Humans desire meaning in life, but when one's surroundings don’t seem to cooperate, humans make an attempt to find order. Eventually makes one feel like they are a stranger in this world. With their perception or reality Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of J.D Salinger's acclaimed novel The Catcher in the Rye becomes a stranger in his own world and did not have a motivation but lived his days as they went by after two magnificent traumatic events in his life that played a huge role of the person he became to be. J.D Salinger intention of writing this novel is to explore the existential themes of alienation by giving Holden Caulfield a strong personal opinion, a different sense of view, and isolation.
In the novel, The Catcher in The Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield seems to be excluded from and victimized by the world around him. As he says to his professor Mr. Spencer, he feels trapped on “the other side” of life, and he continually attempts to find his way in a world in which he feels he doesn’t belong. This alienation is the source of Holden’s problems. Since Holden has been given a strong personal opinion it affects his relationships with other individuals in the novel. When he speaks about another character he points out
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their many flaws. Criticizes people who are boring, people who are insecure, and, above all, people who are Obando 2 “phony”.
For instance when describing his roommate Ackley Holden says, “The whole time he roomed next to me, I never even once saw him brush his teeth. They always looked mossy and awful, and he damn made you sick if you saw him in the dining room with his mouth full of potatoes and peas… besides that he had a lot of pimples” (19). This quote shows how judgemental and cynical Holden can be. He can’t stand Ackley because of his lack of hygiene as a person. One can conclude that Holden sees everyone’s defect, he automatically shuns them and prefers to be alone, and this can also be his way of protecting himself to avoid the feeling of pain and rather find any sort of pretext to excuse him from creating a relationship with that
individual. Holden’s strong personal opinion also shows through his thought about adulthood. He is clearly fearful of reaching that stage of life, but instead of acknowledging that it scares and mystifies him, he condemns it, claiming that adulthood is a world of superficiality, hypocrisy, and “phoniness.” Whereas childhoods, on the other hand, in Holden’s perspective, is a world of innocence, curiosity, and honesty. That is why he says “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids and nobody’s around nobody big, I mean except me. And 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 … I have to come out somewhere and catch them” (173). This quotation shows that Hold Caulfield wants to save children’s innocence because he explains that adults are inevitably phonies, and, what’s worse, they can’t see their own phoniness. As the novel progresses Holden Caulfield has been given a different sense of view, where everything he sees or speaks to is ugly or a phony. This could result from one traumatic Obando 3 experience that he had throughout his life. That could have influence the way he perceives things and how his behavior became. The first traumatic experience that Holden encountered was the death of his brother Allie. Where Holden describes his reaction to when he finds out “They were going to have me psychoanalysis and all because I broke all the windows in the garage and I don’t blame them. I really don’t. Slept in the garage the night he died. And I broke all the god damn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it” (38). One can conclude that Holden was in a state of anger and felt impotent because he was not able to do anything, showing that the death of his brother altered his way of viewing things. That is because Holden viewed his brother as “it wasn’t just that he was the most intelligent member of the family. He was also the nicest …. God, he was a nice kid, though (38)” this other quotation also shows that Holden has placed his brother Allie as a glorified saint for the way he speaks about him. These quotations conclude that the death of Allie created a huge standard for everyone else Holden met. And because of that, Holden would see everyone as phonies and would dislike them because of it. This demonstrates the starting of his change and wanting to be alone and begun to feel abnormal in the world. This could be the starting of where he lost complete motivation and the positive view of his surroundings where he just drastically began to, unlike everything and feel annoyed. Throughout the novel, Holden Caulfield is alienated from his life. Where he feels a stranger in his own life and the world he lives in. This causes him to isolate from everything as a defense mechanism. Holden runs away from his problems to avoid confrontation or consequences and isolate himself. For example, Holden had been kicked out of school because he had failed four courses, he didn’t want to face his parents about it so he left school and Obando 4 doesn’t go home right away. “well… they’ll be pretty irritated about it,” I said. “They really will. This is about the fourth school I’ve gone to” (9). He decides that he will leave for New York that night and he will wait until his parents digest the news of his expulsion before he returns to their apartment. This quotation shows Holden was not putting effort into his school work and it wasn’t the first school he was kicked out from indicating that Holden seems to be lost in his own bundle of problems that he can’t seem to find importance in anything. So, his way of avoiding it, is to go away and be alienated from everything. This is also proven when Hold Caulfield goes to his parents’ house and goes into Phoebe’s room and explains to her what had happened and what he wants to do and she tells him “You don’t like any schools. You don’t like a million things” (172). This shows that Holden definitely does not seem to find happiness anywhere or strive for success just rather lives life on a daily basis demonstrating that he does not seem belong anywhere. In conclusion, the protagonist of the story Holden is a troubled teenager. He finds himself in conflict with everything. His solution to all is to hide himself away from everything to avoid problems around him including people; this could have started after the traumatic event that happened in his life of losing his loved one. Holden spends much of his energy searching for phoniness in others, yet at the same time, and he never acknowledges his own phoniness. Phoniness, for Holden, stands as a symbol of everything that’s wrong in the world around him and provides an excuse for him to withdraw into his cynical isolation, a defense mechanism to help him deal with his loneliness this is not only ironic, but hypocritical, since phoniness is what Holden claims to detest more than anything else in the world. This proves he clearly does not Obando 5 seem to feel belonging anywhere and has truly alienated his emotions and life from the exterior world.
