...the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caufield emerges from a trying and emotional series of events and does not grow emotionally but remains as immature as he was at the beginning of the novel. The story is about the difficulties of growing up. Most people come out of their teenager years as more responsible and mature people. Holden goes through many stressful events during the weekend, but instead of coming out more mature and grown up, he still has the same childish views on life; he is violent minded, depressed, confused, and irresponsible. Throughout the whole novel, Holden fantasizes about killing people, he is baffled by sex, and he does not think out his actions. During the beginning of the story, Holden thinks about killing people many times. He wanted to kill Stradlater, his roommate, for dating Jane Gallagher, his old friend. Holden knew what kind of guy Stradlater was and he was afraid he took advantage of Jane. Holden actually does fight Stradlater but gets hurt pretty badly. He then puts his hunting hat on and says it is a “people shooting” hat. Later on in the story, Holden again thinks about killing people. When Maurice, the pimp, hurts Holden and steals his money, Holden pretends that he had been shot in the stomach and his guts were falling out. He then pretends that he is staggering down the stairs with a gun to shoot Maurice and get revenge. Holden does not actually do this, but it shows how he is immature and violent. Also, while Holden is visiting Phoebe’s school...
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...defined as the state of being mentally and emotionally well-developed, and therefore responsible. The Catcher in the Rye is a novel about a teenager named Holden Caulfield who is depressed and lonely, and wanders New York City in hopes of his problems going away. Holden starts off as an immature teenager who ignores his problems instead of facing them, he deals with having depression because of the events that had a huge impact on his life, and struggles to find himself, but by the end of the novel he matures. One of the examples of how Holden matures is how he let’s go of keeping children from adulthood. In addition, he no longer wants to save children from growing up. A quote that Holden says in a very sophisticated manner is one of a couple of supporting reasons to his dream of keeping children from adulthood. On page 211, “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything.”. Another quote that is said by Holden is also on...
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...Holden and Charlie In both the novels Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and Chbosky’s the perks of being a wallflower, the main characters Holden Caulfield and Charlie are troubled teens. Although they were teenagers in different time periods they shared many similar teenage difficulties. Both novels portray a male protagonist growing up while struggling to find his identity, while loathing their lives. Thus both novels are of the coming of age genre. Both boys are socially awkward and are not able to integrate into society. In this case, Charlie is insulted by senior students of his high school, “God, that kid is such a fucking freak,” (Chbosky 145). Throughout the novel Holden and Charlie strive to become a part of society. While Charlie tries to integrate with society, it seems that Holden rejects it and wants to create a new society that suits him more. With the downs of life they find a way to cope with the failure of being accepted which leads to a self-destructive behavior. Such behavior tends to lead to the use of drugs, alcohol and violence. However similar they may seem, they also share many differences which are responsible for the differing results of their outstanding social statuses. While Holden avoids his problems, Charlie chooses to confront them and this is partially why Charlie becomes socially accepted. Despite their resembling problems, they also differ greatly in lifestyles. While Holden comes from a rich family and goes to a prestigious private school, Charlie...
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...Death and Loss Changes us all The death of a loved one is a harsh reality for all of us. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the death of Holden’s brother Allie changes how he is. Allie was someone that Holden looked up to. Allie “was two years younger than [Holden] was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent” (38). When Allie died, Holden lost that one connection that he has. And on the night Allie died, Holden lashed out he “broke all the goddam windows with [his] fist… [he] even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon [his family] had that summer”(44). In this instant Holden lashes out in anger and pain, as Holden continues he keeps lashing out angrily, and effectively alienating himself from others. Allie was someone...
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...that may be significantly impacted by a traumatic experience. The author J.D. Salinger illustrates this idea in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, which focuses on the life of the depressed protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden experiences the death of his young brother Allie and struggles with transitioning from his innocent childhood to his materialistic adulthood. This transition eventually influences his mental state of mind, which is evident by his lack of motivation in school, and results in him suffering from loneliness, frustration and alienation. The psychoanalytic lens discusses an individual's actions based on their conscious and unconscious mind. The Catcher in the Rye can be better analyzed through the psychoanalytic lens rather the existential lens, and this is exemplified by Holden’s desire to avoid inevitable change, his resultant isolation and his battle between his conscious and unconscious mind. Holden has a fear of change and desire to avoid...
