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The catcher in the rye overview essay
What adulthood situations did Holden run into
Catcher in the rye analysis introduction to english literary studies
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Holden never learnt how to calculate his actions. In the beginning, He makes innumerable faulty judgments and his immature character is an ongoing childish behavior during this novel. He is interpreted as a juvenile character due to his nearly persistent childish conduct. He tends to avoid the real world by living an imaginative life, which always makes him fall into troubled waters. Due to his lack of maturity, in this novel, we tend to find Holden in sticky situations that aren’t always easy to get out of. In chapter 13, Holden invited a prostitute up to his room so he can experience some type of action (98). Little did he know, he isn’t very experience with sex but still happens to invite her up. The idea of it was what he wanted, but as
One wakeup call to Holden would be when he refuses to pay the full amount of $10 to the pimp, Maurice for Holden’s time spent with Sonny. There are many ways Holden could of dealt with this situation, he could of paid him the full amount after being told to, he also could of tried to maturely persuade Maurice to letting his debt slide. After refusing to pay, the situation takes a violent turn. Instead of handling that situation like an adult would, Holden decides to say, “I don't owe you five bucks, I said. If you rough me up, I'll yell like hell. I'll wake up everybody in the hotel. The police and all” (102). Holden’s disclosed plan to everte the possible next predicament is to yell. Yell loud so that everyone in the hotel would be able to hear him. This is definitely something you would hear coming out of an 11 year old, but not so much an overconfident teenager fighting with a pimp. It was an extremely childish way of attacking the situation and got him roughed up. On the contrary it served the readers a good example of how naive and stubborn he is to the real world. A change in the way that Holden is acting is when he decides to not go on the carousel with Phoebe, but to sit on the bench and watch. This shows a very distinct line between adolescence and adulthood. On top of that a symbol that
Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I started to cry. I’d give anything if I hadn’t, but I did” (p. 103). This occurs when Maurice argues with Holden about money that Holden owes to a prostitute. The situation becomes too much for Holden to handle, and he breaks down like a child. Holden also tries to have immature conversations with people who have become adults. Another example of imma...
Holden’s childhood was far from ideal, with Allie dying, his dysfunctional parents and the revelation that he had some “perverty” stuff happen to him when he was a kid. Due to this, he isn't ready to step into adulthood and leave his childhood behind. This is why Holden is mostly alienated from adults and connects more to the innocence of children like the girl at the park and his sister, Phoebe. However, Holden is disillusioned with both adulthood and childhood. He already knows how it feels to be an adult; drinking alcohol, being independent, living by himself and caring for Phoebe, but isn’t ready to immerse himself in it.
Throughout the book Holden has these recurring thoughts about sex which is a typical trait for a sixteen year old boy. Holden had just walked back from Ernie's when Maurice, the elevator man, asks Holden if he is “Interested in a little tail t’night”(91). Holden unwittingly says yes to Maurie’s proposition: “It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn’t even think”(91). Holden then returns to his room to prepare himself for the girl the Maurice was sending. Holden admits that “I was starting to feel pretty sexy and all, but I was a little nervous anyway”(92). When Sunny arrives she seems very keen to get the intercourse done and over with fast. Holden is affronted by the fact that Sunny is so eager to get things done quickly. Holden observes that he “felt peculiar when she did that”(94). Holden was referring to when Sunny “stood up and pulled her dress over her head”(94). Holden the acknowledges that “you’re supposed to feel pretty sexy when somebody gets up and pulls their dress over their head, but I didn’t”(95). Holden quickly rejects the intimacy of sex and instead asks Sunny if she feels “like talking for a while”(95). Sunny isn’t very jubilant with the fact that Holden does not want to have sex, but instead talk. There is something inside of Holden that always prohibits him from
Holden never seems interested in anything that he does. When he goes back to New York, he goes to all kinds of shows and movies and ends up uninterested half way through. When Holden goes to see a movie at Radio City Music Hall he tells a little bit about the movie and then says, “I’d tell you the rest of the story, but I might puke if I did. There isn’t anything to spoil, for Chrissake” (Salinger, 139). This shows that Holden becomes easily uninterested in normal things, which is a common cause of depression. The whole time Holden is in New York, he goes out to things but ends up uninterested extremely fast. The first night he is in New York, an elevator operator gets Holden a prostitute and he is excited and felt sexy. Once the girl arrives and takes off her dress, his mood completely changes and he wants her to leave. He says “The trouble was, I just didn’t want to do it. I felt more depressed than sexy, if you want to know the truth” (Salinger, 96). Just like being uninterested in normal activities is a symptom of depression, so is being uninterested in sex. Holden gets excited and nervous when he talks about sex, but w...