“Isolation is the sum total of wretchedness to man.” (Thomas Carlyle). In the story Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, this coming of age book tells of the teen troubles experienced by the main character Holden Caulfield. After Holden gets expelled from his school Pencey Prep, Holden leaves school a couple days early to explore New York City. In his travels he experiences isolation from friends at school, feeling disconnected from his family, as he tries understand these periods angst he finds some peace.
Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.
In the Story Catcher in the Rye Holden has a “ideal” view of the world that contradicts his perception in reality. Holdens “ideal” view of the world is that everyone contains childhood innocence and no one should try to break that innocence so people can just be who they want to be and not get made fun of or attacked. In Holden's mind he thinks that everyone thinks like he does and his view of reality is that all the phonies try to break childhood innocence so his reality trys to break his ideal world he has in his head. This unique way of thinking causes Holden to run into internal and external conflicts because not everyone thinks like he does.
He disregards most people because he thinks they are ‘phonies’ - materialistic, shallow and insincere people. To Holden, almost anyone who falls under that category is a phony and isn’t someone he wants to spend time with. However, because of Holden’s trauma, the reader can’t quite trust him. He sees the world through so many layers of protection, he is an unreliable narrator.
Holden alienates himself by believing he is better than everybody else. Every time Holden meets or talks about someone he is judgemental. Even when he is talking about someone he spends time with, he cannot help but ridicule them, “I never even once saw him [Ackley] brush his teeth....he had a lot of pimples. Not just on his forehead or his chin, like most guys, but all over his whole face. And not only that, he had a terrible personality. He was also sort of a nasty guy. I wasn't too crazy about him, to tell you the truth.”(Salinger,14 ). Ackley is probably the closest thing to a friend Holden has. Yet he criticizes him is a very nitpicky way, convincing himself he does not like
Another trait that was portrayed throughout the novel was peculiarity. The teenage boy Ackley who lives across the hall from Holden is very strange and has few friends. Ackley was very dirty, never brushed his teeth, and almost always stayed alone in his room. Holden says " His teeth were always mossy- looking, and he was dirty as hell, but he always had clean fingernails."(pg.22)
American Literature is widely known for possessing themes of disillusionment. Faulkner, Harper Lee, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway dominate this category of literature. However, the most influential piece of American Literature is arguably J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. What makes this piece of art stand so far out from any other work of literature is the attributes that make this novel so relatable. The source of this raw, real emotion that completely captivates the reader is Salinger himself. The Catcher in the Rye ‘s main character Holden Caulfield is undeniably Salinger. This work of fiction nearly resembles an autobiography. J.D. Salinger uses his novel to express his disillusionment through motifs, pathos, and symbols.
J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is a compelling narrative on the themes of isolation and individualism. Holden Caulfield’s loneliness, a distinct manifestation of his isolation problem, is a driving force throughout the book. A majority of the novel portrays his almost frantic quest for companionship as he darts from one meaningless encounter to another. However, while his behavior is a stark indicator of his loneliness, Holden consistently shies away from self-reflection and therefore doesn’t really know why he keeps behaving as he does.
