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essays about the catcher and the rye
character analysis holden catcher in the rye
essays about the catcher and the rye
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Free Essay on The Catcher in the Rye
The catcher in the rye is a work of fiction and a
tragic-comedy. I came to choose it because I heard it is about a
boy who is around my age.
In this book, the main character, Holden Caulfield, tells
us a story about what happened during his Christmas vacation.
Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy who has flunked out of a private
prep school. Because he is afraid that his parents would find out
this fact, he goes to a hotel in New York City instead of going
home after he leaves school for Christmas vacation. In New York,
many things happen to him within a few days. For example, he goes
to the hotel bar and meets three women after he first arrives
there. The women go away soon after he fails to talk with them,
and Holden feels lonely and depressed. He goes to another bar to
find someone to spend some time with, but he fails to find anyone
to talk to and comes back to the hotel feeling more depressed. In
the hotel, he meets a prostitute, but he sends her back without
having sex because he feels depressed and sorry for her. He was
further disappointed when she tries to rob him of his money even
though he tries to be nice to her. In the next morning, he has a
date with an old girl friend, and asks her to flee from this
corrupt world and live in the woods with him. However, she tells
him he is crazy and then leaves him. Holden meets some more
people later, but they also cannot solve his problems, and he
feels more and more depressed and lonely. He finally decides to
run away and live as a deaf-mute who will not need to communicate
with anyone. Before leaving, he goes to say good-bye to his
little sister, Pheobe, who he admires the most. While talking and
playing with her, Holden changes his mind and decides to rejoin
his family and because he realizes there are many things that he
cannot solve by himself.
The theme of this novel is how innocence is corrupted by
society. Holden thinks everybody who is grown up is a phony
because their behavior and advice are all false. The title of
J.D Salinger gives his personal vision of the world successfully through his persona Holden Caulfield in the ‘Catcher in the Rye’. Caulfield struggles with the background of New York to portray Salinger’s theme – you must live the world as it is, not as you would like it to be. There by exposing Salinger’s vision on the world.
Jane Eyre is about a girl named Jane who struggles to find who she really is and with it what she really wants. “As a model for women readers in the Victorian period and throughout the twentieth century to follow, Jane Eyre encouraged them to make their own choices in living their lives, to develop respect for themselves, and to become individuals” (Markley). One of the reasons why this book gained merit was because of its striking presence within its time period. During the “Victorian Age” woman did not have much say in society, so this novel broke boundaries to societal norms that restricted woman from things they have today. “Brontë is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her nature. A novel creates its own internal world through the language that it uses, and this fictional world may be quite independent from the real physical world in which we live” (Johnson). Bronte creates another world through her enlightening form of writing that has the reader connected to the novel as much as Riordan has on the readers in The Lightning Thief. “Reader, I married him” (Bronte 457). This line from the novel is one of the most iconic lines in literature because after all the terrible things she had to endure, Jane finally
To begin, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger is unique. The novel is written from the perspective of a teenager who lives in New York in the 1950's. From the context in the beginning and the end of the book, "I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy" (page 1), "I could probably tell you what I did after I went home, and how I got sick and all, and what school I'm supposed to go to next fall, after I get out of here, but I don't feel like it" (page 213), we can infer that Holden Caulfield, the aforementioned teenager, is in a mental hospital. However, he tells the story through flashback of a three-day period sometime before Christmas the year before. This is unusual because most novels cover much more time than three days. This is one reason why this novel is so unique. Although the novel is spread over only three days, we learn so much about the protagonist, and many other characters, because all Holden's thoughts and feelings, especially about other characters, during these three days is portrayed, nothing is left out.
Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist in the book “Catcher in the Rye”, is usually described as an uncouth, impolite, inappropriate character, who has little to no respect for anyone but himself. However, after I completed the book, I realized that while Holden did a poor job of establishing his positive characteristics to the readers, his behavior often proved he was a respectable, honest human being that was often misjudged. My opinion is that Holden possessed contrasting characteristics that were both undesirable and admirable qualities. I believe that because the book was written in the first person point of view, Holden is often judged based on his thoughts and not on his actions. Throughout the entire book the reader was given a perspective
In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden is deals with one of the largest obstacles one would ever face in one’s lifetime. He must deal with the concept of development and the idea that he’s growing up, that he’s no longer a child and must accept maturity. This internal struggle is evident in multiple aspects of this novel, particularly highlighted when Holden visits the museum and the carousel at the conclusion of the novel.
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye Holden puts himself in situations that are very stressful. His personality type puts him in these situations. Holden has trouble-making friends because he thinks almost everyone is a phony. The pressure created from not having friends and being able to be comfortable at a school forced him out of an education, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That's all...For instance, they had this headmaster, Mr. Haas, that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life” (Salinger 13) not only did this force him out of the school but also onto the streets. The song “Under Pressure” by Queen perfectly fits the theme that the pressure Holden created on himself forced him to the edge of sanity. In the song, one of the reoccurring lines is “puts people on the streets” (Queen) referring to pressure. This song perfectly relates to this theme.
Bronte is known as one of the first revolutionary and challenging authoress’ with her text Jane Eyre. The society of her time was male dominated, women were marginally cast aside and treated as trophies for their male counterparts. Their main role in life was to be a mother and a wife, “ Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life……the more she is engaged in her proper duties, the less leisure she will have for it.” A quote from a letter Robert Southey wrote to Bronte. A clear sign of the mentality and opposition Bronte was up against. A woman’s “proper duties” of course being to tend and wait on her “master’s” every whim and need. Women during Bronte’s time had no clear voice, none that was of any merit, they were a silent category of society, silenced by their male oppressors. Bronte’s book was in fact written before the first women’s rights movement had happened, yet it puts forward an image of an independent strong character, of a passionate and almost rebellious nature. A character “refusing subservience, disagreeing with her superiors, standing up for her right’s, and venturing creative thoughts.” I put forward that Bronte throughout her text not only revises the themes of male power and oppression, but reconstructs them also. The text is a female bildungsroman of it’s time, sometimes subtly and sometimes overtly tackling the patriarchal view of women.
