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It is difficult to really define American teenagers, but they’re seen as confused and without any real identity age wise. Although not as prominent as in the 20th century, teenagers have to deal with a misleading phoniness in society today. The teenage years are when a person really decides (or has a decision forced on them) how their views will develop, such as living with optimism or pessimism. Because of pressure from media, peers and parents, teenagers either try to grow up too quickly or simply refuse and get left behind. All of these characteristics are related to Holden Caulfield in various ways. Even just on the surface, Holden is a typical teenager, with his low self esteem and bad language. Therefore, based on what it means to be an American teenager, The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger is supposed to be the picture of a typical teenage experience.
Generally, the American teenager has enough to be confused with in his own life but society’s phoniness can greatly add to that uncertainty. Most of a person’s adult behaviors are learned in the teenage years, but with people such as politicians being “phony,” teenagers are getting more upset and confused by the appropriate way to act. If they see people in these kinds of powerful positions lying and embezzling, what would they assume to do other than imitate that behavior? That’s why there is a lot of teenage crime in this country- the crimes of “phonies” in prominent standing that, to some extent, are endorsing these bad and sometimes ilicit activities. In Holden Caulfield’s case, he lets phoniness run his entire life. The biggest insult he can give something is that of “phony,” and he stops doing things he would like to do, not wanting to be perceived as a ph...
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...t from his own parents. They keep sending him to private schools away from home and that’s forcing him to grow up because there’s nobody else to rely on really. That is the case with most teenagers like Holden, they try to grow up too quickly and miss some potentially great childhood moments.
In conclusion, The Catcher in the Rye is a picture of a typical teenage experience because Holden is confused and without any real identity. He has strong views, like most teenagers, on phoniness, view of life and growing up. Holden is a typical American teenager, maybe a little less fortunate than some others, having to fend for himself, really. Nonetheless, nearly all teenagers go through a time in their lives that is emotionally like that of Holden Caulfield.
Work Cited
Salinger, JD. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston, Mass: Little, Brown and Company, 1951
Holden Caulfield, the teenage protagonist of Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, struggles with having to enter the adult world. Holden leaves school early and stays in New York by himself until he is ready to return home. Holden wants to be individual, yet he also wants to fit in and not grow up. The author uses symbolism to represent Holden’s internal struggle.
Holden is not just abnormal, he has problems that other teenagers, including the students at Pencey, experience going through adolescence. An example of this is Holden's jealousy towards Stradlater when he finds out he is going on a date with Jane Gallagher, “Boy,was I getting nervous” (42). Every teenager has bouts of jealously especially about the opposite sex, and Holden is no different. Holden's rebellious nature, to an extent, is typical for a teenage boy. His rebellious nature of smoking when it is not allowed, “You weren't allowed to smoke in the dorm...I went right on smoking like a madman.” (41-42). Holden is also anxious about change, which again to an extent is normal, “Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks...”(60), and he has the right to be; change,especially during adolescence, is a terrifying but exciting ride into the unknown, and similar to other adolescents Holden is afraid but intrigued about the unknown.
In J.D. Sallinger's Catcher in the Rye, is based on the sullen life of Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old teen-ager is trying to find his sense of direction. Holden, a growing adult, cannot accept the responsibilities of an adult. Eventually realizing that there is no way to avoid the adult life, he can only but accept this alternative lifestyle. What Holden describes the adult world as a sinful, corrupted life, he avoids it for three important reasons: His hatred towards phonies and liars, unable to accept adult responsibilities, and thirdly to enshrine his childhood youth.
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.
The inability of Holden to accept growing up and the depression caused by it has made Holden suicidal, "what I really felt like, though, was committing suicide.
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
Holden’s dislike for adult phonies causes him to not want to enter adulthood. Holden fears that if he enters adulthood, he will become a phony, which he loathes. While Holden is listening to Mr. Spencer’s lecture, his mind wanders: “If a boy’s mother was sort of fat or corning-looking or something … then old Haas would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile and then he’d talk to someone else’s parents. I can’t stand that stuff. It drives me crazy” (14). Holden’s great hatred for phonies is displayed here. Later on in the book as Phoebe asks Holden why he got kicked out of school, Holden r...
