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Journeys of holden caulfield
Literary criticism of the catcher in the rye
Literary criticism of the catcher in the rye
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Holden Caulfield Paper
Adolescence serves as a bridge between one’s childhood and adulthood. In this important period of their lives, adolescents dramatically change both physically and mentally as they become more mature and practical. The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, is a novel centered on the coming of age of a character named Holden Caulfield. Holden, an aloof and ostracized character, is at a stage where he is trying to define himself. Several social and psychological factors have affected him in his life, changing his perspective on the world.
One of the most influential events that happened in his life was the death of his brother, Allie. Holden described Allie as not only the most intelligent member of his family,
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but also the nicest in dealing with people and facing situations (Salinger 38). Ever since his death, Holden has been showing anxiety, feeling depressed, and having problems at school. When Phoebe, his sister, criticized him for not liking anything, Holden could only come up with one thing that he liked. It was Allie (Salinger 169). Although Holden has experienced a great loss and I understand how it feels when a loved one passes away, he has to put the death behind him and understand that life goes on. It has been several years since the death of his brother and he has to move on. I feel like the biggest mistake he’s making is that he’s trapping all of his emotions and thoughts within himself. He doesn’t talk to anyone about the death of his brother or any of the problems that trouble him, letting them build up inside of him and randomly explode in outbursts. He has to start expressing and communicating his real feelings so that he can get the emotional support that he’s currently lacking from his family and friends. For example, when Sunny, a prostitute, tried to talk to him about what was troubling him, Holden avoided the topic and made up excuses to not talk about it. Whenever someone approaches Holden about his feelings or emotions, he immediately dodges the conversation and tries to leave (Salinger 96). Furthermore, Holden has to start taking initiative and thinking about his future.
He can’t let his depression and his problems interfere with the path he has to shape for his future. When asked, “Do you feel absolutely no concern for your future, boy?” by Mr. Spencer, Holden answered that he doesn’t have much concern for his future and tried to leave the teacher’s house immediately (Salinger 14). Holden never likes to think about his future because it makes him depressed. The first step he can take to change this attitude is to start focusing and putting more effort into school and education. He has already flunked and been kicked out of several schools and should at least plan to try his best at his next school.
Throughout the book, Holden displays a very cynical attitude and scorns at society for being full of “phonies”. Holden needs to get rid of this attitude and start thinking more realistically and accept the world for what it is. For example, he took Sally on a date and randomly started telling her about a totally unrealistic plan for them to run away and live on their own (Salinger 132). Even if the world was full of phonies, he has to understand how to deal with them and continue on with life. He can’t stay distant and awkward with individuals for the rest of his
life. Although I understand that Holden is reluctant to make new relationships and become attached to someone after losing Allie, he has to realize that not everyone can be as likable and perfect as Allie to him. Holden displayed regret for being close to Allie when he said, “I just wish he wasn’t there. You didn’t know him. If you’d known him, you’d know what I mean” (Salinger 156). However, he has to start accepting individuals for who they are and stop underscoring their weaknesses and “phoniness”. Just because one close relationship ended badly doesn’t mean that all his future ones will too. Holden has to leave that mindset and look at things with a different approach. I completely understand that Holden feels traumatized, but what really bothers me is that he takes no action or effort towards recovery. Holden needs to be more proactive about his situation and start making changes in his lifestyle. If he wants to move on, he has to start showing more interest in his academics and take responsibility for his actions. If he continues to roam around like this with no aim, he will end up in a really bad place in life. To me, Holden isn’t a hero because he continues to make mistakes although he’s aware of his situation and takes no attempt to deal with his problems. However, although Holden might not be a stereotypical hero, he is definitely an important character to learn from. For the teenagers reading this book, Holden isn’t important in a way that he is a role model whose footsteps we should follow, but in way that his failures and mistakes are something that we can learn from. His life reminds us, especially teenagers, to be mindful of the way events in our lives have the ability to affect who we are. It teaches us that our futures are shaped by our own actions and how we choose to handle tough situations.
Holden Caulfield, the teenage protagonist of Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, struggles with having to enter the adult world. Holden leaves school early and stays in New York by himself until he is ready to return home. Holden wants to be individual, yet he also wants to fit in and not grow up. The author uses symbolism to represent Holden’s internal struggle.
