Catcher in the Rye - Holden Caulfield as a Modern Day Odysseus
Years ago, a man named Homer wrote The Odyssey. It told about King Odysseus of Ithaca's mystical and perilous adventure home after the Trojan War. An odyssey can simply be defined as an adventure. Holden Caulfield, the main character in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, had an odyssey of his own. On his adventure in New York City, Holden encountered many tests and learning experiences.
To begin with, was the encounter with Maurice and Sunny. On his return to the hotel from Ernie's, Holden met Maurice, the elevator operator. He asked Holden if he was, "Innarested in a little tail t'night?" (Salinger 152). Holden had been lonely all night, so he quickly and without thinking answered yes. He went back to his room to get ready. Here is Holden's first test. He is sixteen and he is about to lose his virginity to a prostitute. He greeted her at the door, and she questioned his age. They had a small conversation, and all of a sudden she just took off her dress. He told her...
that made him see the world and the people in it in a more realistic
Salinger characterizes Holden as constantly making impulsive decisions when presented with challenges. One example of a situation where Holden makes the wrong decision in an attempt to take the easy way out is when he encounters Sunny, the prostitute. When Holden enters his hotel, and is approached by a pimp named Maurice who asks him if he would like to buy a prostitute for the night, he responds with the brief statement, “Okay” (119). Holden’s one word response explicitly demonstrates his attempt to escape the challenging situation quickly. His lack of words also demonstrates hesitation, because if he were to be fully committed into to purchasing the prostitute, he would ask for more information. After Holden tells Maurice he will buy
“If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.” (Joseph Campbell). Every character walks through an astringent journey throughout their lifetimes. This journey can be viewed as the Hero’s Journey. Undertaking the journey of the hero can elevate the character achievement. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye--Holden Caulfield with no exception undergoes the journey. Holden’s journey ventures beyond what he is able to endure, forcing him into the unknown territory. Holden received the quest call to adventure, and responded to the call for the journey when he left Pencey prep school. Holden accepted the call, faced his challenges struggling through hardships and oppression, with helps from the guidance, he then eventually returned to his comfortable world with a tremendous intellect and physical transformation giving a closure to his journey.
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is a classic novel about a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who speaks of a puzzling time in his life. Holden has only a few days until his expulsion from Pency Prep School. He starts out as the type of person who can't stand "phony" people. He believes that his school and everyone in it is phony, so he leaves early. He then spends three aimless days in New York City. During this time, Holden finds out more about himself and how he relates to the world around him. He believes that he is the catcher in the rye: " I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in a big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean-except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What have I to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff..." (173). He briefly enters what he believes is adulthood and becomes a "phony" himself. By the end of the story, Holden realizes he doesn't like the type of person he has become, so he reverts into an idealist; a negative, judgmental person.
The novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” revolves around the protagonist Holden Caulfield as the story is told from his perspective. J.D. Salinger constructed Holden Caulfield as a cynical person who cannot accept to grow up. Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye,” J.D. Salinger uses symbolism to reveal and reinforce critical aspects of the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Three important aspects Holden acquired through Salinger’s use of symbolism are: his stubborn, uncompromising mentality; his softer, more caring respectful side; Holden’s cowardly way of acting and thinking.
Everyone has their own perception on what defines a hero; some may argue that they exhibit characteristics such as honesty or courage, while others may think that heroes have special power. Our society may have changed the values in which we associate heroes with, but one thing seems to have never changed: the main character of the book turns out as the hero. In my analyst, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye, is put on trial as we see through our own eyes how Caulfield can not be considered a hero in modern society.
Holden Caulfield can be analyzed through his thoughts, actions and circumstances which surround his everyday life. Holden acts like a careless teenager. Holden has been to several prep-schools, all of which he got kicked out of for failing classes. After being kicked out of the latest, Pency Prep, he went off to New York on his own. Holden seems to have a motivation problem which apparently affects his reasoning. The basis of his reasoning comes from his thoughts. Holden thinks the world is full of a bunch of phonies. All his toughs about people he meets are negative. The only good thoughts he has are about his sister Phoebe and his dead brother Alley. Holden, perhaps, wishes that everyone, including himself, should be like his brother and sister. That is to be intelligent, real and loving. Holden’s problem is with his heart. It was broken when his brother died. Now Holden goes around the world as his fake self, wearing his mask. Holden is looking for love, peace and understanding. He is scared to love because he is afraid he might lose it like he did with his brother. That is the reason for Holden's love of the museum, he feels safe because it never changes it always stays the same. Holden is troubled with the pain of death, it effects every aspect of his life causing him to not care about the future, himself or anyone, except Phoebe and Alley.
Holden Caulfield is a typical depressive teenager that exhibits negative views about growing up. Depression is made up of many categories of symptoms, such as emotional, physical, behavioral, and how one perceives life. These symptoms, take over Holden, due to his lack of knowledge on how to control his feelings.
The Catcher in the Rye Holden Gets Influenced Everyone gets influenced by someone, even heroes do. The Catcher in the Rye, a novel written by J. D. Salinger, talks about Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old boy that is trying to live through his problems. Holden tries to learn from his experiences as well as from the ones of others. He goes through many hard times, but he always takes them as a chance to imagine how it could have ended if he had done something about them or what cold had happened if he was not so “yellow”.
In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist, a 16-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield who lives in the 1940s, struggles to concur with the views of his society. After getting kicked out of boarding school once again, Holden runs away to New York. He decides to have an adventure of his own, instead of returning home. Holden's experiences in New York lead to further disruptions in his life, which eventually cause him to be put in rehab. Holden would struggle with the same issues if he were a teenager living today. If Holden Caulfield lived today, he would be able to relate to more people through modern technology like cell phones, the Internet, and social media; however he would be even more hypocritical and at odds with the world because he would disapprove of other people’s use of these technologies, which would make him feel even more alienated.
Sunny embodies what Holden desperately wants and fears – physical affection. Prior to meeting Maurice, Holden is feeling “depressed and all” (Salinger 116) and “sort of lousy” (116). His negative feelings beforehand initiate him to make a decision he otherwise would not have made –agreeing to hire a prostitute - but acknowledges that “it was too late now” (119) to invalidate what, arguably, he commits to purely on impulse. He feels “a little nervous” (120) because sex is a novelty for him – he’s had “quite a few opportunities” (120) to engage in intercourse, yet hasn’t gotten around t...
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
It takes many experiences in order for an immature child to become a responsible, well-rounded adult. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story represents a coming of age for all young adults.
World War I and World II are basically the same, right? If so, Araby, written around WWI by James Joyce, and The Flash, written around WWII by Italo Calvino, are also the same, no? Indeed, these short stories have many similarities. At the same time, both stories have many differences. Thus, it is difficult to compare both stories when considering all the details. If the subject of comparison is more specific, such as epiphany, then more emphasis and effort can be put into the comparison. In Araby, the protagonist falls in love with a girl, but love deceives him. In his moment of epiphany, “[g]azing up into the darkness [he] saw [himself] as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and [his] eyes burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce 1). In The Flash, the protagonist suddenly grasps a reality, but only for an instant: “[He] stopped, blinked: [He] understood nothing. Nothing, nothing about anything. [He] didn’t understand the reasons for things or for people, it was all senseless, absurd. And [he] started to laugh” (Calvino 1). The comparison between the epiphanies of both short stories reveals the relationship amongst the similarities and differences regarding theme, symbolism and setting.
mistakes that I may make in this task and allow me to change them, if