In the story “The Catcher in the Rye”, JD Salinger uses imagery and other literary devices to create a novel that shows the struggle between being innocence and becoming experienced. First, many readers tend to agree that this book deals with Holden’s growth into maturity. Throughout the book it is obvious that Holden’s central goal is to resist maturing as much as possible, and readers tend to believe that Holden is afraid of change and the reality of the unknown. Holden believes that the adult world is a superficial world and that his childhood resembles a world of innocence, curiosity and honesty. The reader can assume that Holden often relates childhood to children playing in a field of rye where as adulthood is equivalent to death. However as the book progresses, Holden later discovers how wrong he was about adulthood. There are many symbols that have a tendency to turn up throughout this novel. First, JD Salinger mentions the read hunting hat, this is a symbol for Holden’s individuality, because Holden has a desire to be different from everyone around him. Although by wearing the hat Holden tries to embrace his individuality he also feels a bit insecure while wearing it because in the novel he always brings up the fact that he has …show more content…
it on and he never seems to have it on when he's around his friends. For example, Salinger wrote “[t]hat hat I bought had earlaps in it, and I put them on--I didn't give a damn how I looked. Nobody was around anyway. Everybody was in the sack” (Salinger 69). This shows that Holden is in a constant battle in his need for being alone and his need for being with someone. Another symbol depicted by JD Salinger when Holden goes to The Museum of Natural History this appeals to Holden because the displays in the museum are frozen and they don not change. Each time Holden returns, he feels troubled by how much he truly has changed. JD Salinger leads the reader to believe that the museum is the world Holden wishes to live in because life would be simple, nothing ever changes, it is his true “Catcher in the Rye” fantasy of an understandable and infinite world. The reader may find this easy to understand because Holden fears change and unpredictable changes of the world. For example, JD Salinger writes “[h]e’s dead now. He got leukemia and died when we were up in Maine, on July 18, 1946”(Salinger 49). JD Salinger uses symbolism to describe Holden’s youthful side that is still apart of him. The author does this by taking Holden to see the ducks in the Central Park Lagoon. While Holden wonders about where the ducks go in the winter JD Salinger shows that Holden is not the grumpy old man that he was earlier in the book. Holden wondering where the ducks are reveals the curiosity and a willingness to encounter the unknown of the world. In this instant the reader has a small epiphany when they realize that Holden is lacking willingness in other aspects of his life. The duck and the pond symbolize other important concepts in Holden’s life. For example, JD Salinger writes “[h]ey, listen," I said. "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over? Do you happen to know, by any chance?" I realized it was only one chance in a million” (Salinger 78). When the author wrote this he is stating that the ducks leave but the always return this shows that change is not permeate. Last JD Salinger uses the lake as a metaphor as to how Holden is going through the change from childhood to adulthood. For example, he writes “What it was, it was partly frozen and partly not frozen” (Salinger 200). As well as symbols, JD Salinger has multiple themes that he addresses in this novel as well.
First, he addresses that Holden uses alienation as a form of self protection. As readers, we can see that most of Holden’s pain is caused by his self alienation, he never seems to talk about how he really feels or what is causing him that pain. It seems that Holden is looking for a meaningful connection with someone like the one he had with Jane Gallagher, but is to nervous to contact her when he gets off the train in New York. For example, the author writes “[t]hen I thought of giving Jane Gallagher's mother a buzz, and find out when Jane's vacation started, but I didn't feel like it. Besides, it was pretty late to call up”(Salinger
77). The author also uses the painfulness of growing up as a theme. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye the protagonist Holden is in the stage of his life where he is resisting growing up and maturing because he fears change and seems to get overwhelmed by any sort of complication. Throughout the novel, Holden often refuses to acknowledge his fear of of begin intimate, and when he talks about it he admits “[s]ex is something I just don't understand. I swear to God I don’t” (Salinger 82). Salinger shows the reader that Holden thinks the adult world is full of “phonies”. Phoniness for Holden, stands as an emblem of everything that is wrong in the world around him and therefore it provides an excuse for Holden to withdraw from the real world and enter in to his world of isolation. Although Holden’s thoughts may be oversimplified, they are not completely wrong. Throughout the book Holden runs in to many different characters and seems to have a real good judge of their superficial behavior. During the novel, Holden runs into Maurice and Sunny, right away Holden detects how phony they are, but in the process he neglects to observe his own. Holden is known to be cruel and he says himself that he is a compulsive liar, the author wrote, “[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” (Salinger 22). Although Holden wants the reader to believe that he is a paragon of virtue in this phony world, but that is not the case. Holden wants the reader to believe that the world is a simple place where virtue and innocence lay on one side of the fence while superficiality and phoniness rest on the other, however in that case Holden is his own counter evidence. The world is not as Holden wants it to be, it is not as simple as he would like or like he needs, therefore Holden is unable to stick to the same standards in which he tends to judge others with.
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, cannot accept that he must move out of childhood and into adulthood. One of Holden’s most important major problems is his lack of maturity. Holden also has a negative perspective of life that makes things seem worse than they really are. In addition to Holden’s problems he is unable to accept the death of his brother at a young age. Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality hold him back from moving into adulthood.
