Lastly, Holden Caulfield is like a stranger whom had struggle to find his right way. Holden is in between his conscious action and unconscious desire. Holden constantly rejecting the idea that he is interested in someone’s life, but likewise other teenagers he wants to know the truth about everyone , as he mention, he is a perfect lier ” I am the most terrific liar you have ever saw in your life. It’s awful”.( Salinger 16).He used lie to attempt someone’s attention .He lied to Ms.Morrow that his son is one of best student at Pency , "a bunch of us wanted old Ernie to be president of the class" but because he was so modest and shy, he wouldn't let them elect him (Salinger 56 - 57).The problem with Holden is that he is judging peoples base on his observation .He seems everyone same , but only himself is different .He mentioned that Mr. and Mrs. Caulfield are careless, depressed , nervous ,lonely parents. He never respect his parent due to the ideology that they are also one of the phonies. His mother was “nervious as hell”. This might be true , but there are …show more content…
parent who worked day and night like a machine in order to provide goods for there children. Many kids in order to fit their place in society , they will exagrateting negative aspect of their parent, so they will look cool among their peers. He just seems to skim over them and make them seem bad. Thus, Holden only wants to give other pain in order to feel superior . Holden's unconious desires includes all of his motivation and desire rogue: his sudden choice to leave Pency for New York City, his obsession on sex, Inconsistency and inability to act in their minds, and deliberately deceived her pleasure of strangers.
Holden does not want to enter adults world , but he is doing all the phony stuff which an adult want to do. From smoking to dancing with girls in the club. He once waned to have sexual relationships.” If you want to know the truth, I'm a virgin. I really am”.(Salinger ).Holden never had sex before .Sunny ,the prostitute whom was invited by Holden .Although , he was not able to do sex “Sexy was about the last thing I was feeling. I felt much more depressed than sexy”( Salinger ).It is hi conscious mind which prohibited him from making a sexual relationship , but Holden uncoious desires always absorbs him to negative path. Thus, Holden toy of his own
life.
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.
On the darker and more atypical side of Holden Caulfield's character is the alarming mental health issues. Holden Cauldfield sadly has a plethora of these types of internal conflicts. Holden Caulfield is a pathological liar, “ If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even if somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera. “(16). Holden is also constantly changing his name throughout the novel. Holden is sel...
When Holden attempts to make connections with other people in the city but is unsuccessful, Salinger shows that he focuses too much on what society expects from him rather than what he wants. While Holden walks through the city and pond in the park, he notices ducks. He later takes a cab and while talking with Horwitz the cab driver Holden asks him,
Published in 1951, J. D. Salinger's debut novel, The Catcher in the Rye, was one of the most controversial novels of its time. The book received many criticisms, good and bad. While Smith felt the book should be "read more than once" (13), Goodman said the "book is disappointing" (21). All eight of the critics had both good and bad impressions of the work. Overall, the book did not reflect Salinger's ability due to the excessive vulgarity used and the monotony that Holden imposed upon the reader.
The major problem in the book is how Holden, the main character, is dealing with growing up. He is not sure if he wants to become an adult or still be a child. It appears that he wants to still be a child in the beginning of the novel by saying that adults are phonies and by judging people by their appearance rather than their personality. He first shows this when he is writing about the Pencey Prep headmaster’s daughter. He thinks, “She probably knew what a phony slob he was” (3). This demonstrates that he thinks that this adult is a phony, along with many others. Holden does not want to grow up and become an adult, so he deals with that by saying that all adults are phonies and is trying to not face the reality of becoming older. In the end, Holden finds himself and decides that he was grateful for his protection for a little while, but knew that he was going to grow up anyways. He then proves that while he is watching his younger sister ride the carousel and it starts to rain. His favorite red hunting hat then shows more symbolic meaning when, “My hunting hat gave me quite a lot of protection, in a way, but I got soaked anyway. I didn’t care, though. I felt so damn happy...” (213). This proves that Holden is embracing growing older than trying to run and hide from the fact. The hunting hat protected him from the fact of growing up, and the rain made him realize that he was aging. The hat saved him for a little bit, but then he got soaked. This then helped him realize that you have to grow up eventually, and Holden was happy while this was happening. He solved his problem by facing the reality of aging and expects it while still being happy as he was when he was a kid.
Annotated Bibliography of Crash Course. “Holden, JD, and the Red Cap- The Catcher in the Rye Part 2: Crash Course English Literature #7.” Youtube.
