...The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. . . . Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. This passage, in which Holden explains why he loves the Museum of Natural History, is located in Chapter 16. Killing time before his date with Sally, Holden decides to walk from Central Park to the Museum of Natural History. Along the way, he remembers in detail his school trips to the museum. Holden has already demonstrated that he fears and does not know how to deal with conflict, confusion, and change. The museum presents him with a vision of life he can understand: it is frozen, silent, and always the same. Holden can think about and judge the Eskimo in the display case, but the Eskimo will never judge him back. It troubles him that he has changed each time he returns, while the museum’s displays remain completely the same. They represent the simple, idealistic, manageable vision of life that Holden wishes he could live. It is significant that in the final sentence Holden uses the second-person pronoun “you” instead of the first-person “me.” It seems to be an attempt to distance himself from the inevitable process of change. But the impossibility of such a fantasy is the tragedy of Holden’s situation: rather than face the challenges around him, he retreats to a fantasy world of his own making. When he actually gets to the museum, he decides not to go in; that would require disturbing...
Words: 322 - Pages: 2
...• We know Holden’s in California and that he’s using a flashback to talk about something significant in his life before he gets “run-down”, which might be interpreted as a mental or emotional breakdown. • Holden hates artificiality. But does he like Selma only because she rejects her father’s power? Or does he like her because she’s kind of plain but still pretty? We know Holden was invited to leave school due to his awful academic performance. To add on, because he was the manager we can infer that he doesn’t actually have the talent to be on the team. He says “goddam” in a way that makes it sound more important and yet his importance is jeopardized when he leaves the equipment on the subway. He changes the topic so fast that as a reader we are able to see how he is hurting. Although Dr. Thurmer explains that life is a game, Holden disagrees with him and believes differently. Holden believes that life is never a game and he is very serious about life. He disagrees with the rules set by others. By definition we know an exhibitionist is a person who behaves in ways intended to obtain attention. Holden tells this to the reader alone but it serves to shoe how much attention he craves. He wants to amuse and interest people, sort of like his hunting hat that he wears proudly. He is thirst-quenching audience, may or may not be because he has no real friends. Holden’s first instinct is to throw the snowball however he doesn’t want to disrupt the purity and beauty of the scenery...
Words: 2082 - Pages: 9
...Jermaine Lamarr Cole, American hip-hop artist and record producer, better known as J. Cole, once said, “Love isn’t complicated, people are.” Love is often unexpected, and many times catches people off guard. Love itself does not complicate situations, but rather the human reaction to the idea of love provokes chaotic circumstances. For Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, he finds himself struggling to understand the concept of love. As various women figures appear in his life, Caulfield, unknowingly and immaturely, acts upon his feelings of love. As a 16 year-old kicked out of yet another prestigious private school, Holden roams the streets of New York City to avoid the lectures awaiting at home. He...
Words: 737 - Pages: 3
...Women/ Sex “She wouldn't move any of her kings. What she’d do, when she’d get a king, she wouldn’t move it. She’d just leave it in the back row. She’d get them all lined up in the back row. Then she’d never use them. She just liked the way they looked when they were all in the back row (Salinger, 36).” “I was getting sort of nervous all of a sudden. I’m quite a nervous guy (Salinger, 39).” Jane represents innocence, purity, and Holden’s idealistic and unrealistic view of her. His perspective of her femininity is shattered when Stradlater reveals they are going out together which would explain why he is suddenly nervous. Holden is not just nervous because he’s “a nervous guy” but because Jane is not the same innocent child she used to be. He wants to keep her protected from corruption which would explain why he later attacks Stradlater. This relates to the theme of women/ sex because it reveals how sex play a part in the novel. To some, such as Stradlater, women and sex are trivial matters. However, to Holden, he seems to cherish women more. Childhood/ Growing Up “We all started horsing around all over the place. It was very childish, but everyone was really enjoying themselves (Salinger, 40).” “I felt like getting off the washbowl and getting old Stradlater in a half nelson. That’s a wrestling hold, in case you didn’t know, where you get the other guy around the neck and choke him to death, if you feel like it. So I did it. I landed him like a goddam panther (Salinger...
Words: 805 - Pages: 4
...Within Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, evidenced by Holden’s happiness, Holden begins his path to maturity when he accepts the Phoebe is “reaching for maturity” on the carousel, realizing that he needs to mentally heal and mature. Not being able to see everything good happening around us is common in our everyday life. We get used to the privileges, and we tunnel-vision in on the negatives of the world and yearn for escape. Holden, depressed and fantastical, grasps at the hopes for escape in the first three quarters of The Catcher in the Rye. The lack of the carousel symbol within the book before Holden’s change represent how he shied away from his journey to maturity. There are some major reasons as to why he shies away from maturity:...
Words: 592 - Pages: 3
...“I act quite young for my age sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I'm seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I'm about thirteen.” (Salinger 9). In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” the main character Holden Caulfield struggles between acting like an adult and acting like a child. Whether he’s out avoiding all of his problems or he’s trying to get a waiter to bring him an alcoholic drink even though he is under age, Holden acted like a child. Holden is seventeen during the time he is telling us about the things he did when he was sixteen and throughout the whole novel he is continuously doing childish things. In chapter six when his roommate, Stradlater, had come home from his date with Jane, Holden was purposely trying to annoy Stradlater by calling him a moron. He knew Stradlater did not like being called a moron so he said it as a sort of defense, not only did he start calling names but he also tried to bunch Stradlater. Holden resorted to calling names and physical contact when he could have just as easily told Stradlater that he did not like the idea of him going out with Jane....