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 experiences both alienation and disillusionment when meeting with people like Sally Hayes, Sunny and Ackley. Holden is so desperate to have human connection yet, when he starts to talk to them, he experiences them as ‘phonies’. This makes him more depressed, continuing his downward spiral. Holden is caught in a trap of his own making.
Holden's Seperateness in Catcher in the Rye In ‘The Catcher In The Rye’ Salinger sets about making Holden appear separate from everyone else. He does this through a variety of methods. One of the ways in which Salinger shows this separateness is through Holden’s relationships and encounters with his family and friends. Another method that Salinger uses is that usually whenever Holden attempts to contact someone they are either not there or don’t answer the phone, this give us the feeling that Holden is by himself, alone, separate from everyone else. Also the fact that Holden says ‘my address book only has about three people in it’ gives us again the impression that Holden is disconnected from society.
It is made evident that Holden is enamored with Jane Gallagher, and this first manifests itself when Holden talks about her to Stradlater. “I used to play checkers with her,” Holden recounts. “ ‘She’d get [her kings] all lined up in the back row. Then she’d never use them. She just liked the way they looked when they were all in the back row.’ Stradlater didn’t say anything. That kind of stuff doesn’t interest most people” (41). In a world where almost everything is so “goddam depressing,” thinking about Jane’s minor traits actually makes Holden happy, even if it is the kind of stuff that does not interest most people. It allows him to channel his childhood, where he was oblivious to the phoniness around him. However, this silly nostalgia cannot get across to Stradlater, who is more interested in Jane as a sexual being than trivialities such as her checker tactics or struggles with ballet. This physical interest eventually becomes the root of their brawl in their dorm. Although Holden’s interrogative mood agitates Stradlater, Holden is only showing his genuine care for Jane. Unlike Stradlaer, Holden has enough sense to know that Jane, being the humble, intelligent girl she is, deserves to be treated right. So, even though Holden lets his anger get the better of him and eventually start a fight, he has reason to do
Holden Caulfield is a sixteen-year-old who explores New York City after he is expelled from his prep school (Salinger). He cannot return back home because he is afraid of his parents’ response and takes no responsibility for his actions whatsoever. Holden hates the adult world, where he calls all adults “phonies.” In his world, one can’t go back to childhood, but one can’t grow up because that will make one a phony (Bloom, The Catcher in the Rye 124). Holden is stuck in between a world, where he doesn’t want to remain a child or grow up into the adult he is expected to become. According to Chen, Holden fears the “complexity, unpredictability, conflict, and change” of the adult world. He occasionally acts like an adult, when he hires a prostitute (Salinger 119), checks into a hotel room (Salinger 79), and takes care of his sister, Phoebe. As a result of Holden’s immense fear of growing up, he tends to partake in childish tendencies, such as wearing a bright red hunting hat. These actions are his way of isolating and protecting himself. Holden is stuck in his own little world. These actions are very immature; Holden does not accept the adult world for what it is. He needs human contact, care, and love, but he has built a barrier, preventing himself from these interactions (Chen). He also acts like a child by acting out “pretend” scenarios even when no one is
Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye follows the journey of a young boy, Holden Caulfield, from adolescence to adulthood. There are a number of symbols that Salinger uses to help to portray the various stages that Holden goes through as he matures into adulthood. The snowball incident, his sense of fulfillment when at the museum, and his run in with a pimp, are all representations of how Holden is deeply obsessed with innocence thoughts and how reluctant he is to give them up.
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
In his novel Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger portrays childhood and adolescence as times graced by innocence when his protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is faced with the reality of becoming an adult. Holden’s desperation to maintain his innocence and the manner in which he critiques those he deems to have lost theirs, emphasizes his immaturity and ignorance while highlighting the importance the author places on childhood.
The symbolism throughout the novel illustrates Holden’s isolation from the adult world. In the beginning of the Chapter Three, Holden returns to his dorm room where he finds his pestering roommate, Ackley. After seeing Holden’s red hunting hat, which he purchased in New York, Ackley is fascinated by it and tells Holden that “Up home [he] wears a hat like that to shoot deer in,” (22) Holden then takes the red hunting hat off of Ackleys’ head and closes one eye as if he is trying to shoot it. “This is a people shooting hat,” he says (22). It is obvious from the start of the novel that Holden’s red hat symbolizes his mark of individuality and independence. In this scene, the audience sees how his desire for independence is connected to the feeling of alienation and the bitterness Holden feels for the people in society. Of course, Holden will not actually sh...
phonies and all he hates. By being in the stage where he is, he manages to avoid change, control his world with his own hands, yet. creates a paradox between what he is, and what he wants to be. Possibly the main reason why Holden doesn’t want to become an adult. is his perception of ”phoniness” and hypocrisy surrounding adult.
Holden cannot accept the loss of innocence as a step into the growing up process. The ones that he loves most, are those who are younger to him, they are innocent, and untouched by society’s truths. Holden 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.
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.
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.
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.