Through the majority of the book, Holden repeatedly speaks about having “the time”; yet, however, he states that when he gets close to doing it, he stops because the girl hinders him. Holden has not proceeded with his desire to have “the time,” even when he hires a prostitute. When Holden first sees the prostitute, Sunny, he loses the urgency and desire to finally have sex. “I took her dress over to the closet and hung it up for her. It was funny. It made me feel sort of sad when I hung it up. I thought of her going in a store and buying it, and nobody in the store knowing she was a prostitute just thought she was a regular girl when she bought it. It made me feel sad as hell—I don’t know why exactly” (95-96). Holden imagines others thinking that Sunny is your average woman shopping, not knowing what kind of woman she truly is. From the contents of Holden’s mind, this section is an example of Holden him searching for a tiny trace of innocence left within Sunny. “ ‘Me? Twenty-two.’ ‘Like fun you are.’ I...
Since Holden does not feel like he fits in with anybody his age, he tries to act both like a mature child and an immature adult. Holden admires his sister’s innocence to the point where he considers her a nearly perfect person. Thus, he is inspired by her and even tries to emulate her genuine behavior by trying to not become a phony. It is also due to Phoebe that he dreams of preserving the innocence of every child around him by becoming the catcher in the rye. In contrast, Holden also wants to do activities that he considers adult, such as becoming intoxicated and indulging in sexual intercourse. At multiple points in the book, Holden tries to obtain alcohol, yet, he is almost always rejected from doing so. Salinger does not allow for Holden to actually achieve his goal of intoxication to show that he is simply not ready to act in a mature, adult manner; the one time that he does become intoxicated, he sophomorically calls various people on the nearest phone he can find. Additionally, when Holden hires Sunny, a sex worker, he ends up only wanting to have a conversation with her. Even Sunny is confused at this, as she "looks at Holden as if he is a madman" (95). Once again, Salinger uses this to show that, while Holden wishes to act like an adult, he is still far too immature and insecure to actually follow through on
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.
Holden’s sexual struggles are visible through his interactions with Sunny, Sally Hayes, and Carl Luce. Holden’s fascination with sex interferes with his elevated morals; as much as he wants to engage in intercourse, he voices his need to establish an emotional connection with his partner first, which prevents him from having casual sex. As much as physical intimacy is important to him, Holden needs to be taken care of and understood emotionally, as well, displaying that he holds sex in high regards and does not view it as something to be done carelessly. Holden just needs to be loved; but, unfortunately, his romantic life is sub-par at best, and until that changes, he’ll always feel confused – and very, very lonely.
There is a certain process that every human being on the planet has in common. Not everyone can say it is a pleasing experience, but nobody can deny that it happened to them. ‘Growing up’ happens to everyone one whether they like it or not. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing, which often reveals questions that can never be answered. The novel Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger explores how the adult life has its complexities and can be very puzzling to teenagers starting that phase in their lives. The main character Holden Caulfield realizes the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenges of adapting to an adult society. The catcher in the rye shows the inevitable loss of innocence
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
In the majority of novels, the main character must venture out on a journey. This is not necessarily a literal expedition; instead it is a process by which the hero develops within a situation. This monomyth, as identified by Joseph Campbell, outlines a series of stages that the hero must complete along this quest in order to return home with their, literal or metaphorical, reward. In many ways, a bildungsroman novel displays the hero’s journey of a youthful character who embarks on a quest, through which they mature to adulthood. Some novels, such as Jane Eyre and Great Expectations, fit the paradigm for a hero’s journey quite neatly.
The way that Holden thinks and acts causes many conflicts to take place during the course of the novel. Because of the way he thinks, he doesn't relate to people of his own age leading to countless problems. Holden is especially different from women of his own age shown many times in the novel. He doesn't socialize much with women of his own age, so he doesn't know how to act when he does. Women, in the novel, are used to show how different Holden is from people of his own age. He can socialize and relate to his sister which is 7 years younger than him, as well as socialize with women that are 45 years older than him (nuns). But, when he is introduced into situations with women his own age, like at the ice skating event, he acts ver...
They often make inappropriate comments,lack emotional control, or have unrealistic expectations for the future. Holden seems to struggle with all these issues. Holden shows his immaturity through him not being able to make decisions on his own. When Holden visits Mr. Spencer, he is told that ‘life is a game that one plays by the rules’. Mr. Spencer better understanding of how the world works because of his age. His message to Holden is to become socially intelligent and look at how his actions affect the world around him. Once again, Holden displays his lack of knowledge by ignoring this priceless advice. He is also unable to make clear, rational decisions. Holden is very impulsive and can only think within the moment. The way in which Holden makes snap decisions insinuates that he is very confused and unable to organise his thoughts in a mature fashion, exposing that his child-like state of mind still dominates the more logical and mature part of his brain. Many teens seem to struggle with romantic relationships as well as
The two worlds of childhood and adulthood are not as separate as Holden thinks they are. He cuts himself off from the rest of the world by judging others around him, mostly adults. In the book it says, “ What I liked about her, she didn’t give you a lot of horse manure about what a great guy her father was. She probably knew what a phony slob he was.” (Pg 3). The book starts off with him judging an adult that he barely knows. Holden is physically an adult, but in his mind, he is only a child. He can relate to a child better than he can with an