Everyone has a choice in their life, some choose to live it and others choose to end it. In the end we are all competing and fighting to see who will make it out on top. The real winner of life is one who can survive, fight, and have fun. Inevitably we all lose sometimes, some more than others but all winners must eventually fall. Holden views life as if there is only one winner and the rest are all losers. Holden knows that there will always be someone stronger, faster, smarter, and someone braver. In the book “Catcher in the rye” written by J. D. Salinger, Holden is the protagonist. In this essay I will discuss how Holden’s views on life will determine his actions, while he attempts to play the game of life.
The book begins with Holden's teacher, Mr. Spencer talking to him about life being a game. Holden’s emotions get the best of him and he isn’t able to focus on the words that his teacher is trying to tell him. To Holden all of the “hot shots” in school think life is a big game. But to Holden he doesn’t think of himself being worthy enough to classify himself as a hot shot, and he take life as a joke. Being a 17 year old boy he doesn't want to grow up
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In every game there is rules just like in life there are things that you can do and things that you can't. He informs holdend that you can’t do whatever you want. one has to put in the work if they want a good outcome, witch Holden didn't do because he flunked out of pencey Prep. Because holden didn't put in any work at pencey prep so Mr. spencer feel if he wouldn't have to start his cycle of a new school over again. Mr spencer also gave holden some advice on some friends, because if holden would have had some friends maybe he would have tried a little hard and he could have some fun with them. And would make him live for something and he wouldn't be losing the game he would be winning and sharing
In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in The Rye Salinger writes about the main character Holden Caulfield and his life. Holden is a teenager who comes from a wealthy family, he loves his family and lives very happy until the death of his brother Allie. After his brother died Holden becomes troubled, being kicked out of school again and again developing a negative view of the world. Holden throughout the book shows anger,denial, and acceptance over the loss of his brother.
Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.
Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that”(Salinger 8). Holden is expressing his beliefs that life is a game he can cheat through. He knows that with becoming more mature means taking responsibility and applying the brain in school; though after failing out of 3 other schools before it is obvious Holden does not believe in changing his ways and applying himself. In current time many kids still fail out of school (Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone, found from dosomething.org), having no desire to go back and change their ways because they believe they are still kids and should not be held accountable for their mistakes. Modern time teenagers can relate to Holden and believe it is not his fault he can not learn from all the
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
Since Holden relies on his isolation to sustain his detachment from the world and to keep intact a level of self-protection, he frequently sabotages his own efforts to end his seclusion. When Mr. Spencer explains that “life is a game that one plays according to rules” Holden reveals that he feels imprisoned on the “other side of life” where there are no “hot-shots”. Here, Mr. Spencer is lecturing Holden on his failed attempts at schooling and illuminating key aspects of Holden’s character. After hearing this advice from Mr. Spencer, Holden immediately goes on the defensive and internalizes his thoughts of not belonging in this world. This event shows Holden’s failed attempts at trying to find his way in this “phony” world that he feels is against him and leaves him feeling alone and victimized.
We see during the novel that Holden wants to be able to protect innocence in the world, however by the end of the story he lets go of that desire. This is a point of growth for Holden. He finds that it is impossible and unnecessary to keep all the innocence in the world. While with Phoebe Holden says, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye...I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (173). In this moment Holden wants to be able to preserve all the youth and innocence in the world. He doesn’t accept that kids have to grow and change and that they can’t stay innocent forever. Later on in the story when Holden is with Phoebe at a carousel again he thinks, “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” At the end of the novel Holden realizes and comes to terms with the fact that kids grow and lose their innocence. He moves from his want to be the “catcher in the rye” to...
The jury was locked in the room to deliberate because they don't want them to leave until they have come to a decision. If the jury was allowed to leave, they might just go when they want and not return. Also, the accused could try to come in to convince the jury that he is innocent.
