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Essays of resilience
Descriptions of holden caulfield
Descriptions of holden caulfield
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Secondly, Holden tries to refuse the fact that things cannot stay the same way. Throughout the book Holden is at a tough time in his life where he is in denial and is really hard for him to accept things like Allie’s death. Even though Allie is dead he tires to preserve and protect children because he does not want them to suffer like him. When he says “ The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was . Nobody’d move. … Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.”(Salinger 121). Throughout the book Holden has the difficulty in dealing with Allie’s death. This quote implicitly reveals that Holden wants things to stay the same way and that by his past memories he does not want to let go. …show more content…
Holden is having a tough time to accept it because he had so many good memories and he was Holden’s role model. The museum symbolizes how Holden wants his life to be; a life where things do not change. He does not want it to change like the museum because of his past memories with Allie now gone. In addition, this quote implicitly reveals that Holden has the fear of tremendous and unpredictable change in his life. When he proclaims “Anyways, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of the rye and all.. I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out of somewhere and catch them” (Salinger 173). This quotation reveals on how he wants to save and preserve the innocence of children. This implicitly reveals that Holden wants to protect kids from bad or scary events. Moreover this quotation shows that Holden is willing to risk his life so that other children will not have a traumatic experience like him. This not only reveals the title of the book, The Catcher in the Rye but also reveals his love for
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,
Holden wants to shelter children from the adult world (Chen). In Chapter 16, the catcher in the rye finally appears. This is also a symbol for what Holden would like to be when he grows older. He pictures a group of many kids playing in a field of rye, where it is his job to catch them from falling off the cliff. This shows Holden’s love for childhood and his need to preserve it in any way he can. According to Alsen, “The way Holden explains why he wants to be the catcher in the rye shows the kindness and unselfishness of his character. However, the surreal nature of the metaphor also reveals his unwillingness to face the real life choices he needs to make now that he is approaching adulthood.” By the end of the book, Holden realizes in order for kids to grow, there can’t be protection from all of potential harm. “He therefore gives up his dream of being the catcher in the rye and is ready to make a realistic choice of what he wants to do with his life” (Alsen). Holden’s dream world, that doesn’t involve change, is unrealistic. He is terrified by the unpredictable changes of the adult world, but there is no way for Holden to avoid the experiences and changes that the
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.
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.
Despite Holden's resistance to change, he starts to change. "Catcher in the Rye," reminds us that changing is not easy to process mentally. Going through the true process of change, it requires us to let go of the past and move on which is hard. The novel represents the hardship of changing. It reminds us how great the value of finding something special and precious is as well as a valid reason although it requires us to let go and move on with our lives. All it requires is to simply let
Throughout the book Holden admits he doesn't like change. Holden fear of growing up , becoming an adult and thinking of of it disgust him. For example the museum, Holden like it because the exterior of it did not change and says the only thing that would change would be you.In the text Luce says “Same old Caulfield.When are you going to grow up already?”(144). Holden wants things to stay how they are and how his life is. Holden considers adults phonies and he doesn’t want to be consider phony as well. When he describes the museum he says the best part about it is that it never changes, only you do.Holden bonds with his sister taking her to the zoo, museum and the carousel.He wants to Phoebe to experience what he did and to get the memories alive. “What I have to do, I would have to catch everyone if they start to go over the cliff- what I have to do, I mean if they are running and they don't look where they are going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That is all I have to do. I would just be the catcher in the rye”(173). This quote show how by holden is catching them from falling down the cliff which symbolizes stopping them from adulthood. “Thousand of little kids and nobody’s around- nobody big , I mean except me”(173). This quotes implies how young innocent kids won't be exerted by adults
Protected by a cocoon of naiveté, Holden Caulfield, the principal character in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, therapeutically relates his lonely 24 hour stay in downtown New York city, experiencing the "phony" adult world while dealing with the death of his innocent younger brother. Through this well-developed teenage character, JD Salinger, uses simple language and dialogue to outline many of the complex underlying problems haunting adolescents. With a unique beginning and ending, and an original look at our new society, The Catcher in the Rye is understood and appreciated on multiple levels of comprehension. The book provides new insights and a fresh view of the world in which adolescents live.
