How Is Holden Caulfield A Normal Teenager

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The Catcher in the Rye takes place during the roaring 1940s and 50s, a time of new technology and modernization of the US. In this time things found important today, such as school, were pushed to the side. For example, it was considered normal for children to finish high school, get married, and find a job; occasionally high school graduates would attend college. The main character in this novel, Holden Caulfield, a rebellious and lonely teen, is considered the first “normal” teenager found in a novel during that time. Holden gets expelled from his fifth private school, while still recovering from the death of his younger brother Allie. Allie plays a key role in The Catcher in the Rye because after his death Holden spirals into a depression, …show more content…

Holden first introduces his brother and exaggerates that he is “about fifty times as intelligent. His teachers were always writing letters to my mother, telling her what a pleasure it was having a boy like Allie in their class”(38). Unlike Holden, Allie excelled in school while he was there, and wasn’t rebellious like Holden is. Even though Allie was extremely intelligent, Holden also believes “it wasn’t just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest”(38). Even though Holden brags about Allie being very smart, he is also nice, something Holden struggles to be. For example, when he meets a new person, he automatically labels them and believes they’re phony. In addition to believing he was smart and nice, he thought very highly of Allie, saying “My brother, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard. I’m the only dumb one”(67). Comparing Allie to a wizard represents Holden apotheosizing and glorifying him. Also, unlike Holden’s siblings, Holden is not smart, therefore is considered a trouble maker in the family, and as a result, is sent to multiple boarding …show more content…

After Stradlater convinces Holden to write a composition for him while he goes on a date with Jane Gallagher. Afterwards, Holden decides to that he’s “not too crazy about describing rooms and houses anyway. So what I did, I wrote about my brother Allie’s baseball mitt”(38). Holden’s first instinct is to write something related to Allie, therefore using Allie to help him write a descriptive composition for Stradlater. When Sunny, a prostitute, leaves his hotel room, he admits that when he is “felt so depressed, you can’t imagine. What I did, I started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie”(98). When he feels depressed or alone, Holden finds comfort in talking to Allie, and imagining that he’s still alive and with him. As he walks down the streets of New York City, Holden has to overcome his fear of stepping off the curb to continue walking, and says “I had this feeling that I’d never get to the other side of the other side of the street… Every time I’d get to the end of a block I’d make believe I was talking to my brother Allie” (197-198). Though his brother isn’t with Holden, he seeks comfort and security in talking to Allie, and relies on him to help him complete simple

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