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Essay on the characters of the catcher in the rye
The catcher in the rye character analysis
Essay about catcher in the rye characters
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Avoiding problems and not facing reality cause denial and hurts the state of a person’s mind. Holden was a character who showed many signs of being mentally ill or not well. Multiple themes in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger displayed or explained Holden’s mental state. The novel traveled through issues of innocence and death, all while holden was struggling in his own mind. Through themes such as innocence, death, and the war between the real and the phony, the reader was able to make assumptions about Holden’s mental and physical state in the novel. Holden made his view of innocence very clear throughout the book in that he favored it over growing older. He held only a select few of people close to him and they all shared the same characteristic of innocence. This fascination caused him to shut out a lot of the world and reject change. His rejection of change ultimately left him lonely and empty. “That’s the whole trouble. You can’t ever find a place that’s nice and peaceful, because there isn’t any”(224). At this point, Holden was upset about a bad word written because it was connected to adulthood. This one group of words made him so angry that he went as far as saying …show more content…
there were no nice places in the world. They were lacking in innocence, so they blocked Holden from seeing the peaceful parts of life. He now had it in his mind that the world was not good or peaceful, so his connection to innocence negatively affected his thoughts. The theme of innocence used Holden’s obsession to contribute to his problem. Not only did Holden’s fascination with innocence contribute to his mental state, but the death of his brother greatly affected him as well.
Death also affects the mental state of many people, but Holden’s mind was deeply harmed by the death of his brother, Allie. His death heightened Holden’s dislike of change but life itself is change so Holden continued to back himself into a corner and his mind became more corrupted. The theme of death used his brother as a trigger for his possible mental illness. “...I had this feeling that I’d never get to the other side of the street. I thought I’d just go down, down, down, and nobody’d ever see me again”(217). Holden felt lonely and empty and, after reading this portion of the book, it became clear that his brother’s death greatly affected
him. There was a war in Holden‘s mind involving the real and the phony, perhaps like life and death, and it showed that he had many underlying issues. The real and the phony translated to children and the adult world. The recurring issue with Holden, and what can be considered his main mental illness, was the ability to accept adulthood. “ what I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff…”(191). Holden, rather than choosing a real career, decided that he wanted to be the catcher in the rye who saves children from leaving adolescence. This showed a real issue because he was so against the phony side of the world that he not only refused to pick a realistic role to play in society, but he also chose one that keeps kids away from it. The relevant topic of Holden not liking to change can be directly related to his mental illness or state in life. Holden was not well, especially mentally and socially, because of his connection to innocence, death, and the contrast between phonies and genuine people. Due to the themes of innocence and death, it was clear that Holden struggled mostly with the idea of change. He was mentally ill in result of all the issues that related to the themes and also did not face up to these issues. He instead chose to stick to this childlike view of the world and immature behavior, which only further proved that he was unwell.
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.
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.
In the novel, Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is an example of a prosaic rich adolescent boy,with a pedestrian set of problems, but a psychoanalysis reveals that Holden has a plethora of atypical internal conflicts. Internal conflicts that other students at Pencey, such as Stradlater and Ackley, would not normally experience.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a popular novel that was originally published in the 1950’s. In the book, Salinger explores various themes through the main character Holden and his interactions with others. Some of these themes include, alienation, loss and betrayal. Holden constantly feels betrayed throughout the novel by several people, including his roommate, teacher, and sister.
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.
Over the years, members of the literary community have critiqued just about every author they could get their pen on. One of the most popular novels to be critiqued has been J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. In favorable critiques, Holden Caulfield is a good guy stuck in a bad world. He is trying to make the best of his life, though ultimately losing that battle. Whereas he aims at stability and truth, the adult world cannot survive without suspense and lies. It is a testament to his innocence and decent spirit that Holden would place the safety of children as a goal in his lifetime. This serves to only re-iterate the fact that Holden is a sympathetic character, a person of high moral values who is too weak to pick himself up from a difficult situation.
The Catcher in the Rye has been described, analyzed, rebuffed, and critiqued over the years. Each writer expresses a different point of view: It is a story reflecting teen-ager's talk--thoughts-emotions--actions; or angst. I believe it is an adult's reflection of his own unresolved grief and bereavements. That adult is the author, J.D. Salinger. He uses his main character, Holden, as the voice to vent the psychological misery he will not expose -or admit to.
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...
Holden Caulfield suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder throughout the course of the novel. In fact, the root of all his problems come from Allie’s passing; he died from leukemia. Holden used to be extremely close with him and his imminent death changed his entire life and psyche. Holden seems to relive the event of his beloved little brother Allie’s death over and over. “What is clear, however, is that many of the symptoms Holden displays in the course of the novel mirror the classic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The death of his younger brother, Allie was a traumatic event in Holden Caulfield’s life and is perhaps at the root of the depression he battles in the novel. The death of a sibling can trigger post-traumati...
In the catcher in the rye novel, the main character, Holden Caulfield faces many internal problems or conflicts, and as a result, he is unable to cope with those problems. Throughout the novel J.D Salinger(the author) portrays Holden's internal problems or conflicts through his experiences and interactions with others in Pencey Prep and New York. Holden's internal problems include the death of Allie, addiction to smoking and drinking, and his failing grades.
In life there comes a time when everyone thinks that they are surrounded by phoniness. This often happens during the teen years when the person is trying to find a sense of direction. Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old teen-ager is trying to find his sense of direction in J.D. Salinger's, "The Catcher In The Rye." Holden has recently been expelled from Pency Prep for failing four out of his five classes. He decides to start his Christmas recess early and head out to New York. While in New York Holden faces new experiences, tough times and a world of "phony." Holden is surrounded by phoniness because that is the word he uses to identify everything in the world that he rejects.
William Golding once said, “The only choice that really matters, is the interpretation of the story, is your own. Not your teacher 's, not your professor 's”. Holden Caulfield’s evolving circumstances and troubled past allows the reader to have strong cathartic moments whilst reading the story. In J.D Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s innocence causes the reader to feel appreciative towards his personality and attitude through his coming of `age. Comparably, Holden’s troubled past which he has presented throughout the story allows the reader to feel sympathy emotions towards what he’s been through as a person (mortalities). In addition to the sympathetic emotions, Holden’s dynamic personality makes us feel contemplative
Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he expresses this attitude through his dialogue, tone, and diction.
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger in 1951. This is a story of how Holden Caulfield ended up in an insane asylum and the events that led to his breakdown. Holden’s breakdown was caused by a series of events including his experience with depression. Depression is defined as a serious mood disorder that can come in many different forms according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Symptoms associated with this disorder include sadness or an “empty mood”, feeling of hopelessness and guilt, loss of interest, suicidal thought and or actions, and poor academic performance. Holden Caulfield appears to be depressed because he told us about several events throughout the weekend and described his thought in this novel that points to signs of depression.
Mental health is an important aspect of one’s wellbeing that may be significantly impacted by a traumatic experience. The author J.D. Salinger illustrates this idea in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, which focuses on the life of the depressed protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden experiences the death of his young brother Allie and struggles with transitioning from his innocent childhood to his materialistic adulthood. This transition eventually influences his mental state of mind, which is evident by his lack of motivation in school, and results in him suffering from loneliness, frustration and alienation. The psychoanalytic lens discusses an individual's actions based on their conscious and unconscious mind. The Catcher in the Rye can be