...Hollow Man In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield believes that almost everyone he comes in contact with is a “phony”. About the only two people that Holden does not consider phonies are his sister, Phoebe, and his dead brother Allie. Virtually everyone else fits this label, including himself. The root of Holden’s pessimistic outlook on life and people is the fact that he is invisible. Although Holden is a phony himself, he has a negative view of society because he wants to connect with someone and he’s chronically depressed. Holden claims that most of the people he call phonies are phonies because they act a different way, or sort of put on a front, when they’re around certain people. This makes Holden a complete hypocrite in every aspect because he does this many times throughout the book. For example...
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...In J.D. Salenger’s book The Catcher in the Rye the word phony is used 44 times. The main user Holden Caulfield is a teenager who is currently in the process of being kicked out of boarding school. He sees the world in a very unique way. Holden derogatively uses the word phony to describe society and people throughout the book, because he is lonely, doesn’t want people to get close to him, and is indeed a phony himself. Holden is lonely and longs for affection. He only has felt a real connection with about three people in his life; Jane, Allie, and Phoebe. His parents shipped him to boarding school and that caused him to lose contact with those three important people in his life. Holden is also shot down many times throughout the book. He tries to be a gentleman, but ends up getting the short-end of the stick every time. I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome. Then, when I went out to the checkroom […] the hat-check girl was very nice. […] I sort of tried to make a date with her. […] She said she was old enough to be my mother and all. (Salinger 169) On many occasions he tries to pick up girls, but that most of the time results with him getting laughed at and sometimes getting stuck with...
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...The story Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is about a 16-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield. His story starts off in a mental institution where he is undergoing treatment for a severe nervous breakdown, after being kicked out of Pencey Prep. This is not the first time he got kicked out of school, he continuously fails academically regardless of the school. He develops deep depression over the death of his younger brother, Allie, who died from Leukemia about three years ago. He is not sociable with his peers, has no real friends, and creates conflicts with or criticizes everyone around him. Holden had feelings of apprehension over Stradlater's date with Jane, and leaves school just days before he is suppose to, without. He also is not...
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...In “Catcher in the Rye” Holden hypocritically points out the phonies and wickedness around him throughout the novel. Holden thinks everyone is phony, because adulthood creates a “phony” world in his eyes. Holden idolizes Phoebe, because he believes she is the only one besides Allie, his younger brother, who is not fake. Hopeless, lonely, bad and beat are Holden's labels. Depression, longing, emptiness, anger and cynicism were his true emotions and attitudes. He doesn't have a filter, because he would talk badly about others. (“Her son was doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school. He was always going down the corridor, after he'd had a shower, snapping his soggy old wet towel at people's asses… I told her. I didn't feel like giving her my whole life history. Rudolf Schmidt was the name of the janitor of our dorm.”) (Holden 30) This demonstrates that although he had these thoughts, he lied to his mother, which showed the phoniness within himself. Holden expresses this hypocrisy by complaining about others while doing similar actions, and sinking in his childhood after his brother died, which is the emotional scaring we see as a trend in the novel. In the “Catcher In The Rye” we know that Holden came from a mental hospital, we then understand that he mentally...
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...Many Sections of The Catcher in the Rye exemplify Holden’s utter distaste for the “perfect” American world that his parents and friends encourage him to accept; however, Holden wastes no time acquainting the reader with the term “phony,” his all-encompassing term for the fake society surrounding him. His overuse of the term is his way to express the shallowness and fakeness that he is convinced is surrounding him in the post-war, 1950’s era. In Holden’s opinion, phoniness represents a form of reasoning for everything that is wrong in the world around him. On the very first page of the novel, Holden decides that “Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep” (Salinger 1). The school is one that “you probably heard of” (Salinger 2), indicating Holden’s familial class status, even though he makes it perfectly clear that Pencey Prep does not deserve its so-called fame. Holden argues the image it promotes and encourages is “strictly for the birds” (Salinger 3), meaning it is fake and would impress only the gullible, and certainly it would not impress Holden himself. This scene raises one of the novel’s key themes, and my largest argument of the novel: Holden's rebellion from the phony that is in his mind, the dishonesty and superficiality of the common American adult and family. Further, in Chapter 2...
