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The Catcher in the Rye,Holden Caulfied moves from a state of innocence,in childhood and adolescence
Salinger catcher in the rye writing
The Catcher in the Rye Holden moves from a state of innocence in childhood to one of experience in adulthood
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5) In Quotation #5, Mr. Spencer, Holden's former teacher at Pencey, gives him advice on the importance of fitting in with society. This exchange occurs to the start of the novel, when Holden had just been kicked out of Pencey and is saying his goodbyes to the place one last time. Mr. Spencer tries to convince the aberrant Holden of the value of "playing the game" of life in order to survive and be happy in the world, but Holden simply sees the negative aspects of Mr. Spencer as he speaks, silently criticizing him while displaying his silent contempt for the phony adults of the world. The significance of this quotation stems back to author J.D. Salinger's intended theme to this work - that society is simply a means of survival for people in …show more content…
this world, and everyone hides their true feelings in order to keep harmony constituent. By presenting the speaker of this quotation in a negative, critical light, Salinger attempts to glorify Holden as the only person who can see past the falseness of the convergent society of the time, rather than mindlessly "play according to the rules" as all the adults do. 4) In a quotation #4, Holden Caulfield engages a narrative description of his ideal world as he is faced with the thought of his future in society.
This quotation reveals Holden's attachment to childhood memories and the past, and as he is faced with the crisis of growing up, he simply retreats to his fantasy world to escape the issues of the real one. With the greater theme of the work reflecting societal pressures to converge to standard norms and grow up and take a place in that system, Holden prefers to return to his childhood world where none of these issues plagued him and simply remain a "catcher in the rye" in that world forever - and hence the namesake of the novel. Salinger's calm, pleasant tone when describing Holden's fantasies enhance the depth of Holden's desire to simply remain that way forever, revealing the large extent as to which he is stuck in the past and fears the future. The "crazy cliff" he references is the transition from adolescence to adulthood - a line he does not want to breach, or let anyone else breach, which is why he would catch them if "they don't look where they're going." Holden attempts to keep the innocence of the world around him alive, which is why he does not want to become a part of society where everyone loses that childhood purity and grows up.
3) Quotation #3 is a section of Holden's words on his favorite characters of the Bible, an instance that delves deeper into his personality and reveals key traits that characterize Holden Caulfield. Holden details his opinion on the various characters of the Bible, and with his disdain for the "chosen ones" like the Disciples and a support for the outcasts such as Legion, it is clear that Holden is referencing the greater workings of life and criticizing society itself in favor of those who diverge from the norm. His remark that the Disciples "annoy the hell out of me" reveals that Holden abhors social connections between those who hold power and are part of that in-group in society. Holden's variation in tone from calm to swearing shows that while he attempts to show nonchalance on the subject, his hatred for society's ways does break his own "phony" exterior as he further attempts to alienate himself from society. hide answer
In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in The Rye Salinger writes about the main character Holden Caulfield and his life. Holden is a teenager who comes from a wealthy family, he loves his family and lives very happy until the death of his brother Allie. After his brother died Holden becomes troubled, being kicked out of school again and again developing a negative view of the world. Holden throughout the book shows anger,denial, and acceptance over the loss of his brother.
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
3) This quote reflects the overall theme of the book because it shows what kind of person Holden is. Considering, he didn't want to introduce himself.