He has resolved that he cannot be in control, but that is all he wants. In a world before alternatives to his painful lifestyle, what can Holden do but blindly play the game in the rye field, right beside his cliff of sanity? But life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one must play by the rules. " Bibliography 3rd edition Psychology (Bernstein-Stewart, Roy, Srull, & Wickens) Houghton Mifflin Company Boston, Massachusetts 1994 NOTES ***YOU MUST CITE ALL THE QUOTES FROM THE NOVEL***
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
J.D. Salinger presents Holden Caulfield as a confused and distressed adolescent. Holden is a normal teenager who needs to find a sense of belonging. All though Holden’s obsession with “phonies” overpowers him. Dan Wakefield comments, “The things that Holden finds so deeply repulsive are things he calls “phony”- and the “phoniness” in every instance is the absence of love, and , often the substitution of pretense for love.” Holden was expelled from Pencey Prep School not because he is stupid, but because he just is not interested. His attitude toward Pencey is everyone there is a phony. Pencey makes Holden feel lonely and isolated because he had very few friends. Holden’s feeling of alienation is seen when he doesn’t attend the biggest football game of the year. His comments on the game: “It was the last game of the year and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win” (2, Ch. 1). This also hints to Holden’s obsession with death. Holden can’t find a since of belonging in the school because of all the so-called phonies. Holden speaks of Pencey’s headmaster as being a phony. Holden says that on visitation day the headmaster will pay no attention to the corny-looking parents. Holden portrays his not being interested by saying, “all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to buy a goddam Cadillac someday, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses”(131, Ch. 17). Holden does not care for school or money. He just wants everyone to be sincere and honest.
From the protagonists’ point of view, the adult world Holden and Franny are entering and living in is a very superficial place. Holden who is sixteen years of age is going through a time of crisis where he is almost forced to become an adult. This concept is the very thing that makes Holden afraid, causing him to misbehave at school. His latest school, Pencey Prep, expels Holden due to his failing grades. When asked for the reason of his lack of academic enthusiasm, Holden simply states that he is not interested in anything. In every school he has attended, Holden has managed to find different reasons not to care and possibly even hate the institutions.
Part of the irony in Holden’s story is that physically, he looks mature, but mentally, he is still very much a child: “I act quite young for my age, sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now … I’m six foot two and a half and I have gray hair ” (9). There is no middle ground, adolescence, for Holden. He can only be an adult, physically, or a child, mentally. Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tries to appeal to him by using a metaphor: “Life is a game, boy.
They often make inappropriate comments,lack emotional control, or have unrealistic expectations for the future. Holden seems to struggle with all these issues. Holden shows his immaturity through him not being able to make decisions on his own. When Holden visits Mr. Spencer, he is told that ‘life is a game that one plays by the rules’. Mr. Spencer better understanding of how the world works because of his age. His message to Holden is to become socially intelligent and look at how his actions affect the world around him. Once again, Holden displays his lack of knowledge by ignoring this priceless advice. He is also unable to make clear, rational decisions. Holden is very impulsive and can only think within the moment. The way in which Holden makes snap decisions insinuates that he is very confused and unable to organise his thoughts in a mature fashion, exposing that his child-like state of mind still dominates the more logical and mature part of his brain. Many teens seem to struggle with romantic relationships as well as
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger develops Holden Caulfield as a morally ambiguous character. Throughout the book, Salinger speaks as Holden and introduces him as a callous and subjective individual. However, the author permits the reader to be within Holden’s mind, giving the audience an alternative perspective of Holden’s true character. Without the obscurity of Holden’s personality, the work would lack a crucial element. As the protagonist, Holden serves as an equivocal adolescent that is relatable for the reader.
J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye successful in many respects, from its popularity among adolescent readers, to its 29 weeks spent on the New York Times Bestseller List. One part of The Catcher in the Rye that was not successful is its main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden mentions at a certain point in the novel that he aspires to be a “Catcher in the Rye”. Whether he achieved his goal is controversial amongst many readers. I believe that in the end, Holden was not successful in becoming, the “Catcher in the Rye” because he cannot change the the lives of others by protecting their innocence.