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...Caulfield's “Catcher in the Rye” Fantasy Growing up, we have all experienced a particular desire to achieve something; an ambitious state of mind that gives us meaning to life. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, has a primary ambition - to become the Catcher in the Rye – the protector of the young and innocent, as stated in his conversation with Phoebe (Salinger, 191). Completely imaginary and a hopeless fantasy, this passage underscores what is prevalent throughout the novel - the issue of Holden's black and white perspective on the dark, phony world of adulthood juxtaposed with the light, innocent, world of childhood. The important passage contributes to Holden's clinical depression as a result of his beloved brother's death, therefore his cynical view of adulthood, and his anxiety about growing up, resulting in the overall angst and alienation palpable throughout the novel, leading to his eventual catharsis. Holden's imagery of “catching” children playing in a field of rye before they fall off a cliff is unrealistic, misheard from a little boy, and it serves merely as an escape route from what he fears most about adulthood – the change and overwhelming complexity. Holden wants everything to be easily understandable and eternally fixed, similar to the Eskimos and Indians in the museum. Opposed to acknowledging that adulthood scares and mystifies him, Holden instead invents a fantasy – that childhood is an idyllic field of rye, while adulthood...
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...“The Catcher in the Rye” is written by J.D Salinger which focuses on the reality of life through the eyes of a teenager who sees the world as a painful existence. The novel is written from the perspective of Holden who has been expelled from his fourth school. After a fight with his roommate, Holden leaves early to explore New York City alone. Holden battles with the reality of adulthood that has turn a different turn on his life. We get to this stage where we fear to grow up and see what will be coming for us next in the future. Salinger’s novel clearly displays the experience of being isolated from multiple activities which can lead to the theme of alienation, the creation of the character (Holden) and also the symbolism which can be unnoticed. Salinger tries to convey a message with his writing to also displaying human connection is a must. The theme of “The Catcher in the Rye” is alienation which connects to Holden (the protagonist)...
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...Parjit Sigh Dhaliwal Mr. Mannello ENG3U0-I 2015-12-10 Donnie Darko and The Catcher in the Rye Comparative Essay: The Transition into the Adult World When one’s views contrast with those of society’s, a societal phenomenon of alienation occurs. Both, J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and director Richard Kelly’s film, Donnie Darko, emphasise this estrangement by contextually presenting protagonists who suggest that teen discordance is universal due to their opposing collective perspectives. The book, The Catcher in the Rye, is about a young-adult’s three-day experience living in New York city after being kicked out of his school. The narrator, Holden Caulfield, recounts his experiences and interactions within those three days through thorough analyzation. The film, Donnie Darko, is about a teen, Donnie Darko, who is supernaturally transported to a tangent universe, guided by a ghost, Frank, in which his actions determine the future of the normal universe. In both the book and the novel, the ironic nature of societal seclusion being self-inflicted shown through the rejection of society by the protagonists themselves, both works are able to reinforce the universality of teen discord. Although there is trust to be found in adults, superficiality is present in the mass majority of the adult society. This phoniness amongst adults is present in both the book and the movie ultimately which contributes to the prevalence of distrust amongst the adolescent protagonists...
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...Asian Social Science May, 2009 An Analysis of the Adolescent Problems in The Catcher in the Rye Lingdi Chen Dept. of Foreign Languages, Dezhou University Daxue xi Road, Dezhou 253023, China E-mail: chld1973@126.com Abstract The Catcher in the Rye was written by famous American writer J.D.Salinger. This paper mainly analyzes the adolescent problems Holden Caulfield confronts on the journey from childhood to adulthood. These adolescent problems include Holden’s protection of innocence, his disgust for the phoniness of the adult world, and his alienation from society. This paper concludes that these adolescent problems produce great impact on him. Holden behaves almost erratically and impulsively and has negative attitudes towards almost everything and everyone he meets. Keywords: Adolescent problems, Innocence, Phoniness, Alienation 1. Introduction The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s masterpiece, tells the painful story of a high-school boy growing up in the world of decadent New York. Young Holden Caulfield is expelled from school because of his poor academic performance. He is afraid to meet his parents earlier than they should expect him, so he decides to stay in a New York City hotel. There he meets pimps, prostitutes and “queers.” Soon he becomes aware that the world of adults is a “phony” one. After his meeting with a friend, Holden sneaks back home to see his kid sister Phoebe. She is a loving kid, but her talk about their father “killing” him sickens...
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...The Metamorphosis of Holden in Sallinger's Catcher in the Rye In J.D. Sallinger's Catcher in the Rye, is based on the sullen life of Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old teen-ager is trying to find his sense of direction. Holden, a growing adult, cannot accept the responsibilities of an adult. Eventually realizing that there is no way to avoid the adult life, he can only but accept this alternative lifestyle. What Holden describes the adult world as a sinful, corrupted life, he avoids it for three important reasons: His hatred towards phonies and liars, unable to accept adult responsibilities, and thirdly to enshrine his childhood youth. Holden uses the word phony to identify everything in the world that he rejects or encounters with. People are too talkative, too quiet, or dissimilar. Holden, himself, believes he is this perfect person, but no one believes that he is. This is why Holden believes he is surrounded by "phoniness." For example, Ossenburger of Pencey Prep, emphasizes that "he talked to Jesus all the time, even when he was driving his car." Holden thinks this is a load of crap and asserts, "'that killed me. I just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs" (17). Holden sees why he would pray to Jesus, only to send him some more dead bodies to get more business. Not only do phonies bug Holden, but liars and crooks. Another example is Sunny and Maurice, the elevator boy. Maurice offers Holden...
