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Character analysis of Holden Caulfield
The catcher in the rye analysis of holden caulfield
The catcher in the rye analysis of holden caulfield
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“No man knows the value of innocence and integrity but he who has lost them.” (William Godwin) Holding onto someone’s innocence forever is impossible. The more it has been held, the more impact it will have on the individual making it unreachable to obtain again. In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the author uses the characterization of Holden Caulfield in order to show that it is impossible to protect the innocence of others. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a 16 year old struggling to find where he belongs. Over the three days the book has been told, he struggles holding onto his and others innocence. It ends with Holden show that it is impossible to protect ones innocence through Sunny, the curse words on the …show more content…
wall, and the red rings Phoebe tried to reach for. When children are young, they do not have much to worry about.
This is because they are still young and have a lot to learn. Holden having dealing with many moments that changed his life, he wants to be like a child. When visiting his sister Phoebe at her elementary school, he sees the word “F***k Y**” on the wall. He proceeds to say, "I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it. I figured it was some pervert bum that'd sneaked in the school late at night to take a leak or something and then wrote it on the wall. I kept picturing myself catching him at it, and how I'd smash his head on the stone steps till he was good and goddam dead and bloody” (Salinger 202). Holden is starting to notice that innocence is something that cannot be kept. After see the words, he then tries to erase it knowing that it will stay permanently on the wall. He also recognizes how it will be an impossible task to save every single kid. Just as if Holden cannot avoid the loss of his innocence, the children cannot as well. What is worrying Holden, is the children will not get their innocence back when they say profound …show more content…
language. Later on in the book, Holden picked up Phoebe (his younger sister) and takes her to the carousel.
When Phoebe starts riding the carousel, Holden recognizes that he passed the life of being a child and has crossed the line into adult hood. Which shows why he did not ride with his sister. When he sees Phoebe reach to grab the golden rings, he realizes that you cannot force or protect a child from growing up "The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them" (Salinger 211). Holding is accepting that growing up and dying is part of the cycle of life, which is something that is unavoidable. He later says that losing one's innocence is part of reaching adulthood and later on getting old. This is something children cannot be keep away from for the rest of their lives. Holden realizes that adults jobs is to let and later help children or others for this matter to reach the "gold ring" they have been dreaming
of. When Holden is staying in New York, he gets the opportunity to have intercourse. The prostitute he comes across is named Sunny. When she comes to his room, he gets second thought about Sunny. As she is hanging up her dress, Holden thinks to himself ……. "The salesman probably just thought she was a regular girl when she bought it. It made me feel sad as hell--I don't know why exactly" (Salinger 96) Sunny becoming a prostitute shows she is already has lost her innocence. The world around her, including Holden would think she is a regular girl, but when you see the other side, she's a prostitute. Holden choices not to have intercourse with her because that made him feel as if it was his fault he is about to destroy her innocence more. The feeling of accepting the loss of someone innocence is a difficult experience for anyone. Thought The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger shows the reader that even when you want to protect someone's innocence; it will come back with and backfire. Salinger shows the difficulty one might go through trying to hold onto their childhood innocence. He does this through Holden's characteristics when he sees the curse words on the wall, the red rings Phoebe tried to reach for, and through the appearance of Sunny. When someone learn when to accept the loss of their innocence that is when their life will change. When losing the innocence at a young age, they are entering adulthood.
Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, the movie Pleasantville, and even in real life, a theme constant is the theme of protection of innocence. The Catcher in the Rye portrays the idea of protection of innocence through the main character of Holden Caulfield. Holden is a highly troubled boy, and is constantly getting kicked out of schools. However, there is one idea he is fiercely serious about. He explains this idea to his sister when she presses him about his life choices. “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids...and nobody’s around-nobody big, I mean, except me....What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all”(Salinger 173). This quote spoken by Holden is him
...others, Holden does not want to grow up and Holden does not want to advance into the world of adulthood. Holden wants to preserve the innocence of him and the innocence of others but he can't simply because that is how life is. An example is “All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the goddam horse, but I didn’t say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it and not say anything” (Salinger 211). This is a quote were Holden finally noticed that he can’t help the kids to keep their innocence because he can't. Holden just needs to let them reach for the gold rings and if they fall you should let them get back up. This is an important thing Holden learned throughout his adventure, that he can’t become The Catcher in the Rye.