Words: 532 - Pages: 3
...Early carousels of 19th century America were advertised as highly recommended by physicians as an aid in circulating the blood. This made the ride fun and beneficial for all ages. Carousels became extremely popular around this time, and although there were many around America, one of the most well known machines was in Holden Caulfield's, the protagonist in Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, hometown, New York. During the carousel scene, Holden ventures away from childhood to adulthood, and comes to many realizations about himself and others, especially acknowledging that becoming an adult is not a bad thing, but a new experience. Prior to the carousel scene Holden is lost, confused, and feels alone. Holden is walking down...
Words: 579 - Pages: 3
...Maturity can be 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...
Words: 711 - Pages: 3
...Memory (noun) -- the capability to preserve and think about events or information that occurred in the past. A memory can be a two way street, it can either be favorable or atrocious depending on the impact that the event had. Elie Wiesel -- now a Nobel-Prize winning author, humanities professor, and Judaic studies professor at schools such as NYU, Boston University, and City University. Wiesel resided in Romania during the Holocaust and was sent to Auschwitz in Poland. Luckily, he and two of his sisters survived this traumatic experience, but, they will forever have the malicious, knavish, and despicable memories forever. Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, does not reveal much information about...
Words: 1151 - Pages: 5
...However, Holden gives out a very paradoxical message, because his actions do not always reflect his thoughts. This paradox can be exemplified when Holden illustrates to Sally the perfectly conformed life that they could live stereotypically based on the gender roles in society at the time (Catcher 147-148). Holden explains that they can “[ride] to work in cabs and Madison Avenue buses, and [read] newspapers, and [play] bridge all the time, and [go] to moves and [see] a lot of stupid shorts and coming attractions and newsreels” (Catcher 148). As exemplified in the quote, Holden’s internal conflict is never truly resolved due to the lack of a solid resolution. He struggles maintain the unique exterior façade he has created to mask the truly normal problems he faces in his life. Holden does not fit the societal definition of the high-class teenager many assume him to be. Presumably, he is articling his story in a mental health home subsequent to his time in New York. Holden at many times embodies the opposite of his societal...
Words: 508 - Pages: 3
...What is family? According to the New York Times family are the people who are a part of your daily life or part of your household members have loving and caring toward you. Holden is part of the Caulfield family filled with Mom, Dad, Phoebe (sister), D.B (brother) and his dead brother Allie. Salinger leads us through a few days in Holden’s head, giving us insight on all of Holden’s thoughts and ideas. Salinger writes and describes Holden so that it is easy to get a good image of who he is. Throughout the novel, he talks about family and how it has affected him. Every part of his memory shows how much he cares, loves and supports them. J.D Salinger through the novel, The Cather in the Rye, was trying to teach his readers that family is an inextricable...
Words: 809 - Pages: 4
...Adolescence is a time of development, often characterized by a desire to understand society while struggling to leave childhood. Holden Caulfield is a troubled character who regularly finds conflict with others and himself during adolescence. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger argues that Holden struggles to complete the transition from childhood to adulthood, yet never fully completes that transition. This is displayed through his childish behavior, immature language, and enduring symbols. Salinger uses Holden’s childish character to display his attachment to childhood. Holden is expelled at every school that he goes to, which in turn creates a negative feeling towards education. Despite Penceys reputation for molding boys into men,...
Words: 1109 - Pages: 5
...Anthony Cann English Hour 1 The Catcher in the Rye Term Paper The story was full of pain, suffering, and above all, just a dark story in general but it was covered up by making it humorous which made it a way better story. So the main character of the story is Holden Caulfield, the man with the depression and all the sadness and darkness surrounding him. Holden was suffering from so many consequences like depression, anxiety, and was trying to be suicidal but the tone of how that was represented changed since it was brought to the reader as a funny tone instead of a dark and depressing tone. He needed therapy to deal with the thought of his early life that only mentioned his brother D.B. who was a Hollywood writer, and with bringing that statement...
Words: 1002 - Pages: 5
...In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden has been kicked out of Pencey Prep; he then proceeds to visit Mr. Spencer whom he talks to for a while. Mr. Spencer leaves Holden more depressed than he was beforehand. Holden leaves Pencey Prep and goes into New York City where he debates calling Jane, searches for Phoebe, and tries to cheer himself up before having to go back home. Holden goes back home during the night to talk to Phoebe and she gives Holden some money she had been saving, Holden cries and goes back out. Holden returns home at the end of the novel and we don’t know what happens, but he tells us that everything is okay. Throughout the novel three main literary elements are present: Holden’s tone, Holden’s point of view, and Phoebe’s point of view. The tone and word choice Holden uses reveals what’s going on inside his head. Holden uses negative and hostile language which shows his despair and isolation (Miller). “‘That’s exactly my goddam point,” I said. “I don’t get hardly anything out of anything. I’m in bad shape. I’m in lousy shape’” (Salinger 146). The novel is packed with religious profanity that Holden emits all throughout the novel and because of it, religion is kept fresh in one’s mind and can infer that Holden wants it but doesn't want to go through with getting what he wants (Evans). Though the religious profanity is so prevalent in...
Words: 1042 - Pages: 5
...“What really knocks me out is a book that when you’re done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and could call him up on the whenever you felt like it.” - Holden Caulfield Even though the Catcher in the Rye is one of history’s most well recognized book ever written it has it’s definite flaws. It never started out that way. Among the many great books that has been written it has a meaningful story behind it. J.D Salinger was born January 1st 1919 to the parents of Solomon S. and Marie (Jillich) Salinger. He accompanied his older sister Doris . Not much is known about Salinger’s “early days”, though it’s said that his “boyhood was very much the same as the character’s in the book [Holden]. Salinger...
Words: 351 - Pages: 2
