In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield feels a compulsion to protect women over anything else. The reason for this is that Holden views women as the last innocent people left in society. J.D. Salinger makes it a point to display the powerful influences that women have had on Holden throughout his life by retelling Holden's experiences with his own mother as a younger man. These trends continue throughout the story, as the events that unfold involving Phoebe and Jane Gallagher become focal points during Holden's time in New York City. Holden's desire to protect women seems to go so far that he begins to feel immediate hostility -- hostility that may or may not be justified -- towards several male characters.
Holden's nervous impulse to protect women seems to have sprung up in his psyche from a very young age. After his brother, Allie, started to experience more severe symptoms of leukemia, Holden notes that his mother seemed "nervous as hell." His own mother's emotional problems (Lombardi) transfer to Holden on a very deep, psychological level because he feels partially responsible for his brother's fate in the first place. Seeing his mother in such a distraught state makes him feel even guiltier. The unintended consequence of this is that Holden grows up with a constant fear that he is going to hurt any woman that he grows close to. This manifests itself many times during his time in New York, with one of the earliest examples being his meeting with Sunny in the hotel room. Holden protects her innocence, but not for any particularly noble reason. He hangs her dress back up and insists that he just wants to talk, but Holden did not do this in an attempt to be some paragon of righteousness. Holden, on a deep, psychological lev...
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...causes problems with all of the "pure" women that he has ever known, whether it is his mother or Jane, and he knows that he can fix all of that with Phoebe. She is the only girl that he is able to fully attach himself to without having to deal with romance. Holden can love Phoebe, and Phoebe can love Holden, but it can still be entirely innocent love.
Works Cited
Corbett, Edward P.J. "Raise High the Barriers, Censors."
America, the National Catholic Weekly Review 7 Jan. 1961.
Rpt. in If You Really Want to Know: A "Catcher" Casebook.
Ed. Malcolm M. Marsden. Chicago: Scott, Foresman, 1963.
68-73.
Lombardi, Esther. "What Is the Role of Women in the Novel?" About.com Classic Literature. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.
Assorted Professors. "Jane Gallagher Character Analysis." The Catcher in the Rye: Shmoop Literature Guide. N.p.: Shmoop University, 2010. 93-94. Print.
In today's world many people do not show their true self to people that they do not feel comfortable around. Readers can see this in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Holden only shows his true authentic self to women and girls. Although Holden seems that he does not like to talk to anyone, when he is around women he pays attention to them, is comfortable, and expresses his true feelings.
The 1940's were a time of nationalism. Men had to have an appearance of a tough attitude. They were never allowed to let their real feelings show. One of the major reasons Holden becomes depressed is the death of his brother Allie. He described is brother as being nothing but perfect. He keeps this guilt locked up inside him because he blames his death on himself. A memory that haunts him is when he excluded his brother from a b-b gun game. Another memory that he held on to and was never able to forgive himself for was when Allie asked Holden to go bike riding and he didn't go. Holden did not have a good relationship with his Mother or Father. He needed them the most right after the death of Allie. However, we see Holden crying out help and attention when he threw a baseball through the window and broke it and still nobody talked to him. His older brother went off to Hollywood. The only one he adores is his younger sister Phoebe. He is able to talk to her and he thought she understood him.
After many years of ideas coming and going, one that seems to stay the same is the thoughts of tennagers. In the book The Catcher In The Rye written by J.D Salinger many can still relate to Holden’s story even after a 76 year difference. While exploring the city around him Holden takes the time to try to find himself on a deeper level and try to grasp how growing up really makes him feel. Given the fact that everyone is unique in among themselves the need for self satisfaction is always current meaning many run from the true responsibilities that come with age.
As any death of a loved one would, Allie’s death had a particularly strong and devastating impact on Holden. Allie died on July 18, 1946, of leukemia, and the significance that his death had on Holden was immediate. The night of Allie’s death Holden reacted violently, “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it. I even tried to break the windows on the station wagon...” (Salinger 39). This outburst was simply the beginning of the problems Holden has because of Allie’s death. Holden, most noticeably has taken on an overall negative outlook on life resulting from the misfortune, included in this is a general distrust of people. After Allie died, Holden does not know who he can trust, for this event was so catastrophic for him. In reference to being annoyed by his brother’s friend, Lillian Simmons, Holden says, “People are always ruining things for you” (87). Regarding Holden’s general depression, he speaks of his sadness when packing his Christmas present, “Almost ev...
In the novel, Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is an example of a prosaic rich adolescent boy,with a pedestrian set of problems, but a psychoanalysis reveals that Holden has a plethora of atypical internal conflicts. Internal conflicts that other students at Pencey, such as Stradlater and Ackley, would not normally experience.
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?"