Holden says "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. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all." (page TBD) This quote goes well with Holden resisting to grow up. Holden says this when he's standing over the ledge and looking down on the children. Holden believes that it is important to maintain a child's innocence and we see this throughout the book. Constantly Holden is helping children and making sure they are doing well and are okay. We see this a lot when Holden talks about his sister Phoebe. Holden does not want to grow up and he proves that when he says that adults are phony and then Holden will look at a child and he will think that he wants to save that child from growing up because he doesn't want that kid to become a phony like the rest of the adults. In the song When We Were Young by Adele she says You look like a movie/You sound like a song/My God, this reminds me/Of when we were young/Let me photograph you in this
J. D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher in the Rye explores the ambiguity of the adult world Holden must eventually learn to accept. Throughout the novel, Holden resists the society grownups represent, coloring his childlike dreams with innocence and naivety. He only wants to protect those he loves, but he cannot do it the way he desires. As he watches Phoebe on the carousel, he begins to understand certain aspects of truth. He writes:
He is not innocent, but he is also not mature. Holden identifies with children, but they do not identify with him. “I passed by this playground and stopped and watched a couple of very tiny kids on a seesaw. One of them was sort of fat, and I put my hand on the skinny kid's end, to sort of even up the weight, but you could tell they didn't want me around, so I let them alone.”(81) In this example and others, Holden wants to be with the children, because he still sees himself as an innocent child. Although he is always reaching for a cigarette or drink, Holden has a difficult time accepting that he is no longer an innocent child. This is the foundation of Holden’s depression, which J.D salinger revales upfront. has a difficult time accepting he is no longer
Throughout the whole novel Holden has always been in denial of everything. As stated by Freud, denial is the “Refusal to recognize a threatening impulse or desire” (Sigmund Freud). When he visited his ten year old sister Phoebe, she was trying to communicate with Holden but she was nervous that it would displease him. She stated “Because you don't. You don’t like schools. You don't like a million things. You don't…Why the hell do you have to say that?” I said. Boy was depressing me” (Salinger 169). Even though Holden is very fond of Phoebe he didn't bother to listen to what she had to say, this demonstrates that Holden is very in denial because he got very upset when Phoebe said that he dislikes everything. Which furthers shows how he is unable to recognize that what Phoebe is
Throughout the book Holden admits he doesn't like change. Holden fear of growing up , becoming an adult and thinking of of it disgust him. For example the museum, Holden like it because the exterior of it did not change and says the only thing that would change would be you.In the text Luce says “Same old Caulfield.When are you going to grow up already?”(144). Holden wants things to stay how they are and how his life is. Holden considers adults phonies and he doesn’t want to be consider phony as well. When he describes the museum he says the best part about it is that it never changes, only you do.Holden bonds with his sister taking her to the zoo, museum and the carousel.He wants to Phoebe to experience what he did and to get the memories alive. “What I have to do, I would have to catch everyone if they start to go over the cliff- what I have to do, I mean if they are running and they don't look where they are going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That is all I have to do. I would just be the catcher in the rye”(173). This quote show how by holden is catching them from falling down the cliff which symbolizes stopping them from adulthood. “Thousand of little kids and nobody’s around- nobody big , I mean except me”(173). This quotes implies how young innocent kids won't be exerted by adults
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s outlook in life is either the innocence of childhood or the cruelty of adulthood. He believes that the innocence of childhood is very valuable and it should be protected from the cruelty and phoniness of the adult world. Therefore Holden has a desire and is compelled to protect a child’s innocence at all costs. This is revealed when Holden tells Phoebe that he wants to be the catcher in the rye. Holden says to Phoebe, “What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they’re ru...
We see during the novel that Holden wants to be able to protect innocence in the world, however by the end of the story he lets go of that desire. This is a point of growth for Holden. He finds that it is impossible and unnecessary to keep all the innocence in the world. While with Phoebe Holden says, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye...I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (173). In this moment Holden wants to be able to preserve all the youth and innocence in the world. He doesn’t accept that kids have to grow and change and that they can’t stay innocent forever. Later on in the story when Holden is with Phoebe at a carousel again he thinks, “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. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” At the end of the novel Holden realizes and comes to terms with the fact that kids grow and lose their innocence. He moves from his want to be the “catcher in the rye” to...
...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
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old boy, transitions from childhood to adulthood. The death of Holden’s little brother signifies the beginning his loss of innocence and growth of maturity. As he enters adulthood, Holden views society differently from his peers by characterizing most of his peers and adults he meets as “phonies.” Thus, Holden takes the impossible challenge of preserving the innocence in children because he wants to prevent children from experiencing the corruption in society. The Catcher In The Rye embodies Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of children and reveals the inevitability of and the necessity of encountering the harsh realities of life.
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.
The bond between Holden and Phoebe are different from those of Holden and any other characters that we have met. Phoebe seems to understand Holden and is a character that doesn’t want anything from Holden. Phoebe begins to question Holden’s future after bringing him down to the realization that he doesn’t “like anything that’s happening.” When questioned what he wants to be, he replies that he wants to be the ‘catcher in the rye’ (inspired by the poem he misheard’, and wants to save children from running over the edge of a cliff. The symbolism of this is the idea that Holden sees adulthood as something very negative and ‘phony’, yet children, like Phoebe, see it as a positive, natural thing that comes to
J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye successful in many respects, from its popularity among adolescent readers, to its 29 weeks spent on the New York Times Bestseller List. One part of The Catcher in the Rye that was not successful is its main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden mentions at a certain point in the novel that he aspires to be a “Catcher in the Rye”. Whether he achieved his goal is controversial amongst many readers. I believe that in the end, Holden was not successful in becoming, the “Catcher in the Rye” because he cannot change the the lives of others by protecting their innocence.