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Book review of The Catcher in the Rye
Summary of "the CATCHER of the RYE" a novel by J.D. SALINGER
Summary of "the CATCHER of the RYE" a novel by J.D. SALINGER
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J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is a story told by a troubled 17-year-old teenage boy named Holden Caulfield. Throughout the novel, Caulfield displays unquestionable evidence of personal psychological battles and severe depression. Caulfield’s self-destruction is a result of his dissatisfaction with society and the way that he perceives the human condition; fake and inevitably “phony”. While spending time in New York, Holden engages in many different adventures and encounters with adults, nevertheless always trying to understand his curiosity and fear for growing up. Standing on the threshold between adolescence and adulthood, Holden expresses his ultimate fear for maturity; expending so much time and energy searching for “phoniness” …show more content…
within others that he never really addresses his own shortcomings and consequences for his behavior; eventually leading him into an even further state of alienation and depression causing him to be hospitalized.
Holden, struggling to find his true identity fears the thought of change. Seeking the Museum of Natural History for the comfort of sameness, he expresses his admiration for the unchanging exhibits, “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move.” (135) With continuous fear of change, Holden puts himself into an even further whirlwind of emotional distress and isolation, all while constantly picking apart everyone around him and judging them merely on the way that they speak or the words that they say. In the very first sentence of chapter three, Holden admits to being a liar, “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. It’s terrible.” …show more content…
(19) Throughout the story Caulfield is constantly lying, even when there is absolutely no need to, he’s grown accustomed to it and uses it as a protection for himself. Another example of Holden’s phoniness is when he is introduced to Mrs. Morrow on the train, the mother of a fellow Pencey Prep student, Ernest. Holden describes Ernest as “doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey” (61) yet he continues a series of deception and lies while speaking to her. For instance, he calls himself Rudolf Schmidt, merely because he “didn’t feel like giving her my whole life story”. He continues to utterly lie throughout their entire conversation and seems to find pleasure and amusement in it, he tells her how great her son is, getting her foolishly excited and happy that her son is fitting in quite nicely. On the train, he is in no position to lie, he is in no trouble and there is no reason for it, yet he still deceives her- making him an outright phony. Holden not only lies about his name once but three times.
Holden’s encounter with Sunny and Maurice, he went by the name ‘Jim Steele’ as well as when he met Bernice, Marty, and Laverne in the Lavender Bar. Constantly contradicting himself, throughout this whole chapter Holden speaks of how annoyed he was while dancing with Bernice and that he can’t stand their their fascination with celebrities and Radio City Music Hall; yet made remarks such as, “You’re a very good conversationalist” (81) when she would avoid answering his questions. In the Lavender Bar, Holden tries his best to deceive the server, intentionally sitting with his gray hair facing the server and ordering an alcoholic beverage even though he’s very much underage. Not only does Holden Caulfield deceive many characters throughout the story, in a way, he also deceives the reader. Throughout the story, Holden wants us to believe that he is the perfect example of moral standards and virtue, surrounded by the world full of phonies. He wants us to believe that he is much deeper, surrounded by infinite superficial beings- but that was not the
case. Holden Caulfield reserves the most ridicule for those who are trying to be something that they are not, but he deceives almost everyone that he meets along the way. Caulfield uses false names, plays tricks and constantly insults those around him; lying indicates phoniness, thus making Holden guilty. Throughout the novel, Holden defines adults as inevitably phony. He sees everything that is wrong with the world and the people in it which provides him with an excuse for his depression and constant need for isolation. Holden is a compulsive liar and his deceptions are utmost pointless; always making an effort to find phoniness in others, he lacks an understanding of his own. Unwilling to acknowledge his own shortcomings, Holden Caulfield is just as much guilty of phoniness as the people that he criticizes.
In his fight with Stradlater, Holden’s character is shown as a defender of innocence. He defends the memory of his brother through the report he writes for Stradlater. Because of Stradlater’s criticism on his brother’s death, Holden destroys the essay and says “All right, give it back to me, then,’ I said. I went over and pulled it right out of his goddamn hand. Then I tore it up.” Holden is tormented by the memory of his brother throughout the novel, and in this fight he defends his brothers memory by protecting the baseball glove. Later in this scene Holden is upset with Stradlater’s relationship with Jane. Holden explains, “If you knew Stradlater, you 'd have been worried, too. I 'd double-dated with the bastard a couple of times, and I know what I 'm talking about. He was unscrupulous.” Holden tries to defend Jane’s innocence and the reader is able to see Holden’s ethical code to protect the innocence and memory of others. In Holden’s confrontation with Maurice, Holden displays his detestation of the evil phony. “All of a sudden I started to cry. I 'd give anything if I hadn 't, but I did. 'No, you 're no crooks, ' I said. 'You 're just steeling five ' 'Shut up, ' old Maurice said and gave me a shove.” The scene between Maurice and Holden over the prostitute Sunny shows his emotions when it comes to fake people. In this scene he
Holden is an outlier of society, and tries to hide his own weaknesses with his angry thoughts. It is also implied that Holden is enrolled in an institution as he talks about doctor appointments towards the beginning of the book.