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...In today’s society, many teenagers struggle to fit in a group or to find their own identity. The novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger focuses on a young, lonely boy Holden, who isolates himself from his family and friends, creates depression or anxiety for himself which leads to his isolation, loneliness and eventual breakdown. Firstly, Holden isolates himself from his loved ones, folks from school by not connecting with them and his self at social setting. To begin with, Holden isolates himself by leaving/skipping school without telling his parents, friends including his sister who loves and share things with. When Holden goes to Mr. Spence’s house he asks Holden if he flunked out or any and Holden replies that he left Elkton Hills because he was...
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... Salinger, the conflicted protagonist, Holden Caulfield, struggles in maintaining a balance in his life with an aversion view towards society and a disconnect with others. Also, my personal memories connect to Holden’s events and views in life. Holden’s distaste for adapting into adulthood overpowers his pursuit of identity and acceptance of reality. Holden establishes that disabling others from maturing is impractical, but discovering a meaningful purpose within himself is critical in accepting his change into adulthood. Holden encounters various people that both suit...
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...Holden Caufield and his shitty coping mechanisms Holden’s Desire to Escape his Problems and How It Reflects His State Of Mind In the animal kingdom, the average lifespan rarely passes 10 years. There are few exceptions to this, one being the lifespan of humans. The current average life span for humans is between 70 and 80 years. In both the animal kingdom and in modern society, maturity is meant to come quickly if you are to survive. However, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In the Rye by J. D. Salinger cannot accept that maturing is a natural and necessary part of every person’s life. Holden uses physical distance, judgmental tendencies, and comfort escapism to protect the innocence of himself and others, which are reflective of his desire to mentally escape his problems. Holden copes with his problems by running away from places and starting anew. An example of this would be when he left Pencey. Holden had many issues with school there, but the simplest is that he could not grow up like the rest of his school. Holden did not have the responsibility of handling grades, social changes, and everything else that an average 17-year-old would experience. After getting kicked out for failing almost every subject, Holden had a few more days before he had to leave school; with nothing to do, he decides to go to New York for a few days. “...I yelled at the top of my goddamn voice ‘Sleep tight, ya morons!’ I’ll bet I woke up every bastard on the whole floor. Then I got the hell...
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...within Holden Caulfield Depression is a mental illness that is very common among teens. Depression is a mental illness that is a feeling of intense of hopelessness and sadness. In the book, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Saligner, a high school student named Holden Caulfield loses his younger brother Allie to Leukemia. This leads to his depression and grief. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger uses multiple symbols to show Holden’s depression. In the following examples:the red hunting hat, a record called “Little Shirley Beans”, and the ducks from the Central Park It becomes clear to us that Holden Caulfied suffers from depression. Depression can emerge from a death of a loved one. The death of Holden’s little brother Allie took a big toll on him, causing him to drop out of school, feeling depressed as well as isolating himself from everyone. A symptom of depression is to be isolate one’s self...
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...Catcher In The Rye 1. Why does Holden like museums so much? What do you make of it? In the story Cather in The Rye, Holden took a liking to museums. One reason is because it was a place he visited as a child. He can go there and reminisce about his childhood and how, things once was. Another reason is he dislikes change, which is something the museum does not. He says "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move." It’s almost as if he was frozen in time. I think Holden dislikes change because he wishes things where the same as when he was younger and he still had his brother and things were simpler. 2. What does the novel tell us about Holden’s Parents? What do you make of this information? In the novel the narrator of the story does not talk about Holden’s parents a lot but what you can infer that they are both very wealthy. In order for them to send their son to several different prestigious schools they have to be make a large amount of money. You can also infer from the novel that Holden’s parents are not hands on. By this I mean they rather send him away then to deal with his conflicts and juvenile antics in person. Even when Holden is kicked out of school he is able to venture through New York without a call from his parents. 3. Read the visit to Mr. Antolini. The episode ends abruptly. How do you understand Mr. Antolini's actions and Holden's reactions? Mr...