Holden says that he finds Luce amusing, even though he is effeminate and a phony
Holden tries to preserve his own innocence, and the innocence of others by not letting go of childhood memories and through his desire to suspend time. Holden views the adult world as corrupt and full of phonies. He admires childhood because of how it is free of corruption, and untouched by the adult world. IN order to preserve his own innocence Holden often attaches himself to childhood memories. The Museum of NAtural History is one of Holden’s favourite places . He mentions that his grade one teacher Miss. Aigletinger used to take his class there every saturday. While writing about the museum he says, “The best thing, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was” (121). This shows how Holden wants to preserve his innocence because he expresses how he likes how everything stayed the
He does so because he understands that if he allows Phoebe to follow him westward, he will fail his dream of protecting her innocent; instead of preventing her terrible fall into adulthood, he will be as guilty of pushing her over the edge of childhood as the anonymous "pervert" who scribbles profanity on her elementary school walls. Thus, to save her, he must sacrifice his passionate disdain for adult phonies and submit to the indignity of their "asking me if I 'm going to apply myself ' (213)…” Holden Caulfield suggests that children should be respected and protected. He wants to be the catcher and the rye to protect children from “falling over”. As a result of Allie’s death, Holden feels guilty and loses faith in the adult world, and his own future. The baseball mitt represents Holden returns to the field where childhood still remain themselves, not entering the adulthood and Holden’s life is much simpler. Furthermore, Holden is still not able to face reality like an adult, instead, Holden tells Phoebe that he just wants to catch kids from falling off a cliff. On page 173, “… Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they
Because coping with the death of his brother is the motivation behind Holden 's behavior throughout the entire novel it is considered a possible theme for the story. Holden reacts violently to the news of allie’s death initially but as Allies death becomes more distant Holden is more thoughtful about remembering Allie. The night Holden hears the news he broke all of the windows in the garage “ I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it”(PAGE 44). After time has past from Allie’s death Holden is not quite as violent he is more curious about Allie hence his obsession with the ducks and where they go in the winter. Holden also prays to Allie “Allie don’t let me disappear”(PAGE 218) Holden is changing his ways of coping throughout the entire story. Holden is not alone in his outbursts about Allie, Holden 's family dynamic crumbles after Allie dies. Holden describes his family in chapter seventeen saying his mother “Hasn’t felt too healthy since my brother Allie died. She’s very nervous.” (PAGE 120) implying his mother had a nervous breakdown. His father and D.B. both immerse themselves in work to prevent thinking too hard about Allie 's death. Holden’s family was not the same after Allie’s death and this turns the Caulfield family upside down. Holden sees that his brother has died and is mad at him but also thinks about suicide and pretends to be dying after he fights because if he is dead he is also closer to Allie. In chapter twenty and chapter six alike Holden had a physical confrontation and pretended to be shot when he was alone in his room. Holden fantasies about death trying to be closer to Ally. The way all of the characters cope with Holden’s death bring up all of the major ideas in the story thus being a possible theme for The Catcher in
A door slams. A muffled scream echoes through the house. Someone shouts, “This is so unfair!” No one gets hurt, but no one remains unscathed. A typical scenario in the house of a teenager, but why? Throughout life, people only see the world from their point of view, and many never attempt to view their actions in any way but their own. J.D. Salinger penned the auspicious novel, The Catcher in the Rye. This classic tells the story of a mentally disabled teen that grew up too fast. Holden, the aforementioned teen, distances himself from personal connection after his younger brother, Allie, dies. By cutting himself off from the love of those around him, he feels lost and misunderstood. Holden begins to hate the world, and soon gives up on attempting
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
He has trouble grasping the fact that all children need to grow up, but doing so is considered phony by Holden. The title, The Catcher in the Rye, gets its meaning from the loss of innocence, and how Holden wants to save children from adulthood. Holden wishes to be “the catcher” so he can preserve the innocence of children and childhood memories because it is so meaningful and important to the purity of life but also to avoid the inevitable tribulations of adulthood as long as possible. Holden desires to be “the catcher” in order to preserve the innocence of children and keep them pure. For example, when Holden is in the Museum of Natural History and looking at the exhibits in cases, he confides, “Certain things should stay the way they are.
In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the most important part of Holden’s coming-of-age passage is when he meets Phoebe in front of the museum before he will run away. Holden discovers his purpose when Phoebe cries about him running away and thus he matures from aimless teenager to supportive reassuring big brother. Sometimes wandering is a necessary step to finding purpose. For example, the status quo of going to college is not a fit-all solution; and as a result some graduates take a gap year before college to travel, explore new hobbies, work, and find their true passions. It was necessary for Holden to leave Pencey Prep early because it leads to him to discovering that he needs to be with Phoebe instead of out West alone.