For my Literature Circle assignment I read the novel entitled The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger.Taking place in the 1950's, The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most popular American books of all time, though, its hero is not really a hero at all. Main character Holden Caufield, is a 17 year old, disproved and misunderstood, classic "screw-up", who does poorly in school, loses his team's equipment, and takes an impulsive trip to New York. Distraught by the death of his 11 year old brother Allie, Holden wanders around his birthplace of New York, reconnecting with old friends and making new enemies. The main conflict of this novel is Holden transitioning into an adult and trying to cope with his brother’s death. One main theme displayed all throughout this novel would be depression. For the duration of this novel, Holden spends his time alone, and even if he is in the company of other people, you hear his thoughts of being depressed. Most of this depression is derived from his brother’s death, but there are many other things accountable for his mental issues. Although much of this novel was just Holden’s opinions and thoughts, I found this novel to be very interesting and thought provoking.
Bronte wrote Jane Eyre to emphasize her beliefs behind the purpose of women, and how society lacked to understand them as who they were created to be. The issue of lack of opportunity for women to engage in intellectual preparation and continuation is prevalent within the character of Jane. Expectation of women’s role was a social norm, with a lack of diversity or individuality. Bronte challenges this issue through the character of Jane, whom experiences a tug-of-war sensation between being herself, who she wants to be and should be, and what society wants her to be, and pushes her to be. Bronte was trying to explain that women have the same capability as men to be productive individuals of society, but they are held back from establishing their potential. The most unique understanding of Bronte’s challenge to society is the understanding that the characteristics and personality of Jane as a female is shamed and criticized, however these features are identical to those of a successful and representable man in
The development of Charlotte Bronte's character, Jane Eyre, becomes vital to her novel Jane Eyre, and the other characters in which she is involved. She is an intelligent, plain featured, honest young girl whose reaction to her situations brings more depth to her personality. She is forced to deal with oppression, discrimination, and at times poverty, which disrupt her strong will, dignity, and desire for freedom. At the beginning, Jane possesses a passion for pride and the idea of freedom and these characteristics, along with her integrity, are tested continuously throughout the novel by the many personalities with whom she encounters. Living in a male dominant world Jane is expected to remain obedient and docile and her passion sometimes keeps her from being able to do this. She is a rarity among obeying female characters and we see this throughout the book.
Charlotte Brontë composed her novel Jane Eyre during the Victorian era; a period of history where Patriarchy set the expectations of men and women. The effect of this social system resulted in women suffering discrimination simply because of their gender. Sigmund Freud, in his essay entitled, “The Relation of the Poet to Day-Dreaming,” articulated that women were only capable of having erotic wishes dominate their “phantasies,” and even their ambitious “phantasies” were rooted in erotic wishes (177). The predominating thought concerning women during this era was that, due to their nature, longed to marry—tending to the needs of her household. Those who were not fortunate enough to marry (due to appearance or social status) were to become governesses. Ms. Brontë, through her protagonist Jane Eyre, clearly depicts the struggles of an indigent young woman who is forced into near slavery. This tale is articulated well by Adrienne Rich in her essay entitled, “Jane Eyre: The Temptations of a Motherless Woman,” when she states that Jane wants to “choose her life with dignity, integrity, and pride” (471). Even though Charlotte Brontë depicts a woman who will not be bound by the mores of her society, she is not so exuberant as to have her protagonist proclaim “I am woman, hear me roar.” The toning down of Jane’s demeanor can be attributed to satisfaction of the critics, but Brontë also expresses that the societal expectations, or the patriarchal rights of men, produced a similar negative effect on men. From John Reed and his self-righteous attitude, to Rochester’s internal battle in regards to the treatment of women, Charlotte Brontë demonstrates that sexism—inherent in a patriarchal society—has an adverse affect on both men and women.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is set in the mid nineteenth century, during the Victorian era where class and gender roles are clearly defined in the patriarchal society. The general ideology of the era expresses the idea that if gender categories were not maintained as binary oppositions, catastrophic chaos would likely ensue (Gill, 109). Throughout the novel, Jane is faced with the issue of oppression. The typical characteristics of an ideal female in Victorian society would include submissiveness, simple dress, low ambition, longing for a male love interest and passiveness. Bronte clearly shows her stance on this Victorian ideology as Jane often challenges those social institutions and changes her place in society, although she often settles for the status quo for certain periods of time. Jane plays the typical role of a Victorian woman through much of her life, but through subtle shifts in power Bronte challenges these Victorian norms by way of Jane’s education, unlikely rise in social status from teacher to governess and her relationship with a seemingly unattainable man.
The 19th century was a period of oppression for women. The patriarchal system that dominated the Victorian period in England's history, was one during which Charlotte Brontë wrote and set the novel, Jane Eyre. Brontë denounces the persecution that women suffered at the hands of a society that placed faith in a belief that men were emotionally, socially and intellectually superior to Victorian women.
There is no doubt Jane Eyre is a feminist novel because of Janes independence, her character, the feelings she has on independence and marriage, the symbolism, setting, and overall theme of the book. Janes independence is unusual for victorian times and is one part of her characteristics that makes her a feminist. With Janes view on marriage and being one of the first feminists it makes the novel very feminist. The author Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre represents the role of women in the Victorian era by giving the reader an insight into the lives of women from all social classes. Jane Eyre therefore represents figures of the Victorian time yet the character of Jane Eyre, herself, can be seen as very unconventional for the Victorian society.