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Holden’s perception of himself differs from others’ perception of him
Holdens psychological fears
Holden's mental state throughout the novel
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In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses Holden’s experiences with the people he meets to create a juxtaposition between the phoniness of adulthood compared to the romanticism of childhood. During his time at Pencey, Whooton, and Elkton Fields, Holden Caulfield meets a variety of characters that help him create the idea that all grown ups are “phony.” One of the first characters that readers are introduced to is Mr. Spencer, he is Holden’s history teacher. Holden describes him as old and sickly and describes Mr Spencer’s use of the word “grand” as “phony.” Holden’s professors seem to have a very heavy impact on his views of adulthood. Mr Antolini, another of Holden’s old teachers, allows him to stay at his house in his time of need. Mr Antolini holds a lot of the same opinions as Holden, an example of this is their shared view on hollywood. Holden feels a connection to Mr. Antolini but the bond is broken when he makes a flitty pass at Holden. It causes him to lose all of the trust he had in his favorite and glorified teacher. Another character that impacted his opinion on adults, was his brother DB’s ex- girlfriend,Lillian Simmons. …show more content…
When he sees her she acts kindly towards him, Holden however sees this as an act to keep up appearances. He refuses to see the good in people and instead takes immediate offense to her and creates an excuse to get away. Growing up around adults who create a fake persona for appearances has made Holden afraid of growing up.
He refuses to to transition into adulthood, this is shown through Salinger’s use of the ducks in central park. Holden’s obsession over the ducks is a youthful curiosity. Everytime he meets a new cab driver he raises the question about the ducks, he has a child like need for closure to answers no matter how ridiculous they may seem. The interaction between Holden and the various cabbies seems like mere small talk but is actually one of the main structures for Holden’s character. The museum that Holden visits also can be identified as a symbol for Holden’s fear of change and his need to stay young. The museum itself remains unaltered for years. It remains the one thing in Holden’s life that seems to be frozen in
time. Salinger places Holden in a world of ever changing things, Allie's death and the “fuck you” graffiti prove to Holden that all things change. He realizes that he can not control change and begins to idealize childhood. He creates a romanticised image of childhood and expects all children to abide by it. Phoebe challenges holden’s viewpoint when she tells him to “shut up.” To him, his little sister telling him to shut up sounded worse than swearing. J.D. Salinger uses the two different roles of adults and children to contrast each other to reveal Holden’s ideology of growing up.
Holden goes to visit his English teacher Mr. Spencer before he leaves for New York. Holden feels sentimental at the beginning of the visit and he goes to visit on his own accord. “I was beginning to sort of hate him. ‘Your essay, shall we say, ends there’ he said in this very sarcastic voice. You wouldn’t think such an old guy would be so sarcastic and all. ‘However, you dropped me a little note, at the bottom of the page.’ ‘I know I did,’ I said. I said it very fast because I wanted him to stop before he started reading that out loud. But you couldn't stop him. He was as hot as a firecracker” (Salinger 12). This is one of the first experiences in the novel that Holden describes. Salinger’s use of a first person narrator shows what Holden is thinking and his thoughts directly explain his dislike for Mr. Spencer. This is a direct way to demonstrate what Holden thinks and clearly displays his bias. Holden then describes Mr. Spencer as “sarcastic” but before he visits Mr. Spencer, Holden describes him as a nice person. Holden’s inconclusiveness displays his indecisive and quickly changing manner. Holden describes Mr. Spencer as being as “hot as a firecracker” which demonstrates Holden’s discomfort and desire to leave Mr. Spencer's home. Toward the end of the novel, Holden visits another one of his teachers, Mr. Antolini.
J. D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher in the Rye explores the ambiguity of the adult world Holden must eventually learn to accept. Throughout the novel, Holden resists the society grownups represent, coloring his childlike dreams with innocence and naivety. He only wants to protect those he loves, but he cannot do it the way he desires. As he watches Phoebe on the carousel, he begins to understand certain aspects of truth. He writes:
After spending some time at Mr. Spencer, his history teacher's house and getting lectured regarding his poor efforts in school, Holden fabricates a story to leave his teacher’s house without seeming rude. On his way to his dormitory at Pencey, Holden claims that he is an exceptional liar, and would lie even about the most insignificant facts, such as where he is going. He then goes into detail about whom his dormitory is named after, and how much of a phony the man is.
This demonstrates that Holden has this mindset and believes that he isn't ageing because he occasionally believes that he is thirteen most of the time. He's trying to resist adulthood because that’s when all his issues began. In addition, when Holden took Phoebe to a museum he really enjoyed his time there because of how everything was put. Holden sated “the best thing though in the museum was that everything always stayed right where it is. Nobody´d move. You could go hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would be on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole … Nobody's be different” (Salinger 121). This conveys that Holden is fond of the museum because it doesn't change unlike other places he is surrounded which relates to the death of his brother Allie, who died of leukemia. He believes that when his brother died, his whole world shifted as a result, his parent isolated themselves from him and connects to the reason Holden is unable to acknowledge that his urge is to never change like a
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
“‘I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful’” (Salinger 9). The main character already calls himself a liar, so is he guilty of being a phony.The book The Catcher in the Rye is a classic in American literature. The main character Holden Caulfield is kicked out of school and then adventure ensues. When Holden refers to things he doesn’t like he uses the word phony. Holden is somewhat consistent enough with the word to more or less understand what he means. The following essay will help analyze Holden’s use of the word phony. Holden does not give an alternative to the word because he seemingly throws it around at everyone he does not like. Holden himself is guilty of being a phony. J.D. Salinger uses Holden’s ideas about phoniness to show the reader not to be hypocritical when judging someone else.
