Coined by philosopher and sociologist Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1941), the term 'bildungsroman' literally translates to 'novel of formation'. The genre, more often described as the 'coming of age' novel explores the transition in the protagonist from innocence to adulthood. Conjecture, however, remains as to the area incorporated into the genre. 'Bildungsroman' is often used as an umbrella term to include all works featuring an innocence-to-maturity transition, however, staunch critics of the genre have rejected pieces of literature, even self-compiled, to the extent of: masochistic glee in decimating their own canon, on occasion of disqualifying even such seemingly incontestable examples as Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship from its ranks. …show more content…
The repetitive use of the word 'phony', perhaps the most striking aspect of the novel, is made by him. Caulfield loathes superficiality and hypocrisy of the adult world. He tends to disclose the 'phony' in almost every character of the novel, save the few exceptions of Jane Gallagher and his younger sister, Phoebe. He brands his roommate from school, Stradlater, as 'phony' on account of the latter's vanity and active participation in inappropriate carnal affairs. He collectively dismisses the students of Pencey Prep and Whooton School as pretentious. The headmaster of Pencey Prep, Dr. Thurmer is not spared of this designation either. He includes his old friend, Sally; the prostitute, Sunny; and the three girls from the Lavender Room, Bernice, Marty and Laverne into this …show more content…
He does not remain untouched by the pretensions he thus rails at. He is agitated by Ackley's intrusion into his own personal space, and himself violates the same when he wakes Ackley in the middle of the night and demands to sleep in his roommate's bed. The fact that he claims to be a good liar affords Salinger the scope to disclose the character's pretensions. The incident wherein he meets Mrs Morrow is marked by impersonation on Holden's part and as he is "shooting the bull" about her son's exploits, who happens to be Caulfield's
“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.
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.
As Holden Caulfield interacts with others and meets new challenges, he reveals his innermost feelings throughout The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Some may interpret his behaviors as teenage angst, but others find that Holden reveals traits of a mental disorder. Specifically, Holden suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder “is a serious mental illness marked by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships” (NIMH). He often experiences uncontrollable rage that results in altercations and behaves on impulse when handling money. He also shows signs of addiction when consuming alcohol. Additionally, Holden has trouble maintaining positive relationships with
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.
The novel, The Catcher in the Rye, written by JD Salinger, touches on the themes of innocence, death, and the artifice and the authenticity in the world, while following the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, through his weekend trip to New York City. As the story unfolds, Holden, as narrator, becomes more vulnerable to the reader, and starts to express his feelings surrounding the death of his brother, Allie, as well as his feelings about himself. Holden is faced with a truth that has haunted him for many years: adulthood. Many of the qualities Holden exhibits, which he sees as negative, are those of the average person: struggle, loneliness, deep sadness. He is one of many classic protagonists that encourages the reader to relate to them on
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.
“‘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.
Holden Caulfield, - notorious for either being kicked out of schools or as he simply describes it “quitting”- having just been kicked out of yet another school for his lack of motivation, views life through a cynical lens as he deems those different from him as “phony”. Holden justifies his annoyance towards everything as he intermittently cuts off his tale to share some random pet peeve or irrelevant story, such as when he describes his roommate Stradlater as a “secret slob” (Salinger, 35) and continues on to critique his grooming habits, in an effort to validate how “phony” things really are. However, these tactics only further show his immaturity as Holden’s judgment of being a “phony” symbolizes his fear of growing up. Moreover, Holden’s greatest defense mechanism is pushing others away, this is seen as Holden visits his history teacher, Mr. Spencer and while he tries to
To be called a phony is to be called fake, something that no one wants to be recognized as. Throughout one’s life it is inevitable that one will meet a person who fits the criteria of a phony, which is generally one person’s idea, rather than a set definition. Some base phoniness off of certain actions and behaviors, such as hypocrisy and frequently lying, although for others it is pushed to the extreme, in which phoniness, can be found in everyone, through any action. As for Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old boy who is thrust into adulthood, after being kicked out of Pencey Prep School in Pennsylvania, and decides to stay in New York City for a few days before going home, he finds himself surrounded by phonies. Holden is able to call
Making mistakes is a completely normal part of life. Learning from your mistakes is a necessity because it’s the only way to progress. Beatrice Wood, an artist and sculptor speaks one solution for dealing with mistakes. “Life is full of mistakes. They’re like pebbles that make you a good road.” These “pebbles” (mistakes), which come in all different shapes and sizes create structure for us to go anywhere in life. By contrast, Holden’s resistance towards his school work creates too many pebbles, and he is stuck spinning his tires in rocks. In The Catcher in Rye, J.D. Salinger displays through Holden that making mistakes and learning from them is a vital part of growing up, because running
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.
From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word “phony” to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who are“phony”, it is the young main character. First, Mr. Spencer, Holden’s ex- history teacher, is not described as phony, but according to the adolescent, his choice of words are. Secondly, according to our main character, Ossenburger is not the generous philanthropist he portrays himself to be, but rather a greedy undertaker. Lastly, the protagonist could quite possibly be the authentic phony. All in all, the main character’s use to describe many other characters in the book is with the single word phony, when in fact the word phony would be the most probable word to describe the lead character.
Ethan Jordan Mrs. Metviner English 9 12 February, 2024. Holden Caulfield: The Ways to Cope In the novel The Catcher and the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger shows us the life of Holden Caulfield, who goes through a difficult time during his teenage years. He repeatedly brings up his feelings of depression and because of this, he struggles and uses various coping methods. This includes alcohol abuse, the use of cigarettes, and trying to reach his dead younger brother Allie. Despite repeatedly stating that he has depression, he refuses to tell people about it and seek assistance.
...’s habitual lying relates back to times where he is hypocritical about his environment being full of phonies. Salinger provides these small details of deceitfulness in order to further advance Holden’s character and the work as a whole.
“Bildungsroman, a form of fiction which allows the novelist to recreate through the maturing of his protagonist some of his own remembered intensity of experience” (Nivin, Alastair; pg. 34)