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Essay about catcher in the rye characters
Development of Holden's character in the Catcher in the Rye
The catcher in the rye main character
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In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger tells us about a boy who is a teenager but tries to hold on his and acts like an adult at times. Throughout the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, he presents the character, Holden, who is presented as an immature teenger. As the novel progresses, Holden begins to mature through facing his problems. When Salinger ends the novel, the reader can see that Holden finally matured. Within the novel, the read can see, countless times that Holden is immature, maturing, and mature. In the beginning of the novel, Holden proves himself as a very immature teenager. When Holden gets back from New York and goes back to Pencey Prep, and chats with a fellow classmate of his, he states, “Why don’t you give me your hand? For chrissake grow up” (Salinger 21-22). As Holden is having a take with Ackley about his new red hunting hat, Holden blinds himself with and begins to act like a child. As Holden shows the reader that he likes to mess around and act like a child at times, he proves to be immature, as he is childish. Throughout the novel, Holden shows himself as immature which he fixes over the novel. …show more content…
As Holden is deciding to run away like a immature person but decides not to, he states,”In the first place, I’m not going away anywhere, I told you. I going home. I’m going home as soon as you go back to school”(Salinger 208). As Holden is deciding whether or not to move to Colorado to escape his problems, but decides not to, he shows that he is maturing. When Holden decides to stay in New York and not run away from his problems, we see proof that Holden is beginning to mature. Towards the end of the novel, Holden begins to show that he is going to mature near the
Part of the irony in Holden’s story is that physically, he looks mature, but mentally, he is still very much a child: “I act quite young for my age, sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now … I’m six foot two and a half and I have gray hair ” (9). There is no middle ground, adolescence, for Holden. He can only be an adult, physically, or a child, mentally. Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tries to appeal to him by using a metaphor: “Life is a game, boy.
Holden believes he can act like a grown up but is not ready to accept the responsibilities that come with being a grown up. After escaping the social normality happening at Pencey he runs off to New York City, on a mission to escape his responsibilities and feel like a kid again. “I don’t give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am - I really do - but people never notice it.”( Salinger 15). Holden explains he could care less, yet he then states he cares sometimes. By stating
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.
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.
First, he goes to Mr. Spencer, his history teacher, who provides advice for his life and his future and even says “I’m trying to help you, if I can” (Salinger, 18). Because Mr. Spencer gives realistic advice to Holden to prepare him for his future even though it is not obligated, Mr. Spencer can be considered a mentor for Holden. Before Holden packs and leaves, he says “I was sort of crying” and “then I yelled at the top of my goddam voice, ‘Sleep tight, ya morons!’” (Salinger, 59). Although he becomes emotional when he realizes the company he is going to miss by leaving Pencey, he still acts immaturely as a result of an adolescent pitfall called invulnerability, when adolescents makes decisions without proper regard for their consequences (Adolescent Pitfalls). Holden finally leaves to take a train and reveals his love for riding trains at night (Salinger, 60). He is setting out on an adult journey by leaving Pencey, but he is still grasping to child interests by usually becoming excited to ride trains. Concluding sentence
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an enthralling and captivating novel about a boy and his struggle with life. The teenage boy ,Holden, is in turmoil with school, loneliness, and finding his place in the world. The author J.D. Salinger examines the many sides of behavior and moral dilemma of many characters throughout the novel. The author develops three distinct character types for Holden the confused and struggling teenage boy, Ackley, a peculiar boy without many friends, and Phoebe, a funny and kindhearted young girl.
Growing up is not easy. The desire to slow down or stop the process is not unusual for adolescents. Resisting adulthood causes those who try to run away from it to eventually come to terms with the reality of life: everyone has to grow up, and fighting against it makes it much harder to accept in the end. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield often tries to resist the process of maturity in an effort to avoid the complicated life he might face as an adult, making him an unusual protagonist for a bildungsroman; this struggle, however, opens Holden’s eyes to the reality and inevitability of growing up, helping him realize that innocence does not last forever.
