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Holden Caulfield Catcher in the Rye character analysis
Analyzing holden caulfield
Holden Caulfield Catcher in the Rye character analysis
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Thesis: Holden Caufield is a hostile, negatively charged character that suffers from depression which stems from a desire not to grow up and a lack of closure in his brothers death."If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like . . . "(pg. 1) These first words that Holden Caufield communicates during his tell of events that brought him to his breakdown, show the pent up hostility that still lingers. This pattern of speech, the constant expression of negativity, is a character trait of Holden that shows his inner anguish.
Holden also feels a continual need for affirmation of what he just said with phrases such as, "He really would."(pg. 25) or "It really isn't." (Pg. 89) This continual need for approval shows a lowered level of self-assurance. This lowered self-assurance probably stems from his self-awareness that he is an unreliable source. The reason he is unreliable is due to his deceitful narrative of occurrences.
This is seen repeatedly as Holden builds an individual up as good or righteous such as Stradlater, (pg. 25) then tears him down later. (pg 43) This inability to give truthful accounts of individuals could stem from his constant digression from the point at hand. Holden freely admits to this trait on page 183 when he says "The trouble with me is, I like it when somebody digresses. It's more interesting and all.""Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone."(pg.
122) This phrase Holden made while discussing how things were different each time he went to the museum, stems from an inability to accept that he must grow up. The thought of growing up has driven Holden into bouts of depression as inhis discussion on page 133, " It'd be entirely different. I said. I was getting depressed as hell again." This nonconformist desire has led Holden to have illusions of grandeur as a fictional savior, "The Catcher in the Rye."(pg. 173) The catcher in the rye is undoubtedly a metaphor, for keeping children from falling into the same norm as adults.
The inability of Holden to accept growing up and the depression caused by it has made Holden suicidal, "what I really felt like, though, was committing suicide.
Since Holden was isolated from his family, in order to not get hurt again he tries to find hypocrisy in people to stop himself from trusting others. Holden feels isolated after being sent to a boarding school that “was full of phonies” by his parents (Salinger 90). Salinger’s message to the audience with this quote is that when
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, cannot accept that he must move out of childhood and into adulthood. One of Holden’s most important major problems is his lack of maturity. Holden also has a negative perspective of life that makes things seem worse than they really are. In addition to Holden’s problems he is unable to accept the death of his brother at a young age. Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality hold him back from moving into adulthood.
Compulsive lying is another characteristic that Holden exhibits. Holden would tell people lies just so they could not become closer to the real Holden. Holden tells lies on numerous occasions to gain. Holden pathetically tells Mrs. Morrow, " I have to have a tiny operation… it isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on my brain" (58). She tells Holden that she is very sorry and she is hopeful that he shall be well soon. Holden then catches him self in a lie and he remarkes, "Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it," (58). This compulsive lying shows that Holden is not satisfied with himself and that he feels that people will judge him critically.
He disregards most people because he thinks they are ‘phonies’ - materialistic, shallow and insincere people. To Holden, almost anyone who falls under that category is a phony and isn’t someone he wants to spend time with. However, because of Holden’s trauma, the reader can’t quite trust him. He sees the world through so many layers of protection, he is an unreliable narrator.
He also dislikes movies. “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don’t even mention them to me.”(2). Holden think that actors are phonies . He also thinks his brother D.B sold out for the financial success of Hollywood. Holden calls everyone phonies because they have a different perspectives and they don’t think like him. It is a way for Holden to separate himself from other people. Holden thinks the world is about to get him. Holden is a hypocrite because he calls people phonies but he said “I am the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It is awful.”(16). This quote show how of a terrific liar Holden really is and how he is not reliable.
Holden Caulfield is a typical depressive teenager that exhibits negative views about growing up. Depression is made up of many categories of symptoms, such as emotional, physical, behavioral, and how one perceives life. These symptoms, take over Holden, due to his lack of knowledge on how to control his feelings.
that he is trying to hide his true identity. He does not want people to know who he really is or that he was kicked out of his fourth school. Holden is always using fake names and tries speaking in a tone to persuade someone to think a cretin way. He does this when he talks to women. While he is talking to the psychiatrist he explains peoples reactions to his lies like they really believe him, when it is very possible that he is a horrible liar and they are looking at him with a “what are you talking a bout?” expression. Holden often lies to the point where he is lying to him self.
