More handpicked essays just for you.
The catcher in the rye secondary character essay
Personal narrative example
Catcher in the rye character analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
A student from Carnegie Mellon University once said, “Life is all about finding our identity.” In the novel The Catcher In The Rye, by Jerome David Salinger, the protagonist, sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield undertakes the search for identity throughout the novel. To analyze Holden’s journey in search of identity, one must first define the term. A former tutor of mine suggested the idea that an identity is made up of a series of competing discourses acting against each other. A discourse, in the simplest of definitions is a written or spoken thought exchanged in the community. Over the history of sociology and philosophy, the term ‘discourse’ has come to describe the conversations of a group of people who have certain ideals in common. In …show more content…
Holden continuously makes explicit remarks regarding the phony actions adults commit. For instance, in the beginning of the story, he talks about parent visiting days in his former school and the way his principal would always charm the richer parents and disregard the poorer parents. (Salinger 14) In addition, Holden makes many remarks regarding the phony characteristics of adults throughout the book. Ironically, while Holden looks down upon being superficial and “phony”, he subconsciously hosts this trait himself. This is shown many times throughout the story, but most particularly when he speaks of his former roommate’s cheap suitcases. The difference in wealth between him and his roommate were highlighted through the quality of their suitcases, and Holden felt uncomfortable while rooming with him because after a while, the apparent difference in class drove a large rift between them. Holden states, “…I hate it when somebody has cheap suitcases.” (108) This is incredibly ironic, because it shows that despite Holden’s catty remarks about the phoniness hosted by many adults, he is subconsciously growing to become like them, despite fervently not wanting to grow up. At the same time, the contradictory discourse of Holden’s idealistic world comes out into play as he conceives scenarios where he runs away to live away from the prying eyes of society. He attempts to convince Sally to run away with him while on their date, however when she is not on board with his idea, he attempts to realize his mission by himself later on, although he does not end up going through with it. Holden also formulates the idea of wanting to become the catcher in the rye after witnessing a boy singing “if a body catch a body in the rye” and having a vision of him catching playing children in a rye field from falling off of a cliff. This
Holden's idealism is first brought forth when he describes his life at Pency Prep. It is full of phonies, morons and bastards. His roommate, Stradlater, " was at least a pretty friendly guy, It was partly a phony kind of friendly..." (26) and his other roommate, Ackley is "a very nosy bastard" (33). Holden can't stand to be around either one of them for a very long time. Later, he gets into a fight with Stradlater over his date with Jane. Holden is upset because he thinks that Stradlater "gave her the time" and that he doesn't care about her; 'the reason he didn't care was because he was a goddam stupid moron. All morons hate it when you call them a moron' (44). Holden not only sees his roommates as phonies and bastards, but he also sees his headmaster at Pency Prep as a "phony slob" (3). This type of person is exactly what Holden doesn't want to be. He strives to be a mature adult; caring, compassionate, and sensitive.
Ambiguity in literature after World War II reflects and explores issues of self and society. These two ideas often work against each other instead of coexisting to form a struggle-free existence. J. D. Salinger, Sylvia Plath, and Richard Heller illustrate this struggle with their works. These authors explore ambiguity through different characters that experience the world in different ways. Identity, while it is an easy concept, can be difficult to attain. These authors seek out ambiguity with the human experience, coming to different conclusions. Ambiguity becomes a vehicle through which we can attempt to define humanity. J. D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher in the Rye, Sylvia Plath’s novel, The Ball Jar, and Richard Heller’s novel, Catch 22 explore ambiguity experienced through an attempt to find self. Each experience is unique, incapable of fitting a generic mold created by society.
