More handpicked essays just for you.
Theme of contrast between innocence and experience in the catcher in the rye
Holden caulfield mental state
Holden caulfield mental health in the catcher in the rye
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Kasey Joseph
Per 5
Honors lit and comp
Mrs. Vanjaarsveld
Holden and innocence
Innocence is usually associated with youth and ignorance.The loss of one's innocence is associated with the evils that come of the world. The predominating theme in “The Catcher in the Rye” , is the idea of protecting Holden Caulfields innocence. Holden must face that he no longer is going down the road of adolescence , but a road where he learns that maturity comes with loss of innocence. With a world filled with constant corruption , Holden searchers for purity in the most unique ways, especially in those around him. Holden's only true desire is the be ‘’The Catcher in the Rye.” With this , he can show his love and protection for childhood and its innocence.
…show more content…
Allie , Holden's only brother who lost his battle with leukemia July 18 , 1946 , at age 11 , is the first major sign of Holden's loss of innocence. For instance, when Holden's walking down the street and thinking about disappearing: “Anyway, I kept walking and walking up Fifth Avenue, without any tie on or anything. Then all of a sudden, something very spooky started happening. Every time I came to the end of a block and stepped off the goddam curb, I had this feeling that I'd never get to the other side of the street. I thought I'd just go down, down, down, and nobody'd ever see me again. Boy, did it scare me. You can't imagine. I started sweating like a bastard—my whole shirt and underwear and everything. Then I started doing something else. Every time I'd get to the end of a block I'd make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I'd say to him, "Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Please, Allie." And then when I'd reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I'd thank him. (25.8) This quote shows that Allie acts as Holden's guardian angel , keeping him somehow connected with the real world.
Allie , in a profound way is innocently dead and pure , but keeps Holden from jumping over his own cliff. Holden's rendering of this information tells us a ton about how Holden thinks and perceives Allie: he puts Allie on a pedestal. We ever don't doubt how amazing of a person Allie was, but according to Holden, “he's the most intelligent, nicest, sweetest, most endearing kid with the best sense of humor you'll ever meet”. In Holden's love for his brother and in his pain over losing him , Holden sees Allie as some kind of saint: “it wasn’t just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest …. God, he was a nice kid, though” (5.7). Holden always uses the word “kid” when describing Allie: Allie died at a comfortably (if tragically) young age. Having never been corrupted by the world of sex and adults and all that phony stuff , never has to "go over the edge" of the great cliff that Holden imagines. And this is why Holden holds on so tight to the innocence of his little …show more content…
brother. And now onto phoebe , Holden’s 10 year old sister. Phoebe is smart , beautiful , and very mature. Phoebe is Holden’s most trusted link to his family. She’s extremely successful in school , and loves English class. She loves elephants and has them on her favorite blue pjs. While she seems to be holden's best friend most of the time , other times he is aware of her sexuality or need for independence. (Chapter 10) he says that she can sometimes be too affectionate. Even though he is capable of giving her "a pinch on the behind," which is "sticking way out in the breeze," he knows better than to put his hand on her shoulder at the wrong time. Holden realizes that there are times when kids want to try to grab the gold ring, this being a symbol of taking chances in life, and he has to allow her the freedom to do that, even though she may fall. That realization is a big step for Holden. everything considered, the relationship between Holden and Phoebe seems healthy and normal for siblings that really love each other. Holden’s deeper thoughts are beyond phoebe. He doesn’t understand why he’s so self destructive, or why he’s so bad at school. When Holden tells phoebe that he wants to be the “ catcher in the rye” , she’s quite for some time and then replies with “ daddy’s going to kill you” showing that yes , Holden and phoebe have a special connection , but phoebe is only 10 years old and can’t understand the true meaning of Holden’s words. Lastly is holden’s fascination with ducks that live in the pond.
