Holden Caulfield, J. D. Salinger’s protagonist in the novel “Catcher in the Rye”, is a seventeen year old experiencing that period of life between childhood and adulthood, often referred to as "years of teenage angst”. Caulfield says in the novel “You had to feel a little sorry for that crazy sonuvabitch”, which is exactly how I feel towards Holden (Salinger 39). The use of vulgar language and taboo subjects has made this novel a main concern in the censorship debate for over sixty years. Thankfully we have moved past the outright banning and destruction of literary works that challenge traditional views, protecting the freedom of one’s right to express their thoughts, opinions and imaginations as well as the freedom of people to choose what they wish to read. Children and young adults however require guidance during their impressionable developmental years. Knowledge of the unsavory side of life is not appropriate for all ages and caution does need to be exercised when determining what is understandable and beneficial to a young mind.
In today’s world of multimedia it has become extremely hard to avoid the introduction of adult themes to younger children, who lack the maturity to process and question the information. Young people are bombarded continually with unsuitable and undesirable concepts that give false images of acceptable behavior. Music, movies, television, internet and video games are accredited with the moral deterioration of present day youth. Great strides have been made to establish rating guidelines, parental controls and warning labels that assist adults in making informed choices on what their children should or should not be able to access but they are not perfect.
The recent uproar over Miley Cyrus’ risqué...
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... maturity levels rise? In my opinion we should allow Americas youth to read the books that they please. But to allow this I believe there needs to be a rating system to tell parents and the children the level of maturity the book is and why it is rated so. This will allow youth to mature at a constant rate as they read, rather than having them mature at an extremely fast rate. This allows our youth to mature at a reasonable rate so that they are aware of life’s difficulties but not bombarded with unnecessary information to pollute their young minds.
“Banned Books List Reveleved.” The Huffington Post. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
“Banned & Challenged Classics | Banned & Challenged Books.” Ala.org. 2013. Web. 8
Nov. 2013
“CEE LO GREEN LYRICS-Fuck you!” azlyrics.com. 2013. Web. 9 Nov. 2013.
Salinger, J.D. “The Catcher in the Rye.” Little, Brown: Boston 1951. Print.
This book is a good book. "What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse. ~J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 1
Do you ever wish you could return to the early time of your existence where the innocence and purity of childhood enveloped you on a day-to-day basis? These were the times when committing wrong doings were not only met with meager consequences, but also expected of you by the parental guardians or guides in your life. In "The Catcher in the Rye" , written by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, expresses his yearning for this feeling continuously throughout this detailed depiction of a struggling young man who craves nothing more than to make the dream he has given his entire being to, into a reality he can physically experience. A simpler way to help readers understand his complex idea is to compare his dream to the dreams of the fabled "Fountain of Youth" that countless stories are written about. Instead of the physical attributes that staying young would give an individual, the mental ideals of innocence and purity are the cause of Holden's tireless pursuit and inability to interact and function in every facet of society. The tragedies and socially awkward life that Salinger's character endures would be extremely damaging to most any human being's, already precariously balanced, mental health. The symptoms of popular health disorders such as bipolar disorder, anti-social disorder, and anxiety disorders are expressed prominently by Holden Caulfield throughout the entire novel.
Thesis statement: The relationship Holden and Blanche have between family and people in society leads them to an inner turmoil, which eventually results in their psychological breakdowns.
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, describes a period of time in a young
Protected by a cocoon of naiveté, Holden Caulfield, the principal character in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, therapeutically relates his lonely 24 hour stay in downtown New York city, experiencing the "phony" adult world while dealing with the death of his innocent younger brother. Through this well-developed teenage character, JD Salinger, uses simple language and dialogue to outline many of the complex underlying problems haunting adolescents. With a unique beginning and ending, and an original look at our new society, The Catcher in the Rye is understood and appreciated on multiple levels of comprehension. The book provides new insights and a fresh view of the world in which adolescents live.
