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Theme of contrast between innocence and experience in the catcher in the rye
How does holden caufields life relate to jd salinger
Theme of contrast between innocence and experience in the catcher in the rye
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Childhood Innocence in Catcher in the Rye “The notion of innocence refers to children’s simplicity, their lack of knowledge, and their purity not yet spoiled by mundane affairs. Such innocence is taken as the promise of a renewal of the world by the children” (Buhler-Niederberger). The main character of Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, faces harsh adulthood realities which compel him to protect childhood innocence. Throughout Holden’s 3-day journey in New York, he demonstrates his desire to retain childhood innocence in himself and other children. In The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger develops Holden Caulfield as a reflection to the main theme of childhood innocence through his use of characterization, stream of consciousness point …show more content…
J.D Salinger’s use of characterization through Holden Caulfield signifies Holden’s child-like behavior, as he fears to rid his childhood innocence. As Holden’s character never fully matures into and adult, Holden refrain from committing adult-like behaviors. At Pencey Prep, Holden’s boarding school, Holden once said, “Most guys at Pencey just talked about having sexual intercourse with girls all the time – like Ackley, for instance – but old Stradlater really did it. I was personally acquainted with at least two girls he gave the time to. That's the truth” (Salinger 48). While most students at Pencey Prep were sexually active with girls, Holden remained virgin and never gives into sex because of his child-like self he did not want to corrupt. When Holden found out Stradlater “gave the time to” two girls he had been personally acquainted with in his childhood, he became irritated because he believed Stradlater destroyed the innocent people from his childhood (Salinger 49). As Holden did not believe in sexual interactions at his age, he informs readers everyone at Pencey Prep depraved. Salinger intentionally characterized Holden as an individual who …show more content…
Throughout the novel, readers are informed of Holden’s obsession with the ducks in Central Park. Holden is very curious to find out the habits of the ducks, and he specifically questions how they vanish in the winter and are able to reappear in the spring. Through Holden’s journey, he finds himself asking the same question repeatedly to various adults. Holden first proposes the question to a cab driver, as he says "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?" (Salinger 67). The ducks at Central Park are a symbol of reassurance to Holden because they always are able to find out where they are supposed to be, no matter spring or winter. In the novel, Holden was lost and afraid of becoming an adult and losing his childhood innocence, but he knew the ducks had a sense of direction and they always made it to their destination safely. Further on in the novel, when Holden is waiting for Phoebe to get out of school, he visits the local museum, an important symbol in the novel because of its purity. No matter the changes Holden faces in his life, the museum was a place he could go from his childhood that retains its purity and innocence, as it tends to be
It takes many experiences in order for an immature child to become a responsible, well-rounded adult. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story represents a coming of age for all young adults.
At several points during the course of the novel, Holden asks as to what happens to the ducks who are normally on a pond in Central Park, when winter comes and the water freezes. On page 60, Holden asks, "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?
Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger is about a boy named Holden Caulfield who struggles with the codes of conduct his upper class lifestyle follows. For Holden, loss of innocence is not about smoking a cigarette as much as it is about his realization that the rules placed on him by society are phony. Holden distracts himself by focusing on his feelings of alienation because he does not want to face his own deep sadness over his own loss of innocence.
Childhood is an unusually hard thing to rid yourself of when it is time for you to pass into the intensified life of adults. Personally, I have yet to overcome that challenge. The Catcher in the Rye is a well developed story about a high school boy, Holden Caulfield, who is stuck between the stages of adolescence and adulthood, and is trying to discover his identity. All his life, Holden Caulfield has refused to grow up, and as the book progresses, he is on the fine line of leaving innocence and adolescence behind and passing into adulthood, but what gives him the needed shove into the realm of adulthood was getting over his brother, Allie’s death. To Holden, Allie is the main definition of innocence. Eventually Holden comes to the decision to be the catcher in the rye. After this decision he tries to follow through with his plan and ultimately decides that he can’t keep anyone from growing up. This seems to be his breaking point in the book where he finally overcomes all his negative emotions towards Allie’s death and accepts it for what it is, knowing that he has to move on.
Have you ever pondered about when growing up, where does our childlike innocence go and what happens to us to go through this process? It involves abandoning previous memories that are close to our hearts. As we can see in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, we listen to what the main character; Holden Caulfield has to say about it. Holden is an average teenager dealing with academic and life problems. He remains untouched over his expulsion from Pencey Prep; rather, he takes the opportunity to take a “vacation.” As he ventures off companionless in New York City, we are able to observe many things about him. We see that Holden habitually states that he is depressed and undoubtedly, wants to preserve the innocence of others.
Holden’s preference of a simplistic lifestyle is evident throughout the novel, but stands out especially when he visits the Museum of Natural History. He explains that. Holden loves this museum because it is still, silent, and always the same, which is a version of life he likes and understands. He fears dealing with conflict, uncertainty, and change, which he thinks comes with being an adult. It
Holden Caulfield, - notorious for either being kicked out of schools or as he simply describes it “quitting”- having just been kicked out of yet another school for his lack of motivation, views life through a cynical lens as he deems those different from him as “phony”. Holden justifies his annoyance towards everything as he intermittently cuts off his tale to share some random pet peeve or irrelevant story, such as when he describes his roommate Stradlater as a “secret slob” (Salinger, 35) and continues on to critique his grooming habits, in an effort to validate how “phony” things really are. However, these tactics only further show his immaturity as Holden’s judgment of being a “phony” symbolizes his fear of growing up. Moreover, Holden’s greatest defense mechanism is pushing others away, this is seen as Holden visits his history teacher, Mr. Spencer and while he tries to
Innocence lies within everyone in at least one point in their lives, but as reality consumes them, that purity begins to vanish slowly as they learn new experiences. In the coming of age novel set in the nineteen-forties, J.D Salinger writes about a sixteen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield who stands between a road that separates childhood from adulthood and is confused about which path to take. On a three-day trip in New York away from his family and fellow peers at school, Holden encounters many situations in which lead him to think twice about who he wants to become and how he wants to guide others who are in the same situation he is in. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger utilizes symbolism, vivid imagery, and slangy diction to expose Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of the people that he loves while alienating himself from the adult world he calls “phony.”
