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The Catcher in the Rye---What was He Thinking? Nash K. Burger wrote a review of the book, The Catcher in the Rye, which was published in the New York Times on July 16, 1951. In his review, Burger idolizes the book, calling it “an unusually brilliant first novel”. Burger feels that this book has wonderful language and portrays the typical teenager. He thinks that Holden has a cheerful disregard and that there is nothing wrong with him. He also feels that Holden’s mistakes are not caused by him, but by the adult world. This book is totally opposite of how he categorizes it. In fact, Holden has is far from typical. The language he uses is preposterous and he always jumps to assumptions. Burger’s first thought that Holden is a typical teenager is way off. Typical teenagers do not flunk out of school after school. An example of this is, “They kicked me out. I wasn’t supposed to come back after Christmas vacation on account of I was flunking all four subjects and not applying myself and all.” Typical teenagers also do not go and stay in a hotel and hire a hooker, “When I opened the door, this prostitute was standing there.” and then ask her, “Don’t you feel like talking for a while?” The last thing he does that is totally untypical of a teenager is to propose to a girl and then start calling her names. If this is someone’s idea of typical, they need to re-evaluate typical teenage life. Next Burger says that the book is told in wonderful language. This book is absolutely, without a doubt, filled with very vulgar language. There is absolutely nothing wonderful about Holden’s language. Every other thought that comes out of his head is filled with curse words. A good example of this would be when he went to Phoebe’s school and he found “fuck you” written on the wall. This is Holden’s reaction to the profanity, “It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they’d wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them -- all cockeyed, about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever’d written it. I figured it was some perverty bum that’d sneaked in the school late at night to take a leak or something and then wrote it on the wall. I kept picturing myself catching him at it, and how I’d smash his head on
So he stays the night at his former teacher, Mr. Antolini’s place. While Holden for the most part thinks of everyone as a phony, Mr. Antolini is one of very few exceptions. He makes it clear that this teacher was one that he trusted and was close to. Since Holden’s views holds him back from having close relationships with his peers, his relationship with his former teacher becomes more important. While he was sleeping on Mr. Antolini’s couch, Holden says that something happens. “Boy, it really scared the hell out of me.” He says. He wakes up to find Mr. Antolini patting his head. “Boy, was I nervous!” He admits he felt very uncomfortable in the situation and quickly ran out. An adult he had managed to form a trusting relationship with, something that was very rare for Holden, had done something to make him very uncomfortable. While it is unclear, it is very possible that Holden is misinterpreting Mr. Antolini’s actions. In his eyes, it is a “flitty pass.” It is made clear, however, that Mr. Antolini had been drinking and most likely he was not in his right mind. Once again, Holden’s views and the reality of the situation aren’t the same and he sees it as a
Everyone strives to be the greatest, especially teenagers in school, failing can be upsetting when it comes to failing a class or grade. Failure in school can have a huge impact on a student's future. When students aim for a goal it's either accurate or precise depending on their mindset.
that his innocence was taken away from him. This led to many of Holden's actions. Such
Thesis statement: The relationship Holden and Blanche have between family and people in society leads them to an inner turmoil, which eventually results in their psychological breakdowns.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. 1951. New York: Back Bay Books, 2001. Print.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an enthralling and captivating novel about a boy and his struggle with life. The teenage boy ,Holden, is in turmoil with school, loneliness, and finding his place in the world. The author J.D. Salinger examines the many sides of behavior and moral dilemma of many characters throughout the novel. The author develops three distinct character types for Holden the confused and struggling teenage boy, Ackley, a peculiar boy without many friends, and Phoebe, a funny and kindhearted young girl.
Holden is inside of his school, on the way to deliver a note to his sister when
Holden had quite an eventful first night. He went to a bar that had an opulent man who plays piano very well. After a few drinks he decided to go to his hotel. Holden was a bit tentative about the situation, but then agreed to order one. He paid the girl five dollars even though nothing happened between
Although The Catcher in the Rye caused considerable controversy when it was first published in 1951, the book—the account of three disoriented days in the life of a troubled sixteen-year-old boy—was an instant hit. Within two weeks after its release, it was listed number one on The New York Times best-seller list, and it stayed there for thirty weeks. It remained immensely popular for many years, especially among teenagers and young adults, largely because of its fresh, brash style and anti-establishment attitudes—typical attributes of many people emerging from the physical and psychological turmoil of adolescence.