Over the years, members of the literary community have critiqued just about every author they could get their pen on. One of the most popular novels to be critiqued has been J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. In favorable critiques, Holden Caulfield is a good guy stuck in a bad world. He is trying to make the best of his life, though ultimately losing that battle. Whereas he aims at stability and truth, the adult world cannot survive without suspense and lies. It is a testament to his innocence and decent spirit that Holden would place the safety of children as a goal in his lifetime. This serves to only re-iterate the fact that Holden is a sympathetic character, a person of high moral values who is too weak to pick himself up from a difficult situation.
Holden is by far sensitive and can be overly emotional sometimes. When his younger brother Allie died, Holden dealt with the dreadful event by breaking all the windows in the garage, "just for the hell of it." When he wakes up to find Mr. Antolini stroking his forehead, Holden leaves his apartment quickly, even though Holden identifies Mr. Antolini as a trusted mentor. Holden feels guilty about the death of his younger brother because he died so young. This feeling of guilt and the depression may help explain how overly sensitive Holden can be at times. Holden views himself as the "catcher in the rye", saving children and their innocence from going into the adult world that is crowded with "phonies." When he sees all the graffiti that says "fuck you", he becomes very distraught as the graffiti shows that the innocent world of children is already being affected by the vulgarness of the adult world. Holden exploits the "phony" world of adults often, such as when he li...
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.
In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield struggles to avoid "falling down" into the corrupt adult world. Holden views adulthood as a dishonest world while children are blameless and sincere. Corrupted with this mindset, he wants to act as the "catcher in the rye", to "catch" innocent children before they "fall" down the path of adulthood. In Holden's attempt to do so, he realizes that everyone must eventually take the "fall", even himself.
Innocence and kindheartedness is displayed in the novel through Holden's young sister, Phoebe. Whenever Holden is depressed about being alone he thinks of memories with his younger sister Phoebe and feels completely better. Phoebe is always there for her brother to listen to his stories and complaints.
It is made evident that Holden is enamored with Jane Gallagher, and this first manifests itself when Holden talks about her to Stradlater. “I used to play checkers with her,” Holden recounts. “ ‘She’d get [her kings] all lined up in the back row. Then she’d never use them. She just liked the way they looked when they were all in the back row.’ Stradlater didn’t say anything. That kind of stuff doesn’t interest most people” (41). In a world where almost everything is so “goddam depressing,” thinking about Jane’s minor traits actually makes Holden happy, even if it is the kind of stuff that does not interest most people. It allows him to channel his childhood, where he was oblivious to the phoniness around him. However, this silly nostalgia cannot get across to Stradlater, who is more interested in Jane as a sexual being than trivialities such as her checker tactics or struggles with ballet. This physical interest eventually becomes the root of their brawl in their dorm. Although Holden’s interrogative mood agitates Stradlater, Holden is only showing his genuine care for Jane. Unlike Stradlaer, Holden has enough sense to know that Jane, being the humble, intelligent girl she is, deserves to be treated right. So, even though Holden lets his anger get the better of him and eventually start a fight, he has reason to do
American Literature is widely known for possessing themes of disillusionment. Faulkner, Harper Lee, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway dominate this category of literature. However, the most influential piece of American Literature is arguably J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. What makes this piece of art stand so far out from any other work of literature is the attributes that make this novel so relatable. The source of this raw, real emotion that completely captivates the reader is Salinger himself. The Catcher in the Rye ‘s main character Holden Caulfield is undeniably Salinger. This work of fiction nearly resembles an autobiography. J.D. Salinger uses his novel to express his disillusionment through motifs, pathos, and symbols.
Holden admires Phoebe and Allie for their stunning intelligence, which he doesn’t find in himself. As Holden thinks about topics for Stradlater’s paper, the subject shifts to Allie whom he
Holden Caulfield can be analyzed through his thoughts, actions and circumstances which surround his everyday life. Holden acts like a careless teenager. Holden has been to several prep-schools, all of which he got kicked out of for failing classes. After being kicked out of the latest, Pency Prep, he went off to New York on his own. Holden seems to have a motivation problem which apparently affects his reasoning. The basis of his reasoning comes from his thoughts. Holden thinks the world is full of a bunch of phonies. All his toughs about people he meets are negative. The only good thoughts he has are about his sister Phoebe and his dead brother Alley. Holden, perhaps, wishes that everyone, including himself, should be like his brother and sister. That is to be intelligent, real and loving. Holden’s problem is with his heart. It was broken when his brother died. Now Holden goes around the world as his fake self, wearing his mask. Holden is looking for love, peace and understanding. He is scared to love because he is afraid he might lose it like he did with his brother. That is the reason for Holden's love of the museum, he feels safe because it never changes it always stays the same. Holden is troubled with the pain of death, it effects every aspect of his life causing him to not care about the future, himself or anyone, except Phoebe and Alley.