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:
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
When Mr. Spencer explains that “life is a game that one plays according to rules” Holden reveals that he feels imprisoned on the “other side of life” where there are no “hot-shots”. Here, Mr. Spencer is lecturing Holden on his failed attempts at schooling and illuminates key aspects of Holden’s character. After hearing this advice from Mr. Spencer, Holden immediately goes on the defensive and internalizes his thoughts of not belonging in this world. This event shows Holden’s failed attempts of trying to find his way in this “phony” world that he feels is against him and leaves him feeling alone and victimized. This interaction emphasizes the theme of isolation by showing how lonely Holden views himself; he clearly identifies with those on the “other side” of the
First, he goes to Mr. Spencer, his history teacher, who provides advice for his life and his future and even says “I’m trying to help you, if I can” (Salinger, 18). Because Mr. Spencer gives realistic advice to Holden to prepare him for his future even though it is not obligated, Mr. Spencer can be considered a mentor for Holden. Before Holden packs and leaves, he says “I was sort of crying” and “then I yelled at the top of my goddam voice, ‘Sleep tight, ya morons!’” (Salinger, 59). Although he becomes emotional when he realizes the company he is going to miss by leaving Pencey, he still acts immaturely as a result of an adolescent pitfall called invulnerability, when adolescents makes decisions without proper regard for their consequences (Adolescent Pitfalls). Holden finally leaves to take a train and reveals his love for riding trains at night (Salinger, 60). He is setting out on an adult journey by leaving Pencey, but he is still grasping to child interests by usually becoming excited to ride trains. Concluding sentence
Holden plays the role of the catcher in the rye by physically catching the children before they fall off the cliff proving that we all end up falling. Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to be, Holden responds, “if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them…I’d just be the catcher in rye and all” (Salinger 173). The cliff is symbolic of loss of innocence. Holden’s role of the catcher in the rye allows him to physically catch children before they fall off the cliff, therefore saving their innocence before they fall into adulthood. When the children fall off the cliff, it is much like the fall into adulthood, we fall in not looking where we are going and not knowing what to expect. Not only has Holden become obsessed with trying to preserve the innocence of children, but he also ends up having a nervous breakdown. Holden says to Phoebe, “I know it’s crazy…I know it’s crazy” (Salinger 173). Salinger’s use of repetition emphasizes the word crazy, therefore; foreshadowing that Holden will have a nervous breakdown and go crazy. Not only has Salinger’s use of repetition foreshadowed that Holden will go crazy, but so has Mr. Antolini....
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
Unlike other protagonists with amazing superpowers or cunning wits, the characters from the film Rushmore, and the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” share many of the same characteristics. In Wes Anderson’s film, Rushmore, the main character, Max Fischer, played by Jason Schwartzman has an unprecedented amount of similarities to J.D Salinger’s character Holden Caulfield from “The Catcher in the Rye”. Both stories focus on the idea of children wanting to grow up quickly whilst still being too immature to do so. The similarities include their personality traits, and the relationships they have, but the characters also differ in one major way, their views on sex. These similarities create a feel of familiarity in the reader or viewer allowing them
The Catcher in the Rye was written by J.D. Salinger. The main character is Holden Caulfield. Holden is a troubled student, who is most of the time depressed. The book starts out with him somewhere like a medical center for depression and his health. Holden lives in New York. He starts out telling you about his brother D.B. who is a writer and lives in Hollywood. He then goes on to tell you how it all started. He has gotten kicked out by many schools, and his latest school, Pencey, is no different. The only subject he does well in is English. Everything else he does not care for. He is supposed to leave wednesday, but it is saturday. He has just gotten back from a fencing game which his team had to forfeit, because Holden forget the foils. His neighbor in their dorms, Ackley, keeps bothering him. Ackley does not take care of his hygiene and hates almost everybody except Holden. But Holden's roommate, Stradlater, comes in, causing Ackley to leave. Stradlater has a date with Jane, a friend of Holden's. Stradlater gets ready then leaves Holden. Holden, Ackley, and another boy go out to eat, but none of them want to go to the movies, because Ackley and the other boy have already seen it. Holden does not care, because he hates movies. They go back to their dorms. Ackley goes to bed, and Holden just stares out the window. Stradlater comes in soon, and Holden asks him about his date. Stradlater will not say much which freaks out Holden. Holden and Stradlater then get into a fight and Stradlater beats him up. Holden then decides to leave early. His grandma has given him a whole bunch of money, so he goes to a cheap hotel. He leaves the hotel to go to a club, because he cannot sleep. He drinks a bit then goes to another club where he meets ...
Holden is a pessimistic, remote, and miserable character and he expresses this attitude through dialogue, tone, and diction. Throughout the book he has remained to be a liar, a failure, a loner, and lastly, a suicidal guy who feels like he has no purpose in life. Perhaps Salinger expressed his perceptions and emotions of his teen years in this book and it was a form of conveying his deep inner feelings of his childhood. Readers can see this clearly shown in The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger.
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger develops Holden Caulfield as a morally ambiguous character. Throughout the book, Salinger speaks as Holden and introduces him as a callous and subjective individual. However, the author permits the reader to be within Holden’s mind, giving the audience an alternative perspective of Holden’s true character. Without the obscurity of Holden’s personality, the work would lack a crucial element. As the protagonist, Holden serves as an equivocal adolescent that is relatable for the reader.
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.
The symbol I chose was Allie’s Baseball Mitt. Allie’s mitt is a meaningful object because it helps remind Holden of Allie and all the good times they had with each other.