Holden wants to shelter children from the adult world (Chen). In Chapter 16, the catcher in the rye finally appears. This is also a symbol for what Holden would like to be when he grows older. He pictures a group of many kids playing in a field of rye, where it is his job to catch them from falling off the cliff. This shows Holden’s love for childhood and his need to preserve it in any way he can. According to Alsen, “The way Holden explains why he wants to be the catcher in the rye shows the kindness and unselfishness of his character. However, the surreal nature of the metaphor also reveals his unwillingness to face the real life choices he needs to make now that he is approaching adulthood.” By the end of the book, Holden realizes in order for kids to grow, there can’t be protection from all of potential harm. “He therefore gives up his dream of being the catcher in the rye and is ready to make a realistic choice of what he wants to do with his life” (Alsen). Holden’s dream world, that doesn’t involve change, is unrealistic. He is terrified by the unpredictable changes of the adult world, but there is no way for Holden to avoid the experiences and changes that the
In the novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger,Holden the main character tries to take on adult and mature situations but finds himself in reality not getting very far. Holden Caulfield who goes to Pencey has failed four out of five classes and gets the notice that he is being expelled from the school. He leaves the school and goes out and tries to adventure into the real world. Holden takes on many challenges and obstacles throughout the book . Although Holden wants to be independent many people perceive Holden in numerous different ways to his actions and feelings. Faith and Stradlater both perceive Holden as irritating, when in reality he tries to distract himself from being depressed. For example when Holden was in the phone
During his trip to New York City, Holden goes to Edmont Hotel and finds it full of perverts. He meets an elevator operator, Maurice, who offers to set him up with Sunny, a prostitute. Holden tries his best to appear casual, but he shows his youth and inexperience in his words and actions. Here, we can see he puts his inner world to the test through the sexual values of his peers, the teachings of his education, and his own emerging sense of self. The novel Catcher in the Rye expresses a common aspect of human nature because if someone does not understand anything, they often make illusions to help themselves cope with reality, as Holden has done to deal with the transition from childhood to
Which is the kind of world he wants to live in. Holden expresses his desire to preserve the innocence of others when his sister Phoebe tells Holden that he doesn't like anything, and that he has no ambitions of what he wants to be when he is older. Holden then explains that he wants to be the catcher in the rye. He says that he imagines little children playing on top of a hill and that his job is to protect children from falling of the hill. This symbolizes catching children from losing their innocence and falling into the adult world. Holden tells Phoebe, “I know it crazy, but that is the only thing I’d like to be” (172). This unrealistic desire is contributes to why Holden is struggling to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Critics of the novel have said Holden would like to suspend time stating, “Holden's desire to protect children shows his desire for suspending time, for inhabiting a space of young people conserved endlessly” (Yahya 3). Not letting go of childhood memories or accepting the harsh realities of adulthood are damaging when transitioning from
He turns to his former teacher and wise advisor, Mr. Antolini, who, like Phoebe, is one of the few voices of reason capable of getting through to Holden. Antolini recognizes the same truth Phoebe saw, but understands it more clearly: that Holden is too wrapped up in his own mind and his own world of fiction and needs to come to terms with reality before it is too late. If his ways are not changed, Antolini can picture Holden “dying nobly…for some highly unworthy cause” (207). Antolini fears that Holden has set himself on a path that will lead him to regret, bitterness, and even death if he does not switch out his fantasies for reality. Holden, in a moment of clarity, considers Antolini’s advise and sways towards realism. However, his clarity does not last as Holden relapses into his romantic dreams, planning again to run away and live an entirely improbable life complete with an imaginary wife. The most important component of this dream being that should he and his fictitious wife have children, Holden would “hide them somewhere” (219). This wild fantasy is a last-ditch effort meant to replace his reverie of being the catcher in the rye for, though he would not save all the children of the world or himself, he would at least be able to protect his own children from maturity and adulthood. His certainly insane
Since Holden is so happy with childhood and so completely turned off by adulthood he fears his inevitable change from youth to adult. He has no positive adult role models and no real interests other than preserving children and he is unable to communicate with anyone other than children. Holden is unable to accept growing up with an open mind. He sees only phoniness, greed, and corruption; it is this narrow-minded idea that is the basis of his problem. He does not see any uncorrupted adults. Once Holden learns that an adult is able to remain pure at heart if so desired, he will be a balanced individual. Unfortunately Holden feels alone in his quest which to him is an impossible mission. Since Holden is telling the story to a psychiatrist it is evident that he is facing his fear. It seems Holden just needed his own “Catcher in the Rye” to help him through his difficult time
There are numerous examples of Holden’s actions contradicting his beliefs as he attempts to find identity and meaning in his progression into adulthood. In the first chapter, Holden recognizes that he acts childishly: “I still act sometimes like I was only about twelve. Everybody says that, especially my father. It's partly true, too, but it isn't all true.” (Salinger, 5) At the time the story takes place Holden is seventeen years old, too old to be acting like a twelve year old. He takes offense to being labeled as immature, but later romanticises childhood innocence and immaturity. Throughout the book Holden criticizes people, mainly adults, of being “phonies”, yet he starts of the third chapter by admitting, “I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful. If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to the opera.” (Salinger, 9) Throughout the book he lies for no apparent reason like he does to Ernie Morrow’s mother. Holden breaks his own moral code and joins the league of the “phonies” by thinking one thing and saying another just like they do. Furthermore, while Holden fantasizes in his mind about himself being the guard of a Utopia populated by innocent children he smokes cigarettes and consumes excessive amounts a...