As he walked around and looked at displays, he noticed nothing ever changed from the times he visited. The unchanged displays provides constant stability and security for Holden because he fears the unknown. Holden wish that his life could be frozen in time. He doesn’t want to grow up to face the corruptions, the vulgarities, and the unknown in life. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move… Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.”
Since Holden was isolated from his family, in order to not get hurt again he tries to find hypocrisy in people to stop himself from trusting others. Holden feels isolated after being sent to a boarding school that “was full of phonies” by his parents (Salinger 90). Salinger’s message to the audience with this quote is that when
In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is seen by some critics a a drop out student destined for failure in life, but I see him as a symbol of an adolescent who struggles to adapt to the reality of adulthood.
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.”
Holden mentions how his father, a lawyer, and his brother D.B., a famous author, do things for the wealth and power, and he finds this wrong and phony. For Holden, the word phony has a much greater meaning than it does to any other person and while the word is commonly used throughout the text when Holden often complains about life like any other teenager, he contradicts himself, lies, and is a phony at times. Holden tells the reader, “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.
that he is trying to hide his true identity. He does not want people to know who he really is or that he was kicked out of his fourth school. Holden is always using fake names and tries speaking in a tone to persuade someone to think a cretin way. He does this when he talks to women. While he is talking to the psychiatrist he explains peoples reactions to his lies like they really believe him, when it is very possible that he is a horrible liar and they are looking at him with a “what are you talking a bout?” expression. Holden often lies to the point where he is lying to him self.
The world today is very deceptive and phony. J.D. Salinger’s well known novels, The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey attack this fake and superficial society which is evident through the lives, ideas, actions, and words expressed by the characters in these literary pieces. The transition from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood is inevitable. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through this stage and finds himself in a crisis. He alienates himself from everyone who is around him and tries his best not to grow up. Holden often dwells upon his childhood and the life he had with his family. Franny in Franny and Zooey has already passed this stage but finds it difficult to live in a world where everyone she is surrounded by is only concerned with outward appearances. In these worlds, both characters, Holden and Franny, reveal their struggle of growing up and trying to live as an adult in a world full of deception and shallow-minded people who only care about appearances.
Holden Caulfield a timeless figure configured by Salinger is put on a journey were he is trying to transition into the world by unlocking the door to adulthood .He is not yet ready to open that door because he still having trouble finding his identity and is filled with self doubt such as believing he is disappearing from the world , and deeming himself incapable of accepting change" He views himself as a liar, but he refuses to acknowledge that this means that he is phony, too"(CLC). But like many other adolescences he is native and faces the challenging road of finding himself and overcoming the trials and tribulations that life throws at him. Unlike most adolescences though Holden purposely puts himself in situations where he cannot connect with others in his everyday life and in turn becomes hopelessly lonely and alienated in society. This causes him to struggles in him communication with others in a mature and sophisticated manor.
There is a singular event that unites every single human being on the planet, growing up. Not everyone can say it was pleasant, but no one can deny that it took place. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing; often forcing one to seek out the answers to questions that likely have no definitive answer. During the process, the adult world seems inviting and free, but only when we are on the brink of entering this cruel, unjust society can the ignorant bliss of childhood be truly recognized. Catcher in the Rye explores the intimidating complexities associated with adulthood and how baffling it seems to the naïve teenage mind. Through the main protagonist, Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of adapting to an adult society.
Holden Caulfield doesn't often show respect for other people and is shown to be a compulsive liar to keep his true self hidden from the world. The only real people he ever talks about in high regards are his siblings Phoebe and Allie, as well as his childhood friend, Jane. He keeps himself distanced because of his constant fear of being rejected by society. After being continously let down, Holden begins to develop a mentality of isolating himself from everyone else because he believes there are only two types of people in this world, and that someone is either a good person or they’re fake.
Throughout the novel, we watch as Holden Caulfield’s story unfolds before us. He shares his story to his therapist, ensuring us that it is the truth. Holden is so concerned we do not believe him, he tells us frequently that this is the truth. He refers to everyone around him a phony, and even his little sister points out that he does not have many interests. He seems to dislike many things and is not particularly fond of anybody. Throughout the novel, we see as Holden’s attitude and perspective of the world changes drastically.
The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, focuses on Holden Caulfield’s life and convoluted mind. Holden’s obsession with the preservation of youth and innocence in a flawed, “phony” world was mentioned by literary critic James Lundquist, who claims that “How to maintain a sense of the holy in the midst of obscenity is what Holden’s character development is all about” (J.D. Salinger 49). All through the novel, Holden values childhood innocence, and does his best to prevent it from being tarnished. Yet, this outlook on life changes as he meets new people and discovers qualities he did not know about himself.
“When people treat you like they don’t care, believe them… they don’t.”(Courtesy of Anonymous). Throughout the novel, The Catcher in The Rye, by J.D Salinger, we witness Holden Caulfield, the main character’s, life and experiences through his perspective. Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old male, who is in constant judgement of his society and environment. This was clearly portrayed throughout the novel when Holden communicates to others. In the novel, he criticizes and philosophize about people who are boring, insecure, and, above all, people who are “phony.” He tends to maintain his distance from all interaction with others and is extremely isolated from society, on top of that, his beliefs opposed others. This connects to Holden being unable