Holden Caufield is one example out of many troubled teenagers in the world and what they go through in life to make it. Not many people are willing to tell their life story in full detail and reveal all about themselves. It is personal and hard to tell someone. Holden has a hard time because his parents did not show a lot of affection due to their busy lives and their strive for perfection, which in turn does not allow Holden to listen carefully to their advice. He is also a spoiled child, which further deepens the problem. He does not see the real world and the real struggles in life to make him think twice. Instead he rides on other’s money and has his eyes blinded by it. Problems will always face him, but now he will tackle them with a matured mind.
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
Throughout the book Holden has these recurring thoughts about sex which is a typical trait for a sixteen year old boy. Holden had just walked back from Ernie's when Maurice, the elevator man, asks Holden if he is “Interested in a little tail t’night”(91). Holden unwittingly says yes to Maurie’s proposition: “It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn’t even think”(91). Holden then returns to his room to prepare himself for the girl the Maurice was sending. Holden admits that “I was starting to feel pretty sexy and all, but I was a little nervous anyway”(92). When Sunny arrives she seems very keen to get the intercourse done and over with fast. Holden is affronted by the fact that Sunny is so eager to get things done quickly. Holden observes that he “felt peculiar when she did that”(94). Holden was referring to when Sunny “stood up and pulled her dress over her head”(94). Holden the acknowledges that “you’re supposed to feel pretty sexy when somebody gets up and pulls their dress over their head, but I didn’t”(95). Holden quickly rejects the intimacy of sex and instead asks Sunny if she feels “like talking for a while”(95). Sunny isn’t very jubilant with the fact that Holden does not want to have sex, but instead talk. There is something inside of Holden that always prohibits him from
A major theme of J.D. Salinger’s novel, “ The Catcher in the Rye,” is turning your back on the world is not good. The teenage boy Holden Caulfield demonstrates this theme in the story with the constant negativity he receives as result of his negative attitude.
What was it like to grow up? What would you change? Would you want to be a kid again? In the novel “The Catcher in The Rye” by J.D. Salinger, the character Holden Caulfield is trying to stop the way others grow up because to him the world of adulthood is corrupt. Ultimately the author sends a message that childhood innocence cannot be protected forever because everyone grows up.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger shows the transition of a young teenager who struggles to find himself in the adult world. Holden Caulfield encounters many different elements that he had been influenced by the world around him. He views the world full of “perverts” and “phonies”. As a result of his views, Holden withdraws from society because he believes society is “broken” and very flawed. Holden’s view of society is developed based on his experiences such as the death of his brother, flunking out of many schools, an unrealistic dream of becoming the catcher and the rye. He becomes very judgmental of others which are his way of feeling better about himself by looking at things cursorily and His approach is to dismiss thinking deeply
...d, Holden gives up and does not pursue the subject any longer, as he prefers not to know so that he can keep his own memory of Jane intact. Upon Holden's encounter with Sunny, Holden's eventual refusal to have sex reveals that he fears change in himself as well. Although Holden is curious he is not yet ready to take that step into adulthood.
From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word “phony” to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who are“phony”, it is the young main character. First, Mr. Spencer, Holden’s ex- history teacher, is not described as phony, but according to the adolescent, his choice of words are. Secondly, according to our main character, Ossenburger is not the generous philanthropist he portrays himself to be, but rather a greedy undertaker. Lastly, the protagonist could quite possibly be the authentic phony. All in all, the main character’s use to describe many other characters in the book is with the single word phony, when in fact the word phony would be the most probable word to describe the lead character.
Holden Caulfield was one of a kind. Everything about him from his physical appearance, to his personality, to his actions was unique. His diversity set him apart from the rest of the crowd. Holden's appearance was not very different. He was the typical 16-year-old boy. He explains his age by stating "I was sixteen he (Ackley) was eighteen"(21). He was about 6'2" tall and had a crew cut. He had gray hair only on the right side of his head, which would be his one unique physical characteristic. His personality was very unique however. "I am the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life"(16) was how he explained himself. He would lie even if he didn't have to. "If I'm on my way to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera"(16) was one example of Holden in yet another unnecessary lie. Holden was definitely not someone that you could depend on. Holden's actions were also peculiar. He would always act like a tough guy but he really was very scared. The incident with Maurice the pimp and Sunny the Prostitute is one example. He is very nervous about having a prostitute but he tries to act normal about it. From the time Maurice asks him if he's "innarested in a little tail t'night?"(91) he feels uncomfortable but he still gets the prostitute. He then tries to act tough when Maurice is asking for five more dollars for the prostitute but Holden, unfortunately, as the prostitute takes five more dollars from his wallet "All of a sudden starts to cry"(103). This shows how he is insecure about his actions. Holden is a boy who keeps to himself too much. He suffers too much mental anguish that he keeps it inside and has random breakdowns. These traits do make him unique but not necessarily in a good way.