In a perfect world, everyone would be happy with the way they are and everyone would accept the differences of others. Unfortunately, the world we live in is not perfect and not everyone accepts who they are . Is there a reason why people cannot be content with their lives or with the differences of other people? The answer is yes, and the reason for the discontent is society. With society telling the masses what is, and is not acceptable, it is no wonder that people seem “lost”, and are desperately searching out their place in the sun. This search for identity seems to be the case in JD Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Through settings in the novel and symbolism, Salinger illustrates that while the main character, Holden Caulfield, needs the support of the environment around him, the environment also needs Holden as a person. Holden Caulfield is out of place in any environment in which he is placed. At Pencey, his school, Holden gets excluded from the activities of his classmates. At the very beginning of the novel, Holden becomes expelled because his grades are not up to Pencey’s standards and also because he does not feel like he belongs there. Holden separates himself from his classmates for the most part by not becoming involved in the school. Although Holden is the equipment manager of the fencing team, he distances himself from his companions by losing the equipment, showing that he does not fit in, and he really does not want to. As he reflects back on his final day at Pencey he says: “ They kicked me out. ...I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself at all. They gave me frequent warnings to start applying myself...but I didn’t do it” (Salinger 4). The school is throwing Holden out because he is not what they want to represent to potential students. They want to show examples of fine, upstanding young men, instead of giving off the image of the failing, confused young man. Salinger uses Pencey as a mock society of some sorts. Holden does not fit in at Pencey, and he most definitely does not fit in as seen in the later settings of the novel. A second example of Holden’s isolation from his classmates can also be seen when he stands alone on the top of the hill during the “big game”.
Many of the times that Holden criticizes people, it is something he does himself. (Pg 13) “. one of the reasons I left Elkton was that I was surrounded by phonies.” Holden himself is many times what he refers to as a “phony”. He knows that he lies and pretends to like people that he would rather not be with.
It is apparent from reading The Catcher in the Rye that one of the novel’s main themes is alienation. The theme of alienation is most clearly visible as a form of self-protection through the actions of the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield. Caulfield’s self-imposed isolation as a form of protection can be seen in his physical seclusion from the outside world, in his constant acts of lying, and in his condemnation of society as being “phony.”
To Holden, everyone is either corny of phony. He uses these terms to describe what a person is if they do not act naturally and follow other people?s manners and grace. Holden dislikes phonies and thinks of them as people who try to be something they are not. He loathes people who showed off because it seems unnatural every time they do not act like themselves. Holden does not allow himself to have friendship because of his dull attitude. In the beginning of the book, the reader knows that Holden is lonely when he separates himself from the rest of the Pencey students by watching the football game from Thomsen Hill and not the grand stands. Holden is not a very sociable person partly because he finds himself better than many others. He dislikes his roommate because of his generic leather luggage. His next door roommate Ackley does not seem to want a friendship with him either. Holden finds Ackely?s zit crusted face ridiculous and doesn?t want him in his room at first. This shows the reader that Holden is a lonely person because he chooses to be lonely and does not want anything to do with people who do not fit into his perception of normal.
Superficially the story of a young man getting expelled from another school, the Catcher in the Rye is, in fact, a perceptive study of one individual’s understanding of his human condition. Holden Caulfield, a teenager growing up in 1950’s, New York, has been expelled from school for poor achievement once again. In an attempt to deal with this he leaves school a few days prior to the end of term, and goes to New York to take a vacation before returning to his parents’ inevitable irritation. Told as a monologue, the book describe Holden’s thoughts and activities over these few days, during which he describes a developing nervous breakdown. This was evident by his bouts of unexplained depression, impetuous spending and generally odd, erratic behavior, prior to his eventual nervous collapse.
Holden was constantly wallowed in self-pity, hatred, and regrets he had no way of moving on from his past. He counted on Allie even when he was no longer there, “Allie don’t let me disappear” (Salinger). His hope would only diminish every time he would fail again or notice another flaw in the world. Even though he had several opportunities to change his life around he treated each one the same as before, and then was disgraced when he only grew more depressed. This is one of the reasons there is so much controversy surrounding this novel on whether schools should read it, as stated by this critic, “some people complained that the novel’s language was crude and obscene” (Moss and Wilson). Holden is overly pessimistic that for many there is little inspiration in the novel. Readers do not want to act like the main character for the fact they will become alienated from society as well. “The irony, of course, is that Holden himself has already been contaminated by the world he despises” (Rholetter). Holden had so many people who wanted to watch him succeed, however he failed to notice any of them. He had animosity towards others for trying to help him yet at the same time he felt the same way towards the world when he failed once again. There is only so much a person can be helped when they are not willing to be helped. “It made me feel sad as hell-I don’t know
J.D. Salinger, the author of The Catcher in the Rye, uses the behaviour of protagonist Holden Caulfield to shape his personality in the way he alienates himself from the rest of the world. Holden alienates himself from the society he lives in, his relationships with others and also the relationships he has with himself. Holden struggles to cope with the fact that eventually he will have to grow up, and so will everyone around him. Holden see’s the world not being perfect as a huge problem that he alone has to fix because everyone else is too much of a ‘phony’ to do it. The novel explores Holden’s weekend after he got kicked out of his fourth school, Pency Prep, and the struggles he faces with alienating himself.