There will always be a moment where we all change, but most of us would prefer to hold on to remaining an adolescent. "Catcher in the Rye" written by J.D. Salinger, is a story about a high-school student, Holden, who looks for a reason to change and move on from his depressing page of life. The novel depicts the adventures of Holden as he processes a change. Through Holden's resistance to change, Salinger expresses that people sometimes crave for the past which impacts us negatively, but we would be better off if we learn to move on and find something special.
In the beginning of the book, Holden often craves for his familiar past. During Holden’s visit to the museum he observes the sameness of everything. Holden mentions that “the best
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Not just for Phoebe, but also for those people who cared for him. He mentions that "[he] could probably tell you what [he] did after [he] went home, and how [he] got sick and all, and what school [he’s] supposed to go to next fall, after [he gets] out of here, but [he doesn’t] feel like it." (213) The phrases “sick and all” and “after I get out of here” represents that Holden had gone to the hospital to receive physiological treatment. The phrase “what school [he’s supposed to go” also represents that Holden is applying himself for his future just like how his teacher wanted him to. Although Holden “[doesn’t] feel like it,” he is going to try so that he becomes a worthy person for not just Phoebe but also the people that he cares about. Despite Holden's resistance to change, he starts to change. "Catcher in the Rye," reminds us that changing is not easy to process mentally. Going through the true process of change, it requires us to let go of the past and move on which is hard. The novel represents the hardship of changing. It reminds us how great the value of finding something special and precious is as well as a valid reason although it requires us to let go and move on with our lives. All it requires is to simply let
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a popular novel that was originally published in the 1950’s. In the book, Salinger explores various themes through the main character Holden and his interactions with others. Some of these themes include, alienation, loss and betrayal. Holden constantly feels betrayed throughout the novel by several people, including his roommate, teacher, and sister.
Around every corner Holden sees evil. He looks out on a world which appears completely immoral and unscrupulous. The three days that the novel covers place a distressed Holden in the vicinity of Manhattan. The city is decked with decorations and holiday splendor, yet, much to Holden's despair "seldom yields any occasions of peace, charity or even genuine merriment."3. Holden is surrounded by what he views as drunks, perverts, morons and screwballs. These convictions that Holden hold waver very momentarily during one particular scene in the book. The scene is with Mr. Antolini. After Mr. Antolini patted Holden on the head while he was sleeping, Holden jumped up and ran out thinking that Mr. Antolini was a pervert as well. This is the only time during the novel where Holden thinks twice about considering someone a pervert. After reviewing Mr. Antolini, Holden finally concludes that maybe he was not making a "flitty" pass at him. He wonders if he just like patting guys heads as they sleep. This is the only time in the novel where Holden actually considers a positive side to something. However, this event does not constitute a significant change. As Holden himself says, "It's not too bad when the sun's out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out."4. The sun, of course, is a reference to decency through the common association of light and goodness. His perception of the world remains the same.
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.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is an enthralling and captivating novel about a boy and his struggle with life. The teenage boy ,Holden, is in turmoil with school, loneliness, and finding his place in the world. The author J.D. Salinger examines the many sides of behavior and moral dilemma of many characters throughout the novel. The author develops three distinct character types for Holden the confused and struggling teenage boy, Ackley, a peculiar boy without many friends, and Phoebe, a funny and kindhearted young girl.
... struggles. Holden just wanted someone to talk to and wants to break his depression by succeeding. In my opinion, I believe Holden does find what he’s looking for due to Phoebe riding on the carousel ride as it makes Holden happy, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way Phoebe kept going around and around” (213). Holden’s struggles have came across his fate from being depressed and as long as Phoebe is by his side, Holden has someone to communicate with, and to now live a peaceful and comfortable life. The life-lessons that Holden has had to face throughout the book have changed his life completely by knowing his true character towards the end of the novel. His life revolves around his problems, and he seemed helpless in evading them. With that being said, Holden found himself facing the issues of acceptance of death, growing up, and his own self-intentions.