It isn't just what he says but the way he says it. He goes through life
In the beginning of the story Holden is watching the Friday night football game from a hill. He had just gotten back from a fencing match that had to be cut short in New York because the captain of the fencing team, which happened to be Holden, left all of the equipment on the subway. Needless to say it was a long trip home for Holden. After all of this has happened Holden gets back only to learn that he has been released from Pency and placed on academic probation. Holden was not stupid by any means but if he did not desire to learn what was being taught he refused to try. The professors on the other hand did not agree with Holden’s reasoning. Therefore, he was failing all but one of his classes. Holden had a friend that was a teacher at Pency. He was probably the only person that halfway understood him. The only problem was that Mr. Spencer was old and senile and did not have much pull with in the school board, which meant he did not serve as much help in Holden’s current situation. Mr. Spencer was always trying to prepare Holden for life. Holden rarely listened but felt obligated to say good-bye to him because he had tried to understand him, which is more than most people had ever done for him. Holden went to visit Mr. Spencer before he left. Holden was a prime example of a spoiled little rich kid who had everything but acted as though he had nothing. He had no real friends to rely on, only other spoiled rich kids who were never deprived of anything. This time was different though. This was not the first time that Holden was removed from a school. Holden always knew there was always another boarding school that would be happy to accept him and his money. This time he was not going to just sit back and wait for the next school to pick him up, he was going to enjoy himself while he could.
Holden had a tough time fitting in at his schools because he thought of almost everyone as phonies. "`It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques' (pg. 131)." He seems to have a history of expulsion and failure at various schools because of his lack of ability to cope with others. Ordinary problems of his had turned into major conflicts with other students. "I hate fist fights. I don't mind getting hit so much - although I'm not crazy about it, naturally - but what scares me most in a fist fight is the guy's face. I can't stand looking at the other guy's face, is my trouble. It wouldn't be so bad if you could both be blindfolded or something. It's a funny kind of yellowness, when you come to think of it, but it's yellowness, all right. I'm not kidding myself. (pg. 90)" Holden got into a fight with his roommate at school because he was going out with his ex-girlfriend. He's afraid that the guy is taking her from him, even though he's not with her anymore. These are problems that are normal, but Holden has trouble dealing with them.
Holden is not just abnormal, he has problems that other teenagers, including the students at Pencey, experience going through adolescence. An example of this is Holden's jealousy towards Stradlater when he finds out he is going on a date with Jane Gallagher, “Boy,was I getting nervous” (42). Every teenager has bouts of jealously especially about the opposite sex, and Holden is no different. Holden's rebellious nature, to an extent, is typical for a teenage boy. His rebellious nature of smoking when it is not allowed, “You weren't allowed to smoke in the dorm...I went right on smoking like a madman.” (41-42). Holden is also anxious about change, which again to an extent is normal, “Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks...”(60), and he has the right to be; change,especially during adolescence, is a terrifying but exciting ride into the unknown, and similar to other adolescents Holden is afraid but intrigued about the unknown.
... has to go away. He runs to Phoebe’s school to leave her a note to meet him. While he’s waiting he notices “Fuck you” (201) on the wall. “It drove me damn near crazy,” he thought. Holden sees Phoebe with her suitcase as she tells him, “I’m going with you. Can I? Okay?” (206) Holden’s response was “No. Shut up”. Phoebe got angry and didn’t let up until Holden agreed that he wouldn’t leave. She went on the carrousel in the park and while she was going around and around, Holden felt so happy that, “[he] was damn near bawling”. (213)
Holden shows a particular liking towards children over adults. He values the innocence and authenticity of children and he tries to protect them from the phoniness and evil of the world. When he goes back to his old school at the end of the novel to give a note to Phoebe, he sees an obscenity on the wall that infuriates him. He says, "Somebody'd written `F*** you' on the wall. It drove me near damn crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them-all cockeyed, about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it" (201). When Holden's sister Phoebe demands that he tell her one thing that he really likes, Holden's responds saying, "I like Allie...And I like doing what I'm doing right now. Sitting here with you, and talking and thinking about stuff..." (171), showing that he's most content in the simple and innocent world of his childhood.