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Character development of holden caulfield
Character development of holden caulfield
Holden caulfield character analysis essay
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In the Catcher In The Rye, the author J.D. Salinger molded together motifs of sexual confusion and permanence to illustrate Holden Caulfield’s struggle to grow up. Holden was trapped between his childhood innocence and the pull of adulthood. The mighty impact of this theme targeted teen readers across the nation, due to the engaging experiences. Holden desired the glossed elements of adult life. A common motif throughout the book was Holden going through a state of sexual confusion. For instance, after he viewed another couple being intimate, he thought: “I’m probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw”(34). So, Holden found a girl he deemed open towards sexual activity, and invited her out for drinks. Yet, when …show more content…
‘Tonight’s the only time I can make it’”(36). Another example, of his indecisive qualities was when Holden agreed to pay for a prostitute, only to deny last minute: “Do you mind cutting it out?” I said. “I’m not in the mood, I just told you. I just had an operation”(53). Holden’s characteristic of lying his way out of sex, reflected his bewilderment towards the action, despite his hope to be the ‘biggest sex maniac’. Sexual confusion is relevant to teenagers in real life, as often when growing up, losing your virginity is glorified in America. A common example being the concept of being ‘pure’ until marriage or in the hands of a true love. Hence, Holden’s confusion, was relatable aspect of the novel. However, Holden was attached to his childhood, as displayed through the symbolism of the museum. For instance, within his visit he stated: “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything stayed right where it was. [...]The only thing that would be different would be you. You'd have an overcoat on this time. Or that kid that was your partner in line last time”(103). This museum represented a permanent portrait of moments in his childhood, that he …show more content…
For example, when walking up the school staircase of his little sister, Phoebe, he felt hassled by the swears on the walls: “It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it [...] how they'd all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it”(108). Usually, swearing is considered adult language, and the children learning about it would be a step towards growing up in Holden’s eyes. To somehow rescue them from this, Holden attempted to rub off the marker. Which sufficed until the next one: “I tried to rub it off with my hand again, but this one was scratched on, with a knife or something. It wouldn't come off. It's hopeless, anyway. If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the "**** you" signs in the world”(109). Since rubbing out the swears symbolized saving children from adulthood, this was Holden’s acceptance that rescuing every child was inevitable. Transferring back to real life, this resolve would’ve been important in preventing the death of John Lennon. During the popular case, his killer Mark
So he stays the night at his former teacher, Mr. Antolini’s place. While Holden for the most part thinks of everyone as a phony, Mr. Antolini is one of very few exceptions. He makes it clear that this teacher was one that he trusted and was close to. Since Holden’s views holds him back from having close relationships with his peers, his relationship with his former teacher becomes more important. While he was sleeping on Mr. Antolini’s couch, Holden says that something happens. “Boy, it really scared the hell out of me.” He says. He wakes up to find Mr. Antolini patting his head. “Boy, was I nervous!” He admits he felt very uncomfortable in the situation and quickly ran out. An adult he had managed to form a trusting relationship with, something that was very rare for Holden, had done something to make him very uncomfortable. While it is unclear, it is very possible that Holden is misinterpreting Mr. Antolini’s actions. In his eyes, it is a “flitty pass.” It is made clear, however, that Mr. Antolini had been drinking and most likely he was not in his right mind. Once again, Holden’s views and the reality of the situation aren’t the same and he sees it as a
Holden’s first betrayal was that of his memory and innocence by an egotistical peer. At Pencey Prep, he roomed with a student named Stradlater; the epitome of a teenage jock. Stradlater was openly very vain; as Holden stated as he watched Stradlater gaze at himself in the mirror, “he was madly in love with himself. He thought he was the handsomest guy in the Western Hemisphere” (27). Because of his inflated ego and good looks, Stradlater figured that he would steal the breath from any girl he wanted. To Holden, he admitted that the girl of the hour was a “Jean Gallagher” (31). Here was the betrayal: this “Jean” and the Jane that Holden had spent childhood summers with playing a cool game of checkers on the porch were one and the same. Holden had ...