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger that is told from the point of view of Holden Caulfield. Holden is a young man struggling with growing up and facing the adult world. As a misunderstood teenager, Holden learns to deal with the deception of the adult world and the consequences of his choices.
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 Catcher in the Rye has been described, analyzed, rebuffed, and critiqued over the years. Each writer expresses a different point of view: It is a story reflecting teen-ager's talk--thoughts-emotions--actions; or angst. I believe it is an adult's reflection of his own unresolved grief and bereavements. That adult is the author, J.D. Salinger. He uses his main character, Holden, as the voice to vent the psychological misery he will not expose -or admit to.
The Catcher in the Rye Holden Gets Influenced Everyone gets influenced by someone, even heroes do. The Catcher in the Rye, a novel written by J. D. Salinger, talks about Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old boy that is trying to live through his problems. Holden tries to learn from his experiences as well as from the ones of others. He goes through many hard times, but he always takes them as a chance to imagine how it could have ended if he had done something about them or what cold had happened if he was not so “yellow”.
Lies, failure, depression, and loneliness are only some of the aspects that Holden Caulfield goes through in the novel The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger. Salinger reflects Holden’s character through his own childhood experiences. Salinger admitted in a 1953 interview that "My boyhood was very much the same as that of the boy in the book.… [I]t was a great relief telling people about it” (Wikipedia). Thus, the book is somewhat the life story of J.D. Salinger as a reckless seventeen-year-old who lives in New York City and goes through awful hardships after his expulsion and departure from an elite prep school. Holden, the protagonist in this novel, is created as a depressed, cynical, and isolated character and he expresses this attitude through his dialogue, tone, and diction.
...ut the exact flaw in his life that is holding him back from realizing his true potential in life. “you don't like anything thats happening” (p.g 169). At this point in the book Holden has been kicked out of Pencey prep, and comes home to phoebe while his parents aren't there hoping to find something he can carry on his journey out. Before he does anything he sees phoebe. Holden tells Phoebe that the school is full of “phoneys” and that the teachers are where he mostly got the idea of them being phoney. This quote from phoebe is basically telling Holden that he has a negative attitude towards life and basically everything he hasent experienced such as adulthood. Holden has a negative towards adult hood just because of the negative things he hears and has seen. Although Holden has never really given the thought of adulthood a chance, much less even experience adulthood.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a story of Holden Caulfield's growth as a person. Some view Holden as a static character, and say that by the end of the novel he hasn’t changed. I’d say that on the contrary Holden is an extremely dynamic character throughout the story. Holden does change and grow as a character because he lets go of wanting to protect innocence in the world, we see Holden begin to grow into what Erik Erikson believes is the stage of development for adolescents, and he starts to be willing to apply himself.
The origins of Holden’s disillusionment and the reason that it all started is the death of his younger brother which he was very fond of and admired, Allie, three years ago. The death of Allie is very significant in Holden’s mind since it is an event which he remembers quite clearly at multiple occasions during the book. For example, when Holden is writing a descriptive composition for his roommate Stradlater, he decides to write about Allie’s baseball mitt since it is the only thing on his mind. “My brother Allie had this left-handed fielder’s mitt. He was
Holden shows a particular liking towards children over adults. He values the innocence and authenticity of children and he tries to protect them from the phoniness and evil of the world. When he goes back to his old school at the end of the novel to give a note to Phoebe, he sees an obscenity on the wall that infuriates him. He says, "Somebody'd written `F*** you' on the wall. It drove me near damn crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them-all cockeyed, about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever'd written it" (201). When Holden's sister Phoebe demands that he tell her one thing that he really likes, Holden's responds saying, "I like Allie...And I like doing what I'm doing right now. Sitting here with you, and talking and thinking about stuff..." (171), showing that he's most content in the simple and innocent world of his childhood.
Catcher in the Rye is a complicated book about a young man going through, what appears to be a nervous break down. This is a book about the boy’s negative self-talk, horrible outlook on life, and a life itself that seems to keep swirling down the toilet. He keeps trying to fill his life with something, but the reality of it is he doesn’t exactly now what he needs. It’s complicated to understand at parts, because all he does is think of things in the worst possible conditions.