In 1950 J.D. Salenger captures one of society’s tragedies, the breakdown of a teenager, when he wrote The Catcher In The Rye. Holden Caulfield, a fickle “man” is not even a man at all. His unnecessary urge to lie to avoid confrontation defeats manhood. Holden has not matured and is unable to deal with the responsibility of living on his owe. He childishly uses a hunter’s hat to disguise him self from others. The truth of his life is sad and soon leads to his being institutionalized. He tries to escape the truth with his criticisms. Knowing he will never meet his parents’ expectations, his only true friend is his eight-year-old sister Phoebe, to whom Holden tells that he really wants to be ‘the catcher in the rye”. Holden admits his only truth and shows that Phoebe is his only friend. Another form of escape for Holden is his acting, which he uses to excuse the past. Holden has tried to lie, hide, and blame his way through life; when he finds that it is not the answer he collapses.
If there's ever another war, I'm going to sit right the hell on top of it.
The 1940’s marked a turning point for the young adult. With the newly coined term “teen-ager”, this generation faced massively intense decisions, as they were being shipped off to fight in World War II by the dozen. As a result, teenagers from the 1940’s to the 1950’s were expected to have grown up and found their way far before many of them actually had. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, is a pure embodiment of the how the repercussions of these expectations of teenagers (especially boys) to rapidly conform and mature, left many young men confused and searching for their own identity in a world of increasingly right wing authorities. Holden being the clearly deeply tormented character that he is, it is
J.D Salinger’s Catcher in The Rye dives deep into the mental state of a teenaged boy named Holden Caulfield, provoking many thoughts and lessons to be learned about his transition to adulthood. Holden opens up to the reader about all the struggles which he has kept to himself, allowing the reader to relate and learn from his experiences. Holden Caulfield's unique attitudes towards sex and the transition to adulthood provide and edifying experience to the reader as the novel teaches the reader what to do, as well as avoid doing.
Freedom of expression is not limited to adults, minors too, have the right to freely express themselves and receive information. Therefore, minors have the right to read any materials they desire. By banning The Catcher In the Rye, and novels of the like, the rights of U.S. citizens are restricted. & nbsp; The novel, The Catcher In the Rye, should not be banned from inclusion in the literature courses taught at the high school level.
it. The author of Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, tells an interesting story about a boy who has avoided his home after getting kicked out his fourth school. This boy, Holden Caulfield, loves perfection and innocence. Holden is a strange character, he makes a snowball, but can’t throw it, imagines the museum as a perfect place because things don’t change, daydreams about his childhood sweetheart constantly, and after seeing “F” you written on the walls of the school, Holden tries to erase every one of them. Life for Holden is sad and uplifting at the same time, but he has to face the fact that he is growing up and can’t be the protector of children. Holden tries to imagine that everything is perfect and the children are innocent without realizing the truth.
What was wrong with Holden, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D.Salinger, was his moral revulsion against anything that was ugly, evil, cruel, or what he called "phoney" and his acute responsiveness to beauty and innocence, especially the innocence of the very young, in whom he saw reflected his own lost childhood. There is something wrong or lacking in the novels of despair and frustration of many writers. The sour note of bitterness and the recurring theme of sadism have become almost a convention, never thoroughly explained by the author's dependence on a psychoanalytical interpretation of a major character. The boys who are spoiled or turned into budding homosexuals by their mothers and a loveless home life are as familiar to us today as stalwart and dependable young heroes such as John Wayne were to an earlier generation. We have accepted this interpretation of the restlessness and bewilderment of our young men and boys because no one had anything better to offer. It is tragic to hear the anguished cry of parents: "What have we done to harm him? Why doesn't he care about anything? He is a bright boy, but why does he fail to pass his examinations? Why won't he talk to us?"
A discovery is rarely the endpoint, rather it catalyses an inevitable chain reaction of subsequent discoveries. It is through this domino effect of discovering, that allows us to gain new perceptions. Growth, isolation and loss are precursors for discovering new ideas, extrapolated from William Shakespeare's 1661 tragicomedy ‘The Tempest, Hannah Roberts ‘Sky High’ and J.D. Salinger’s ‘Catcher in the Rye’ (1951). Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, elucidates the transformative power of meaningful discoveries that manifest an individual's desire to re-evaluate presumptions and reveal fresh insights into humanity’s moral flaws. These ideas consider the effect of discoveries which in turn can challenge preconceived understandings and ultimately act