His parents were hardly there to give him the love and attention that he needed, though they wanted the best for Holden, but they did not question him once about why he had been “axed”; instead, they labeled him as a senseless child. “He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn’t supply them with…They gave it up before they ever really even got started” (Salinger 187). They have all assume that Holden had been deeply affected by Allie’s death in that he can no longer be in the right state of mind. It can be argued that Holden needs a relationship of someone who can save him for himself. This fear of rejection is stronger than the reality, an irrational feeling that he would not be accepted as someone who needs love despite what he says, that he does not. In a way alone he cannot be a “catcher in a rye” everyone needs one. His suffering and the loneliness as an outcast further makes the audience sympathize for him as a tragic hero who falls because of his inability to accept for his true self, not necessarily as the “catcher in a rye” but rather a human filled with emotions he has trouble expressing and dealing
Clothing can show many different things about an individual such as their interests and hobbies. Clothing has dimensions that can “speak” to others and ourselves. Clothing can put us in a place where we feel we belong. Our wardrobe can express a secret identity when nobody knows it. In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield has an inner self he expresses through his clothing choices. Clothing choices can show more than just your personal likings, it can show you alter ego. Holden uses clothing to show his internal self through his red hunting hat. He uses the hat as a way to show his true identity and change what others think about him. Holden thinks the hat places him in a certain social
Society finds it easier to hide behind lies than to proudly display the truth. In The Catcher in the Rye, through the eyes of the troubled teenager Holden Caulfield, J.D Salinger explores the shallowness behind the “phonies,” who pretend to be someone different with others, creating an image that protects them from the discomforts of shame and guilt. The phonies that Holden obsesses over reflect society’s need to create a false appearance to please and charm, a “mask” that disguises the phonies’ true feelings.
Holden tries to correct the mistake of the children, who, in this instance, are playing in a wheat field, and he could save them from accidently falling over this cliff. When Phoebe asks him what he wants to do, he responds that he wants to be a catcher in the rye. He remembers an encounter on the streets of New York with a boy who was seeing “If a body catch a body comin’ thro the rye.” Although this idea of being a “catcher in the rye” is not a real job, it is what he wants to do instead of school or other duties. Holden acts like a savior: “What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them” (173). This saying could also represent saving innocent children from the “phonies” or adults of the real world. A “phony” in the mind of Holden is a mature and grown person with no personality or too fake and ordinary. He does not want these children to become older and becoming fake, valuing the essence of
In the book, the catcher in the rye, Holden Caulfield deceives many adults be making the impression that Holden is a nice kid but may be slightly illiterate in the school system. He also deceives his fellow peers making them think that he a big, strong kid, but no one knows that inside, Holden is a little kid, stuck at the moment of his brother’s death. And lastly, he makes himself believe that everything will be okay and all, but on the inside, he doesn’t realize that every step he takes may or may not be leading him to his downfall, since he is unable to meet society’s standards. First off, Holden goes to a private school near Vegas, he lives in the dorms near his brother who is a famous writer. Holden may appear to like school, but the thing that he does, and his grades show the teachers what Holden is trying to hide.
America was built on the ideals of individualism and courses of action done so in the name of the nation's freedom. This was evident through Existentialism, in the 1940s-60s, the time when the world was full of: war, prosperity, and protests. The Nation was involved with the two wars, the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Rights Movement, and the Sexual Revolution. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, an Existentialist text that follows a 17 year old hypocrite, Holden Caulfield, in his journey from prep school to find his individualism and self-philosophy through his life experiences. Salinger portrays existentialist elements by unveiling the significance of the utmost individualism and the development of one’s self philosophy in a