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...Alexandra Small AP Language & Compositon The Catcher in the Rye and Impulse both have similarities between their narrators and characters. Impulse is a very powerful book with mature subject matters, but even so, it related very well to The Catcher in the Rye. The three characters in Impulse are all admitted into the Aspen Springs psychiatric hospital for all wanting to end their lives with different motives. Holden can relate to the three characters and mostly their lives before the psychiatric hospital. Through quotes, texts, songs and pictures The Catcher in the Rye and Impulse play out and compliment each other through similarities. In slide one, Tony and Holden are compared through their anger and outburst after losing a loved one. Tony, a character in Impulse was dating an older man named Philip. Philip became very sick and passed away. The only way for Tony to feel better was to turn to pills. He was hospitalized for trying to overdose and was put into the psychiatric hospital. Holden goes through a struggle when his brother Allie dies. When Allie died, Holden broke all the windows in his garage and had to be hospitalized. Holden ends up regretting this because he was still hospitalized during Allie’s funeral and couldn’t attend it. While Philip was alive he sent Tony a baseball glove and a ball for his birthday. This compares to The Catcher in the Rye because Allie had a baseball glove and he would write poems in green ink all over the glove...
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...observes his own phoniness. Holden Caulfield’s deceptions are generally pointless and cruel and he notes that he is a compulsive liar, for example, on the train to New York, he commits a needless prank on Mrs. Morrow. He would like us to believe that he is a virtuous model in a world of phoniness, but this is not the case. Though he would like to believe that the world is a simple place and that virtue and innocence on one side while shallowness and phoniness rest on the other, Holden is his own hostage. The world is not a simple place as he would like—and wants—it to be; even he cannot follow the similar standards with which he continually judges others and has difficulty growing up due to the limbo of two different worlds....
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...The novels the Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger and the perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky are both coming of age novels. The Catcher in the Rye is set around the 1950s and is narrated by sixteen year old Holden Caulfield. Holden is very judgemental, especially when it comes to people he has categorized as phony. The perk of being a wallflower is set in the 90s and is narrated by Charlie who is a freshman in high school. Charlie is quiet, keeps to himself, and does not enjoy being the center of attention. As most adolescents attempt to find their place in the world they often find mentors to help guide them through conflict. Both Holden and Charlie search for the meaning of their lives, go through conflict, and find someone to help guide them. Both novels are coming of age books because the main characters search for meaning in their life. Holden has trouble staying in one place for too long, for example he has been expelled from four schools. This is because he is constantly searching for his perfect world that has no phonies. While he is trying to find a place with no phonies or adults he says: 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 – 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 173) Holden is describing to his sister Phoebe...
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...The Catcher in the Rye “Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior.... Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now... And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry” (Salinger, 246). These humorous lines from J.D. Salinger’s classic, The Catcher in the Rye refer to the monolog by Holden Caulfield. Holden defies the societal standards for the young adult at the time. Collectively, the 1950s evokes visions of nostalgia. The Nuclear family model thrived and men scurried between desk jobs and houses with picket fences. But for the newly coined “teenagers”, this time was very different for them. This generation was right after the baby boomers. There was a lot of rules and guideline that the new generation didn’t want to be part of, thus, a period of experimentation. Throughout this turbulent account of Holden terrible year, Salinger underscores...
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...himself to the ducks. So, when he asks where the ducks would go when the lagoon freezes, since they can not swim, he is actually asking, where he would go if he lived in a place full of phonies and mean people. The answer for Holden is that he would not stay in a school of phonies, which could possibly explain why Holden deliberately failed four of his classes at Pencey Prep even though he is smart and can think scientifically. When Phoebe made Holden reveal what he liked in his life, the first things that came up to his mind were the nuns and James Castle, who was a student at Elkton Hills. This quotation shows something very unique about Holden because it is unusual that he only thinks of people. In addition, it shows that he only values exceptional individuals. But why does Holden only value a few remarkable individuals? Well, Holden only values those who are not phony, wealthy, or famous. This means that Holden knows only three valuable individuals at the top of his head, which are the two nuns and James Castle. Conclusively, the significance of the quotation is that it proves Holden does indeed care about some individuals....
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