In The Catcher in the Rye, a boy named Holden Caulfield is faced with the obstacles of both society and life as he struggles to find direction as well as his relationship with the world. From page one, the reader can both understand and relate to what Holden has to say about the society in which we live and the way in which people in that society govern themselves. The more we read the more we identify with Holden Caulfield.
When one does not stand for something, one is bound to fall for anything. Because Holden lacked paternal figures in his life or a greater influence he took the idea of innocence as his mantra. His need to find an identity led him to find a role model in children, which led him to believe permanent innocence would mean happiness and sanity. He held on to his idea and sought out to find innocence in the dimmest of places. His intoxication with this idea and his disappointing encounters with adults ensure him that nothing but corruption is found once a child grows up. He rejected the idea of adulthood and created further problems for himself. In the process of this well-intentioned plan, Holden loses the little of himself he had. He is left standing only with a hunger for innocence. Because, to him, innocence is all and love is innocence.
The transition from a teen to an adult is one of the major steps in life. This major transition can be really scary. Some people are so scared of becoming an adult, that they try to keep their inner child alive. One person in the book The Catcher in the Rye is Holden Caulfield, Holden is the main character in the novel written by J.D. Salinger. A prominent theme in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye is the painfulness of growing up. As this theme is going on through the novel, Salinger weaves in symbols that Holden happens to use and talk about throughout the novel.
Holden goes through life not wanting to grow up. For him growing up meant the death of his brother Allie, leaving his younger sister, Phoebe, and not being able to keep in touch with his friend Jane Gallagher. Holden is very critical of others and is written as a cynical and at tim...
J.D. Salinger presents Holden Caulfield as a confused and distressed adolescent. Holden is a normal teenager who needs to find a sense of belonging. All though Holden’s obsession with “phonies” overpowers him. Dan Wakefield comments, “The things that Holden finds so deeply repulsive are things he calls “phony”- and the “phoniness” in every instance is the absence of love, and , often the substitution of pretense for love.” Holden was expelled from Pencey Prep School not because he is stupid, but because he just is not interested. His attitude toward Pencey is everyone there is a phony. Pencey makes Holden feel lonely and isolated because he had very few friends. Holden’s feeling of alienation is seen when he doesn’t attend the biggest football game of the year. His comments on the game: “It was the last game of the year and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win” (2, Ch. 1). This also hints to Holden’s obsession with death. Holden can’t find a since of belonging in the school because of all the so-called phonies. Holden speaks of Pencey’s headmaster as being a phony. Holden says that on visitation day the headmaster will pay no attention to the corny-looking parents. Holden portrays his not being interested by saying, “all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to buy a goddam Cadillac someday, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses”(131, Ch. 17). Holden does not care for school or money. He just wants everyone to be sincere and honest.
In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caufield believes that innocence is corrupted by society. He exposes his self-inflicted emotional struggles as he is reminiscing the past. For Holden, teenage adolescence is a complicated time for him, his teenage mentality in allows him to transition from the teenage era to the reality of an adult in the real world. As he is struggling to find his own meaning of life, he cares less about others and worries about how he can be a hero not only to himself but also to the innocent youth. As Holden is grasping the idea of growing up, he sets his priorities of where he belongs and how to establish it. As he talks about how ‘phony’ the outside world is, he has specific recollections that signify importance to his life and he uses these time and time again because these memories are ones that he wont ever let go of. The death of his younger brother Allie has had a major impact on him emotionally and mentally. The freedom of the ducks in Central Park symbolize his ‘get away’ from reality into his own world. His ideology of letting kids grow up and breaking the chain loose to discover for themselves portrays the carrousel and the gold ring. These are three major moments that will be explored to understand the life of Holden Caufield and his significant personal encounters as he transitions from adolescence into manhood.
Part of the irony in Holden’s story is that physically, he looks mature, but mentally, he is still very much a child: “I act quite young for my age, sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now … I’m six foot two and a half and I have gray hair ” (9). There is no middle ground, adolescence, for Holden. He can only be an adult, physically, or a child, mentally. Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tries to appeal to him by using a metaphor: “Life is a game, boy.
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.