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.
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...
The most noticeable motif throughout the novel is Holden’s constant involvement with women and girls. On nearly every page, Holden converses with women, thinks about women, or asks about women. This
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...
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.
To begin with, Holden’s love for the innocence and purity of childhood makes him very hesitant to transition into an adult life. Generally, he finds children to be straightforward, easygoing, and simply pure in every way. This is because they always say what they mean, and never try to set a false façade for...
His professor, Mr. Antolini, accepts Holden’s request and even invites him to dinner and some drinks afterword. When Holden arrives, Mr. Antolini and his wife seem happy to see Holden, so the three of them share many drinks together. Holden then decides that he needs to get some sleep, so Mr. Antolini leaves Holden to fall asleep on his couch. Holden wakes up the next morning to the feeling of something on his hand, it turns out to be Mr. Antolini caressing Holden’s hair while he was sleeping. Holden did not know what to do after Mr. antolini’s actions, so Holden left their house. Before going to Antolini’s home, Holden was at his house house talking to his little sister
Holden has a respect for women that he views as unnatural. He feels that his sexual desires should be similar to those of his roommate Stradlater and peer, Luce. Holden shows his confusion by saying, "The thing is, most of the time when you're coming close to doing it with a girl, a girl that isn't ...
Although Holden’s interest in sex often presents itself in a juvenile way, he does have sensible ideas about it. Perhaps
In his fight with Stradlater, Holden’s character is shown as a defender of innocence. He defends the memory of his brother through the report he writes for Stradlater. Because of Stradlater’s criticism on his brother’s death, Holden destroys the essay and says “All right, give it back to me, then,’ I said. I went over and pulled it right out of his goddamn hand. Then I tore it up.” Holden is tormented by the memory of his brother throughout the novel, and in this fight he defends his brothers memory by protecting the baseball glove. Later in this scene Holden is upset with Stradlater’s relationship with Jane. Holden explains, “If you knew Stradlater, you 'd have been worried, too. I 'd double-dated with the bastard a couple of times, and I know what I 'm talking about. He was unscrupulous.” Holden tries to defend Jane’s innocence and the reader is able to see Holden’s ethical code to protect the innocence and memory of others. In Holden’s confrontation with Maurice, Holden displays his detestation of the evil phony. “All of a sudden I started to cry. I 'd give anything if I hadn 't, but I did. 'No, you 're no crooks, ' I said. 'You 're just steeling five ' 'Shut up, ' old Maurice said and gave me a shove.” The scene between Maurice and Holden over the prostitute Sunny shows his emotions when it comes to fake people. In this scene he
While this example from the text shows that Holden does want to maintain his purity, others show that Holden is feeling the effects of growing up, and has impulses to engage in activities that are primarily practiced by adults. In Chapter Thirteen, Holden is asked if he would like to hire a prostitute for some time. Holden narrates that due to his depression, he is having trouble thinking straight. He makes an impulsive decision to hire the prostitute. When Holden gets back to his room, he cleanses and prepares himself before her arrival. He thinks about this opportunity as being his “big chance” to break out of his shell. Holden also reflects on his fears of engaging with the prostitute, as he has never lost his virginity. This further perpetuates the narrative that Holden still maintains his innocence, despite having just hired a sex worker. When she arrives, Holden thinks he will be able to overcome his fears and perform the activity; however, much to his dismay, he discovers that he does not possess the confidence or courage to engage with the
At Pencey, Holden meets Robert Ackley. Ackely has horrible hygiene, and does not hide it. Although this is disgusting, Holden has more respect for him than for his roommate, Stradlater. Holden calls Stradlater a “secret slob”. Stradlater is like many adults, because he tries to hide his imperfections. Holden is the complete opposite, because doesn’t care what people think of him, just as long as he feels go...