Holden is always wanting to save people from the world , especially children. He tried to save phoebe from the cuss words on the front of her school , he couldn’t save Allie from passing away , and he can’t save phoebe from her parents and growing up to be an adult. His obsession with the ducks is because here’s another thing that Holden can’t save. Holden goes around asking everybody about the ducks , and gets upset to why nobody cares about what happens to them in the winter. Kind of how parents don’t really care about children. Adults obviously care about their own children ; but usually doesn’t care much about a child that doesn’t belong to them. If Holden could just figure out where the ducks go , then maybe he could figure himself out. If he possibly understood why his brother died , maybe he could forgive himself. If only he could save phoebe from a world full of phonies and hurt , Holden could stop the world from hurting him. Holden wants to save things that no one seems to cares about. He feels like he is one of those things that no one cares about so in a sad and depressing way, if he can save all of the other things, then maybe he is worth something to someone and he will be worth saving
too. Loss of innocence is part of everyone's life , and I showed them in three ways here. Holden's loss of his brother forces him to grow and face the fact that he no longer has a brother . Secondly , watching phoebe grow up , and to see the everyday life around her. And third , the ducks that represent innocence as a whole , and that holden wants people to be more mindful. Learning to accept the loss one someone innocence is to face reality head on , it can be hard for some but through holden's story , we see that it's completely understandable to try and protect innocence , as its a precious thing, and can be a turning point in anyone's lives.
This metaphorically explains how he feels about Allie. Holden wishes he could somehow save him from leukemia, even though it is uncontrollable. Also, when his sister, Phoebe, rides the carousel Holden thinks about telling her to be careful and not fall, but he refrains because he realizes if she falls, she falls; there is nothing he can do about it. This is significant because it shows how he is learning to understand that he has to let children live their lives and grow on their own. Holden initially wants to be a guardian for all children protecting them from pain, but he later learns that his approach of being overprotective is not
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.
Holden’s apparent desire to be separated from the majority of his family and friends appears to have been triggered by the death of his younger brother Allie. From Allie’s there has been a downward spiral in Holden’s relationships, as he begins to avoid contact with others and isolate himself more. The reason I believe this is because we can see how immense his anger is after Allie’s death, ‘I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist’. The death of Allie has become like an awakening to Holden, and has alerted him how precious childhood innocence is, when Holden comes to this realisation he convinces himself to do everything within his power to protect the innocence of himself and those around him, to protect them from what he sees as a false adult world. Although Holden clearly fails to protect himself, as he falls into all sorts of situations which hardly boasts of innocence and virt... ...
Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger is about a boy named Holden Caulfield who struggles with the codes of conduct his upper class lifestyle follows. For Holden, loss of innocence is not about smoking a cigarette as much as it is about his realization that the rules placed on him by society are phony. Holden distracts himself by focusing on his feelings of alienation because he does not want to face his own deep sadness over his own loss of innocence.
In the novel, Allie has an immense impact on Holden through his journey. Allie is Holden’s brother that died of Cancer when Holden was young. Holden is always sad about Allie’s death and is always thinking about Allie. Allie’s impact on Holden’s life sparks from Holden feeling like Allie missed out on opportunities.Allie also brings Holden a sense of guilt and also pain because he feels that Allie is missing out and that it is unfair for him to experience life. Holden can never get over Allies death and Allie because of his guilt that stems from his beliefs of Allie’s inability to experience life. When talking to Phoebe he says, “I Know he’s dead? Dont you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can't I? Just because somebody's dead, you don't just stop liking them, for God’s sake-especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all” (Salinger 171). This quote shows Holden’s reluctance to not forget Allie, and move on with his life not living in regret of Allie’s...
Childhood is an unusually hard thing to rid yourself of when it is time for you to pass into the intensified life of adults. Personally, I have yet to overcome that challenge. The Catcher in the Rye is a well developed story about a high school boy, Holden Caulfield, who is stuck between the stages of adolescence and adulthood, and is trying to discover his identity. All his life, Holden Caulfield has refused to grow up, and as the book progresses, he is on the fine line of leaving innocence and adolescence behind and passing into adulthood, but what gives him the needed shove into the realm of adulthood was getting over his brother, Allie’s death. To Holden, Allie is the main definition of innocence. Eventually Holden comes to the decision to be the catcher in the rye. After this decision he tries to follow through with his plan and ultimately decides that he can’t keep anyone from growing up. This seems to be his breaking point in the book where he finally overcomes all his negative emotions towards Allie’s death and accepts it for what it is, knowing that he has to move on.