Holden’s endless journey begins when he received the call when he is expelled from Pencey Prep because of his low grades. Holden starts out as a college student that is damaged deep down his heart. The world before his journey was full of phonies as he commented, “Also at the threshold, the initiate will encounter a helper” (Ariane Publications 9). The helper usually leads the main character into the essential path before any accomplishments. In this condition, Holden’s former History teacher Mr. Spencer takes the role. He asks Holden,” Do you feel absolutely no concern for your future, boy?” (Salinger 20). He warns Holden about the difficulties that are waiting for him ahead but also pushed Holden forward to the journey. Even though Holden did refuse the journey by lingering at school after he got the expel letter. Nevertheless, the talk with Mr. Spencer may have aff...
The one thing that stands in the way of what Holden needs is himself. He continues to cut himself off from everything he had once loved. His negative self will not let him get close to anyone else, while trying to get distant from those he once was close with. Holden never looks to the positive side of anything. He is just stuck in a deep hole and he can’t find a way out. Whenever Holden believes that he has found something that could help him, he himself some how shuts the door to his own happiness.
Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.
Early on in the story Holden shows the readers that he is able to analyze people and make an educated judgement of them. Holden blames his departure from Elkton Hills on the people he was surrounded by. He says,“One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies” (Salinger 17). This quote connects to the story because it seems Holden has trouble staying in one particular place if just a few things are not perfect. By understanding others, Holden is quick to decide that where he was at that particular time is not the place for him. This thinking does force him to go to another school, but at the same time, he decided that Elkton Hills is not the place for him. Being able to make a decision and stick to it without having second thoughts is something all high school students should be able to do. In the novel, Holden has come across people he knows like to manipulate others. With this mindset he does not completely avoid them, rather, he learns to deal with them. In chapter 19, there is an interaction where Holden knows his audience and adjusts his actions accordingly. Holden describes his friend, Luce, as an intellectual guy that voices his opinion. He says, “That’s the trouble with these intellectual guys. They never want to discuss anything serious unless they feel like it” (160). With this, it shows Holden knows his friend and knows how to talk without
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
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.
However, his feelings suggest that the true reason for his depression is his loss of innocence. When he was 13 years old, he lost his little brother Allie to leukemia. Allie meant a lot to Holden. He even became a symbol in the book. Allie is the one who keeps Holden from falling off the cliff, he’s the reason that he hasn’t lost his innocence yet.
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”.
This in the story is ironic, Holden states, “’That sonuvabitch Hartzell thinks you’re a hot-shot in English, and he knows you’re my roommate” (Salinger 28). Teacher’s think that Holden is good in school, but his mental issues affect him academically and in addition to his inability to deal with life. Salinger begins his novel with Holden explicitly stating, “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like.” (Salinger 1). Seeing Holden through a psychoanalytical point, we can assume that his lousy childhood can be the cause of his feelings of being lost, repression, and his unstable emotions of depression and isolation.
J.D. Salinger, in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, shows that often times when an individual faces problems in their life they will try to find a means to escape, instead of solving them. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded from any group. He feels alienated from the rest of society, but I believe that Holden stays bitter on purpose. He keeps a cynical, sarcastic outlook on life so as to escape his true feelings. This is not uncommon for people who have trouble accepting their problems.
Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he expresses this attitude through his dialogue, tone, and diction.
Holden lacks the essential ability to motivate himself, which he needs to survive in the 'real' world. He continues to be kicked out of every school he attends because he fails to apply himself, his simple reasoning being 'How do you know what you're going to do till you do it? The answer is, you don't' (213). Everybody else in his life tries to encourage him to care about school and his grades but it doesn?t make any difference. From the start of the novel Holden?s history teacher at Pencey tells him ?I?d like to put some sense in that head of yours, boy. I?m trying to help you. I?m trying to help you, if I can? (14). But the fact of the matter is he can?t help him, Holden has to help himself. The drive to succeed has to come from within him, ?I mean you can?t hardly ever do something just because somebody wants you to? (185). In order for Holden to succeed he has to want it for himself. The only problem being Holden is unable to will him into doing anything he is not genuinely interested in, therefore missing out on further knowledge he could acquire that would truly entice him. Holden gives up on school because he fears if ...
(pg. 131) The only people Holden never alienated were his brother Allie, who is now dead, and his sister Phoebe. Phoebe means the world to Holden and it is expected that he would never leave her, although there is a chance he does. “Please let me go.” “You’re not going to.
(E) From this short sentence, I can already tell that the narrator, Holden Caulfield, is a person who gets straight to the point and is someone who doesn’t seem too intelligent in the way he talks in this novel. The words he uses and the diction convey that he is not a well-educated man. He seems as if he was been through many situations where he has encountered many struggles and conflicts in his life. As Salinger writes this, I can picture the protagonist, Holden.