...(CLC) He bring up the ducks in central park a lot."well you know he ducks that swim around in it...Do you happen to know where there they go in the wintertime , by any chance?"(pg.106&107). This question symbolizes the temporary vanishing that Holden feels because he realize that life is frail and changes in an instant especially after being traumatized by the suicide of James Castle influenced Holden's outlook on life as they reflect Holden's current predicament in that Holden is now an unknown of society and fights corrupt "phonies." Consequentially, the sum of such a traumatic history results in negative impact on Holden's mental health as he becomes lost and roams about the streets of Brooklyn having morbid thoughts and turbid emotions as he searches ceaselessly and futilely for stability in life and eventual finds himself on the brink of emotional breakdown.
Childhood is the time of truth innocence. The protagonist, Holden Caulfied, is a reclusive person who cannot bring himself to find elation. He wants to break the confinements of his solitude by talking to someone or at least by making some kind of connection, but he could only discern desolation and loneliness. Dismally, he is repudiated by all the people who he try to talk to and is confronted with rejection and dissent from society. The novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger, accentuates the obliteration for oneself to be fraternized and associated. The author portrays Holden's early childhood as a period of ignorance and innocence, and depicts how he carries a fear of failing to possess the courage to be candid and different from transitioning to adolescence by fitting himself to society.
In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caufield believes that innocence is corrupted by society. He exposes his self-inflicted emotional struggles as he is reminiscing the past. For Holden, teenage adolescence is a complicated time for him, his teenage mentality in allows him to transition from the teenage era to the reality of an adult in the real world. As he is struggling to find his own meaning of life, he cares less about others and worries about how he can be a hero not only to himself but also to the innocent youth. As Holden is grasping the idea of growing up, he sets his priorities of where he belongs and how to establish it. As he talks about how ‘phony’ the outside world is, he has specific recollections that signify importance to his life and he uses these time and time again because these memories are ones that he wont ever let go of. The death of his younger brother Allie has had a major impact on him emotionally and mentally. The freedom of the ducks in Central Park symbolize his ‘get away’ from reality into his own world. His ideology of letting kids grow up and breaking the chain loose to discover for themselves portrays the carrousel and the gold ring. These are three major moments that will be explored to understand the life of Holden Caufield and his significant personal encounters as he transitions from adolescence into manhood.
Holden never seems to have a pleasant time interacting with the adults and the world they've created. Holden describes the hotel he was staying at as being "lousy with perverts (Salinger 62).” At the hotel, Holden characterizes every adult he sees as a pervert. He does not know any of them but because they are grown up he sees them strictly as perverts, despite who they truly may be. However, Holden does try to fit in amongst these alleged “perverts” but later in the novel his inability to engage with a prostitute demonstrates how despite his efforts to belong in the adult world he is still childlike. Salinger uses Holden's childlike ways along with his inability to conform to societal normalities to express how he views the adult world as something he doesn't want to fully commit to. Salinger puts Holden is suspended development in order to prove how hard it is to fully belong in the adult world, especially if its occupants are already corrupt in their own ways. Throughout the novel Holden prefers the company of children over the company of adults as he believes adults to be fake and perverted. While at Ernie’s bar one of D.B.’s old acquaintances, Lillian Simmons, strikes up a conversation with Holden. Lillian hasn’t uttered the words to Holden when he prematurely deems her “strictly a phony (Salinger 86).” Holden wants nothing to do with
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
The past is always there, it’s part of life and can affect someone in a positive and negative manner. Certain events can truly change someone's life however, in Holden's case the past has shaped him to be who he is today. Holden Caulfield has been kicked out of multiple schools and he tends not to care about school. After, he gets kicked out of Pencey Prep he spends the next few days alone in New York, recalling his past. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses past events in Holden's life such as, the death of his brother, his absent father, and his experience with abuse to display Holden’s loss of innocence.
J.D. Salinger presents Holden Caulfield as a confused and distressed adolescent. Holden is a normal teenager who needs to find a sense of belonging. All though Holden’s obsession with “phonies” overpowers him. Dan Wakefield comments, “The things that Holden finds so deeply repulsive are things he calls “phony”- and the “phoniness” in every instance is the absence of love, and , often the substitution of pretense for love.” Holden was expelled from Pencey Prep School not because he is stupid, but because he just is not interested. His attitude toward Pencey is everyone there is a phony. Pencey makes Holden feel lonely and isolated because he had very few friends. Holden’s feeling of alienation is seen when he doesn’t attend the biggest football game of the year. His comments on the game: “It was the last game of the year and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win” (2, Ch. 1). This also hints to Holden’s obsession with death. Holden can’t find a since of belonging in the school because of all the so-called phonies. Holden speaks of Pencey’s headmaster as being a phony. Holden says that on visitation day the headmaster will pay no attention to the corny-looking parents. Holden portrays his not being interested by saying, “all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to buy a goddam Cadillac someday, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses”(131, Ch. 17). Holden does not care for school or money. He just wants everyone to be sincere and honest.