Free Essay on The Catcher in the Rye

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Free Essay on The Catcher in the Rye

The catcher in the rye is a work of fiction and a

tragic-comedy. I came to choose it because I heard it is about a

boy who is around my age.

In this book, the main character, Holden Caulfield, tells

us a story about what happened during his Christmas vacation.

Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy who has flunked out of a private

prep school. Because he is afraid that his parents would find out

this fact, he goes to a hotel in New York City instead of going

home after he leaves school for Christmas vacation. In New York,

many things happen to him within a few days. For example, he goes

to the hotel bar and meets three women after he first arrives

there. The women go away soon after he fails to talk with them,

and Holden feels lonely and depressed. He goes to another bar to

find someone to spend some time with, but he fails to find anyone

to talk to and comes back to the hotel feeling more depressed. In

the hotel, he meets a prostitute, but he sends her back without

having sex because he feels depressed and sorry for her. He was

further disappointed when she tries to rob him of his money even

though he tries to be nice to her. In the next morning, he has a

date with an old girl friend, and asks her to flee from this

corrupt world and live in the woods with him. However, she tells

him he is crazy and then leaves him. Holden meets some more

people later, but they also cannot solve his problems, and he

feels more and more depressed and lonely. He finally decides to

run away and live as a deaf-mute who will not need to communicate

with anyone. Before leaving, he goes to say good-bye to his

little sister, Pheobe, who he admires the most. While talking and

playing with her, Holden changes his mind and decides to rejoin

his family and because he realizes there are many things that he

cannot solve by himself.

The theme of this novel is how innocence is corrupted by

society. Holden thinks everybody who is grown up is a phony

because their behavior and advice are all false. The title of

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