age Theme In Catcher In The Rye
1571 Words | 7 PagesThe 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
Psychoanalytic Reading Of The Catcher In The Rye
1308 Words | 6 PagesTragic events can affect your mindset in irreversible ways, causing self-destructive behavior, low self-esteem, and devious actions. Jerome David Salinger in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, he develops the character of Holden Caulfield, an adolescent boy who is living a tragedy, causing suffering and deep pain within him. According to Mary Klages from the University of Colorado, she incorporates Warren Hedges and Freud through a psychoanalytic lens and they come to a conclusion that psychoanalytical approaches reveal how and why people behave as they do, which helps clarify Holden Caulfield’s actions in the novel. Holden is presented as a troubled adolescent, facing discontent of his childhood in which he desires not to describe much in
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