I guess you can say he is trying to transition from adult hood but he can’t. He believes childhood is a beautiful and innocent thing where as adulthood is evil and corrupted. In the text Holden says “That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write "Fuck you" right under your nose” Pg. 204 Another reason why Holden is stuck between adult hood and childhood is because he doesn’t understand the concept of sex. He doesn’t get how two adults can have sex without loving each other. Holden tells Luce "You know what the trouble with me is? I can never get really sexy—I mean really sexy with a girl I don’t like a lot. I mean I have to like her a lot. If I don’t, I sort of lose my goddam desire for her and all.”Pg148 Luce then later says “When are you going to grow up?"Pg. 144. This is another example how Holden can’t really grow up. Mr. Antolini brings up an examples that goes “this fall I think you’re riding for – it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling."Pg. 187. This quote is illustrating that Holden doesn’t know where to go, he’s lost and confused from the transition from childhood to
In the Catcher in the Rye, there are many ways Holden shows reader that he is immature. Holden is afraid of the responsibility that comes with being adulthood. He acts childish and the and asks immature questions to
We see during the novel that Holden wants to be able to protect innocence in the world, however by the end of the story he lets go of that desire. This is a point of growth for Holden. He finds that it is impossible and unnecessary to keep all the innocence in the world. While with Phoebe Holden says, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye...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...That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (173). In this moment Holden wants to be able to preserve all the youth and innocence in the world. He doesn’t accept that kids have to grow and change and that they can’t stay innocent forever. Later on in the story when Holden is with Phoebe at a carousel again he thinks, “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” At the end of the novel Holden realizes and comes to terms with the fact that kids grow and lose their innocence. He moves from his want to be the “catcher in the rye” to...
Holden Caulfield, the teenage protagonist of Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, struggles with having to enter the adult world. Holden leaves school early and stays in New York by himself until he is ready to return home. Holden wants to be individual, yet he also wants to fit in and not grow up. The author uses symbolism to represent Holden’s internal struggle.
Yet there is some sort of weight taken off of Holden's shoulders, in the final scene at Central Park, when we all know Holden will be alright. Holden may not understand the phoniness in his life, but will come to a moment of acceptance, understanding, and love which will make his life enjoyable. The little things Holden enjoys begin to grow, and spark many reasons he shouldn't go into a deeper depression. The outburst of emotion at the end of the novel shows what he has been missing out on while he has been busy hating the world. The conversation at the end of the novel speaks to this,“About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about,”(Salinger 234). Holden finally lets himself feel what he has been rejecting this whole time, compassion and ultimately,
By acting immaturely, Holden is not taking responsibility of his actions and is only distancing himself further from the people around him. The first immature reaction from Holden is his reluctance to go home throughout the whole novel. After he is expelled from Pencey, Holden thinks of calling Phoebe multiple times, but never does because their parents would pick up. Holden thinks of “hanging up if [his] parents answered, but that wouldn't've worked, either,” as he does not want his parents to realize he left Pencey early (Salinger 87). Avoiding the fact that he got kicked out of Pencey is immature, however it is his way of coping with being expelled from yet another school. Likewise, Holden does not tell his parents that he left Pencey early and is now in New York. Holden spends the rest of the novel hiding out from his parents and living off money he gets from Grandma. Again, this immature action is his way of safeguarding himself, but this time he is protecting himself from the disappointment of his
At first glance, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye simply tells the story of Holden Caulfield, who is often characterized as annoying and whiny by the people around him. The anti-hero frequently speaks on impulse, making quick and often inaccurate observations of others. Holden’s immature and overly critical attitude turns off those he encounters, who are displeased with how callow he is. However, what these characters fail to understand is that there is actually a sort of sophistication behind Holden’s reasoning. In fact, throughout the novel, Holden disguises his maturity through outward displays of childishness.
Maturity is an illusion that is part of every child’s dreams. However, what they do not know is that adulthood is not all fun and games. Entering the adult world would mean giving up freedom and complying to rules that have more significance than they did before. Maturity introduces young adults to the world of responsibilities, work and the stresses involved with figuring out the future. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger reveals the inner battle the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, overcomes after he gets kicked out of school. He faces a dilemma with entering the phony world of adulthood that everyone, including his family, has joined. Holden struggles with letting go of his childhood which holds all of his fondest memories