Although depression could be connected to his actions, with his specific circumstances in mind, it does not add up. Holden is merely just suffering from losing his brother, and good friend Allie. While Allie’s death was almost four years ago for Holden, the spiral of destructive events he has created is just catching up to him now. It is mention in the book that shortly after Allie’s death, he had an outburst. The book says, “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because broke all the windows in the garage. I don't blame them. I really don't. 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” (Salinger 39). This was probably a result of Holden realizing that his brother was really gone forever. Since then, Holden has been ignoring this and probably trying to avoid acknowledging his feelings in any way he can. This is what is causing Holden to have another outburst, this time spread out over the course of many months, starting by him giving up at Pencey and ending in what could have been him seriously hurting himself, had he not have eventually gone home. At one point in the book, Mr. Antolini mentions to Holden that if he is not careful sometime will happen and he will have some sort of “great fall”. The quote 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” (Salinger 186). This interaction with Mr. Antolini is was probably woke Holden up and made him realize he can not keep wasting his days by acting the way he was. Like mentioned before, if Holden would not have gone home when he did, he might have ended up hurting himself or even been killed. The best route for Holden right now would be to take a semester or just some time to
Many of the times that Holden criticizes people, it is something he does himself. (Pg 13) “. one of the reasons I left Elkton was that I was surrounded by phonies.” Holden himself is many times what he refers to as a “phony”. He knows that he lies and pretends to like people that he would rather not be with.
Revisiting the issues brought up by Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird, it seems clear that majority of Americans do not live in a racist society as the one portrayed in Maycomb. After centuries of facing prolonged struggles of activism and change, open hatred and prejudice against Blacks has become unacceptable and often taboo in today’s society. Even though there may still be underlying tendencies of prejudice that could affect jurors decisions in present-day trials, the heavy cascade of anti-Black sentiment and overtly racial norms that had previously prevailed in America has greatly diminished. Black defendants by far have an improved opportunity of receiving a more fair and impartial verdict in the modern legal system than they did in the 1930’s.
Sexual abuse is a growing concern in society today. So many people are hurt by the actions of other people when they abuse them, especially in a sexual manner. The Catholic Church is also now being targeted for sexual offenders. Priests have been charged with sexually abusing young boys that are involved with the church. The church has been looking the other way on this issue for many years. The children as well as their family are being hurt and its time something was done to prevent the further exploitation of young boys in the Catholic Church.
There are several issues at play as this scandal continues. In this paper I hope to look at the actual scandals involving retired priest Paul Shanley and defrocked priest John Geoghan. These two men served as priests in the Boston community for over 20 years under the leadership of three different Cardinals. Throughout their years of service they had sexual relationships with males ranging from the age of 4 to 26. Only within the past year were legal steps taken against them. John Geoghan was tried and convicted and Paul Shanley’s case is still under investigation.
Body modification by definition is deliberating altering the human body. Most people at one point has altered his or her body at one point whether is to dye his or her hair or to get piercings or getting a tattoo. Since there are many different types of body modifications, most people do not think about extreme body modifications such as piercing in the genitals, splitting the genitals, horn implants, body suspensions, and many more. Body modifications can be deviant and they do lead people to perceive those individuals as criminals, and body modifications can effect on a person’s life.
Growing up, little girls idolized the Barbie dolls they play with. They are taught from a young age that she is who they should aspire to look and be like, so why wouldn’t girl try to be like her? For 16 year old Lolita Richi, being Barbie, or as similar to a doll as she can be is her ultimate goal. She has become known as “the youngest ‘Human Barbie’ yet to emerge” and believes that she has the “most doll-like beauty yet” (Winter). Richi has dedicated her life in Ukraine to trying to perfect this look through the use of body modifications. Body modification, which is also known as body altering, is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or physical appearance. This can be done through makeup, piercing, tattoos, surgeries and in many other ways. Richi sticks to the non-permeant forms of body modification.
There are many different ways that one could modify their bodies. An example of a more simple and common body modification would be the piercing of one’s ears. Ear piercing is so common nowadays that some even think of it as tradition to get their daughter’s ears pierced at a young age. It has become a common staple of femininity and beauty around the world. An example of a more drastic and uncommon body modif...