...oes want them to turn into “phonies.” Holden seeks for a peaceful and uncorrupt world but he cannot obtain that due to the actions of others. Despite Holden’s attitude and outlook on life, he is quite passionate. Although he is a firm pessimist, calling every person he comes across a “phony,” there is an alternate side to him. In his interaction with Phoebe and the other children in the book, he tries to protect them from the rest of society, since children are still naïve and pure. It is justifiable why Holden craves to preserve the innocence of others. For most of us, growing up, we begin to understand more. We start to look at life in a different perspective, different from the one we did when we were young, but as a person who has seen and experienced more in life.
This reveals Holden’s fantasy of an idealistic childhood and his role as the guardian of innocence. Preventing children from “going over the cliff” and losing their innocence is his way of vicariously protecting himself from growing up as well. Holden acknowledges that this is “crazy,” yet he cannot come up with a different lifestyle because he struggles to see the world for how it truly is, and fears not knowing what might happen next. Holden’s “catcher in the rye” fantasy reflects his innocence, his belief in a pure, uncorrupted youth, and his desire to protect it. This fantasy also represents his disconnection from reality, as he thinks he can stop the process of growing up, yet
What was wrong with Holden, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D.Salinger, was his moral revulsion against anything that was ugly, evil, cruel, or what he called "phoney" and his acute responsiveness to beauty and innocence, especially the innocence of the very young, in whom he saw reflected his own lost childhood. There is something wrong or lacking in the novels of despair and frustration of many writers. The sour note of bitterness and the recurring theme of sadism have become almost a convention, never thoroughly explained by the author's dependence on a psychoanalytical interpretation of a major character. The boys who are spoiled or turned into budding homosexuals by their mothers and a loveless home life are as familiar to us today as stalwart and dependable young heroes such as John Wayne were to an earlier generation. We have accepted this interpretation of the restlessness and bewilderment of our young men and boys because no one had anything better to offer. It is tragic to hear the anguished cry of parents: "What have we done to harm him? Why doesn't he care about anything? He is a bright boy, but why does he fail to pass his examinations? Why won't he talk to us?"
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.”
Throughout the story Holden emphasizes his love for childhood innocence. In a passage he says “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything.” (Salinger 211) This immediately points to his affinity for innocence and not having the limits of being and adult. The controversy is he loves innocence; Holden is not and acts far from innocent. His many problems and lack of help that follows, and his many responsibilities withdraw from his innocence. He enjoys the lack of self-awareness, the blindness to morality, and the sexual innocence of being a child with such obsession that he fails to see his own absence of tho...
When Holden is away from Phoebe, Holden can not stop thinking about his sister and he feels depressed. Holden told the readers how Phoebe was a ”little kid (that was) so pretty and smart…” (Salinger 75). Holden loved hanging around with little kids especially Phoebe. He told Phoebe he wanted to be a Catcher in the Rye and to “catch everyone if they start to go over the cliff” (Salinger 191). That meant that Holden wanted to stop the children from becoming phonies. In conclusion, Holden misses Phoebe and wants to stop children from becoming phonies.
It is evident that Holden Caufield has specific moments where he can recall and apply them wherever he is in life. His unleashing of children and their ability to explore the world without assistance has helped him transition to the real adult world. His fascination with ducks has made him realize that nothing is ever permanent and no one can always be there for when ever one falls. Lastly, the passing of a loved one can be times of despair but learning to grow and fight the internal struggle can help bring ease. Holden has really transformed from an egoistic individual to a genuine gentleman, he has grown from his experiences and is able to tolerate more pain. The reality has struck Holden no matter how distorted the outside world is to him, maturing is inevitable and using these moments will always be something for him to live for.
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.
As one grows up and experiences the taste of life, opening one’s eyes to both negative and positive aspects of the world, it is common that one starts to lose their innocence little by little throughout one’s journey. The title of novel, The Catcher in the Rye (1952) by J. D. Salinger, signifies the desires of Holden Caulfield, the narrator, to preserve innocence, and the allusion to the Robert Burns poem “Comin Thro’ the Rye” further emphasizes his desires and also represents his innocence.