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...Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded from and victimized by the world around him. As he says to Mr. Spencer, he feels trapped on “the other side” of life, and he continually attempts to find himself in the world, even though he feels as if he does not belong. As the novel continues, it becomes transparent that Holden’s alienation is his way of protecting himself, as stated, “The way I wore it, I swung the old peak way around to the back, very corny…I liked the way it looked” (Sallinger, 18). He wears his hunting hat to emphasize his uniqueness, he uses his isolation as proof that he thinks he is better than everyone else around him. This means they are not “worthy” of interacting with him. The reality is, interactions with other people usually overwhelm Holden severely,...
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...Catcher in the Rye" by J.D Salinger and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain contain the theme of rejection interwoven throughout them. Both extracts show teenagers rejecting society’s norms as, Holden begins his journey on the train to New York as a way of escaping his expectations much like Huck’s journey along the river in the other extract. In the late 1940s, teenagers were starting to be recognised as their own demographic, which Salinger explores in "Catcher" through the protagonist Holden Caulfield's rejection of both adulthood and childhood simultaneously. Similarly, Twain counteracts the norms of society throughout "Huckleberry Finn" wherein the eponymous character rejects society’s views and begins a journey down the Mississippi river with the slave, Jim. Both Holden and Huck reject the view that all children have to grow up and accept subordination in society rather than choosing to escape what’s expected of them and run away. Holden’s journey on the train is a microcosm for the main plotline, thus creating a physical and metaphorical mode of transport to steer Holden’s rejection of and escape from society. When Holden first boards the train he meets a woman who questions him on the “Pencey sticker” featured on one of his “Gladstones”. Although Holden continuously rejects Pencey for being “phoney” and “lousy”, he still keeps the sticker thus rejecting moving on from Pencey as the sticker isn’t a permanent fixture but he doesn’t remove it. This is similar...
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...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 what his dream job would be, which is to stop kids from growing up. This shows that Holden’s...
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...time’s culture and events. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is set in the late 1940s, early 1950s. Salinger paints an image for the readers, giving hints to let them figure out the time setting on their own. He mentions events just a few years past, references things that only would make sense in such a time, and goes even deeper, writing characters that most plausibly would have existed in such a culture, in such a time. When examining the historical aspects of The Catcher in the Rye, a reader can see how J. D. Salinger conveys the essence of the late 1940s; he does this through basic, obvious references to forms of entertainment, as well as through the more complex depths of the time period’s social constructs and the impending counterculture revolt of the 1960s. In the novel, many references are made to things that limit the possible time period for this novel. Many of these references dealt with forms of entertainment, from bar pianists to old-timey movies. Holden talks about his visit to a night club called Ernie’s which “was jam-packed…[but] it was pretty quiet, though, because Ernie was playing the piano” (Salinger 83). Compared to the nightclubs of today, this is pretty bland. Modern night clubs are overflowing with sweaty bodies dancing suggestively on top of one another. Today’s clubs are beaten with the loud sounds of DJs blasting music. Holden’s descriptions of Ernie’s show a nice, calm scene, everyone hushed as they listen to Ernie’s piano playing. There is a...
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...Catcher in the Rye: the Naivety of Childhood Summary: Discusses J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye." Describes main character Holden Caulfield's fixation on childhood. Details how he struggles through teenage life because he cannot accept the responsibilities that come with growing up. In the novel, "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D Salinger, the main character, Holden, is a teenager who refuses to grow up because he is naively fixated on childhood. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles through teenage life because he cannot accept the given responsibilities that come with growing up. Holden is obsessed with childhood because he chooses to be wedged between a world of the innocence of children and the complex world of adulthood. Holden deities his two younger siblings as if they're candidates for sainthood because of his fixation. Holden is a teenager who refuses to grow up because he is afraid of gaining the responsibilities that come with it. So, Holden struggles hard to stay childish. For example, throughout the book, he does not want to take responsibility to communicate with others that may want to help him. He refuses to go home and confront his parents and face the consequences. Along with this, he also pulls the childish silent treatment toward his parents; because that's the only knife he has to hurt them: ."..she wouldn't've been the ones that answered the phone. My parents would be the ones. So that was out." (pg. 59) He is afraid to talk to people close to him because...
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