Innocence lies within everyone in at least one point in their lives, but as reality consumes them, that purity begins to vanish slowly as they learn new experiences. In the coming of age novel set in the nineteen-forties, J.D Salinger writes about a sixteen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield who stands between a road that separates childhood from adulthood and is confused about which path to take. On a three-day trip in New York away from his family and fellow peers at school, Holden encounters many situations in which lead him to think twice about who he wants to become and how he wants to guide others who are in the same situation he is in. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger utilizes symbolism, vivid imagery, and slangy diction to expose Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of the people that he loves while alienating himself from the adult world he calls “phony.”
In J.D. Salinger’s controversial 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character is Holden Caulfield. When the story begins Holden at age sixteen, due to his poor grades is kicked out of Pencey Prep, a boys’ school in Pennsylvania. This being the third school he has been expelled from, he is in no hurry to face his parents. Holden travels to New York for several days to cope with his disappointments. As James Lundquist explains, “Holden is so full of despair and loneliness that he is literally nauseated most of the time.” In this novel, Holden, a lonely and confused teenager, attempts to find love and direction in his life. Holden’s story is realistic because many adolescent’s face similar challenges.
The world today is very deceptive and phony. J.D. Salinger’s well known novels, The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey attack this fake and superficial society which is evident through the lives, ideas, actions, and words expressed by the characters in these literary pieces. The transition from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood is inevitable. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through this stage and finds himself in a crisis. He alienates himself from everyone who is around him and tries his best not to grow up. Holden often dwells upon his childhood and the life he had with his family. Franny in Franny and Zooey has already passed this stage but finds it difficult to live in a world where everyone she is surrounded by is only concerned with outward appearances. In these worlds, both characters, Holden and Franny, reveal their struggle of growing up and trying to live as an adult in a world full of deception and shallow-minded people who only care about appearances.
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.
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
Salinger uses Holden’s english teacher Mr. Antolini to represent Holden’s fear of becoming a phonie. Before the peculiar incident Mr Antolini is a hero in Holden’s mind; he is kind, respected and is always willing to go the extra mile for his students. Holden remembered that when James Castle commits suicide it is Mr. Antolini who “...finally picked up that boy that jumped out the window... Old Mr. Antolini felt his pulse and all, and then he took off his coat and put it over James Castle and carried him all the way over to the infirmary. He didn’t even give a damn if his coat got all bloody.” (Page 147) This brave action presents Mr. Antolini as a straightforward and genuinely kind and compassionate person. When Holden seeked refuge at Mr. Antolini’s house he noticed abnormal behaviors in Mr. Antolini. Mr. Antolini is “... sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark and all, and he was sort of petting me or patting me on the goddamn head. Boy, I’ll bet I jumped about a thousand feet.” This strange incident shows that even though Holden thinks he knows Mr. Antolini as as an adult who Holden can trust; Mr. Antolini really turns out to be a phony. This incident proves that Holden feels very insecure about moving into adulthood because he is afraid of becoming a
While Holden was attending Pencey Prep, he formed a relationship with his history teacher, Old Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer was really the only teacher that Holden liked. While Holden was getting ready to go into Mr. Spencer?s bedroom, he said, ?His door was open, but I sort of knocked on it anyway, just to be polite and all.? (7). This showed his respect for Mr. Spencer and his privacy. It also showed that Holden had manners but had enough of a friendship with Old Spencer to talk with him in his own home. However, Holden felt a little uncomfortable with the situation when he actually saw Mr. Spencer, started talking to him, and felt a lecture coming on. Holden often thought about Mr. Spencer. While walking to Mr. Spencer?s room, Holden thought, ?? If you thought about him too much, you wondered what the heck he was still living for?. But if you thought about him just enough and not too much, you could figure it out that he wasn?t doing too bad for himself.? (2-3). Holden saw Mr. Spencer as childlike and helpless which made it easier for him to form a relationship with an adult.
In, The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger explores the 1950s adult society through the eyes of an emerging young adult. Holden Caulfield navigates through unidentified pressures at Pencey Prep School and New York City. As Holden longs for some genuine intimacy he discovers “phony” attitudes, which many individuals have. He soon resents “phony” attitudes, as they are hypocritical, resulting in the avoidance of these individuals. This problem progresses as it only touches the surface of the adult world and its adverse traits. Holden’s hatred for “phony” people and pursuit for intimacy produce damaging effects. Thus, realizing that, the adult world removes the innocence of children because it creates a desire for intimacy. Contributing to depression
In Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield has trouble comprehending the idea of adulthood. He had to accept and move on from the death of his younger brother Allie, at a pivotal age, the beginning of his high school career. This hardship has forced Holden to grow up quicker then he would like to because he has to cope with his emotions and continue succeeding in school. In an attempt to reconnect with his childhood, Holden does everything he can to protect innocence. Holden Caulfield’s nostalgia causes him to protect both his own innocence, and the innocence of others at all costs.