The 1950’s novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, revolves around a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield who is expelled from school and decides to spend a few days in New York before he goes home. The shift of no longer being a child, but not quite being an adult is present in the novel. As Holden narrates his difficult transition to adulthood, it becomes clear he is puzzled by the changes around him. Throughout the novel, Salinger uses characterization and symbolism to show Holden’s fear about entering the confusing adult world. Through characterization, Holden unitentionally explains why he’s reluctant to grow up. Many of the adults in Holden’s life are untrusting, disappointing, and phony. Children are the only people he sees as real …show more content…
and sincere, so it’s no wonder he’s afraid of growing up. When Holden goes to a park looking for Phoebe, he meets a group of kids. He notices one of them is having a hard time tying her skates, so he helps her. After she thanks him, he explains, “God, I love it when a kid's nice and polite when you tighten their skate for them or something. Most kids are. They really are” (132). Children are innocence, genuine, and kindhearted but, according to Holden’s viewpoint, as people grow older they lose these characteristics and become materialistic and selfish. Another reason Holden likes kids is because they don’t worry about other’s opinion of them which is shown when Holden sees two children at the natural history museum. “While I was waiting around for Phoebe in the museum, right inside the doors and all, these two little kids came up to me and asked me if I knew where the mummies were. The one little kid, the one that asked me, had his pants open. I told him about it. So he buttoned them up right where he was standing talking to me--he didn't even bother to go behind a post or anything. He killed me” (184). The children’s behavior is straight-forward and honest, unlike the “phony” adults who in Holden’s life. The characteristics of children make Holden want to stay a child, because he’s so afraid to be like the adults that he criticizes so much. Early in Holden’s narration, the symbol of his grey hair is conveyed.
He exclaims that, “I was sixteen then, and I'm seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I'm about thirteen. It's really ironical, because I'm six foot two and a half and I have gray hair. I really do. The one side of my head – the right side – is full of millions of gray hairs. I've had them ever since I was a kid. And yet I still act sometimes like I was only about twelve” (12). He also explains that because of his grey hair, people often mistake him as being older. His hair symbolizes the fact that Holden is entering adulthood and can’t avoid it. Deep down, he knows growing up is inevitable so he tries to hold off on the change by keeping the characteristics of a child. One way Holden handles his trepidation is by wearing his red hunting hat. His donning of the hat demonstrates his desire to hide from maturity in the world of childhood. The hat covers up his grey hair and protects his …show more content…
innocence. Many other moments during Holden’s story are symbols that show his fear towards adulthood.
As Holden walks down Fifth Avenue in New York on his way to Phoebe's school, the peak of his mental instability is shown. He gets the feeling that he will never get to the other side of the street and he will keep wandering down the avenue.“Every time I came to the end of a block and stepped off the goddam curb, I had this feeling that I'd never get to the other side of the street. I thought I'd just go down, down, down, and nobody'd ever see me again...Every time I'd get to the end of a block I'd make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I'd say to him, "Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear” (217). Holden feels like like he’s about to “fall” into a world of confusion and adulthood. This scene symbolizes Holden's desire to remain a child and to not "disappear" into the world of adults and phonies. Another scene that symbolizes Holden’s dread is when he punches out all the windows in his garage the night his brother, Allie, dies. He explains, “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don't blame them. I really don't. I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it” (44). The scene symbolizes the shattering of Holden's childhood when Allie died. Therefore, one of the reason he hates growing up so much is
because it’s associated with the death of his brother. Salinger depicts Holden’s viewpoint of adulthood using symbolism and characterization. His inner struggle is displayed and his fears are revealed, with great understanding. His past and his present effect his viewpoint of adulthood and are the reason why he wants to avoid being an adult. His reluctance to grow up is shown by his struggle to stay innocent. In the beginning of the novel, it is known that Holden fears childhood. But, by literary devices used throughout his viewpoint is explained and the reader understands just why he wants to be a child forever.
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’s childhood was far from ideal, with Allie dying, his dysfunctional parents and the revelation that he had some “perverty” stuff happen to him when he was a kid. Due to this, he isn't ready to step into adulthood and leave his childhood behind. This is why Holden is mostly alienated from adults and connects more to the innocence of children like the girl at the park and his sister, Phoebe. However, Holden is disillusioned with both adulthood and childhood. He already knows how it feels to be an adult; drinking alcohol, being independent, living by himself and caring for Phoebe, but isn’t ready to immerse himself in it.
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.
Holden’s apparent desire to be separated from the majority of his family and friends appears to have been triggered by the death of his younger brother Allie. From Allie’s there has been a downward spiral in Holden’s relationships, as he begins to avoid contact with others and isolate himself more. The reason I believe this is because we can see how immense his anger is after Allie’s death, ‘I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist’. The death of Allie has become like an awakening to Holden, and has alerted him how precious childhood innocence is, when Holden comes to this realisation he convinces himself to do everything within his power to protect the innocence of himself and those around him, to protect them from what he sees as a false adult world. Although Holden clearly fails to protect himself, as he falls into all sorts of situations which hardly boasts of innocence and virt... ...
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.
Immediately after Allie’s death, Holden changes immensely. His very first act after Allie died was smashing all his garage windows with his fist. Following this aggressive act, he becomes a recluse and judges every person he crosses to- I assume- Allie, because of how much he still reminded Holden of innocence, and will for the rest of his life. Cynthia Barron states, “Holden is sixteen… in a unique position, caught in the limbo between childhood and adulthood. Thus faced with their inability to adapt to an adult world that is hypocritical and corrupt, both boys seek a return to the realm of childhood” (Barron). In my personal opinion, i believe that he ...
In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is seen by some critics a a drop out student destined for failure in life, but I see him as a symbol of an adolescent who struggles to adapt to the reality of adulthood.
Innocence lies within everyone in at least one point in their lives, but as reality consumes them, that purity begins to vanish slowly as they learn new experiences. In the coming of age novel set in the nineteen-forties, J.D Salinger writes about a sixteen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield who stands between a road that separates childhood from adulthood and is confused about which path to take. On a three-day trip in New York away from his family and fellow peers at school, Holden encounters many situations in which lead him to think twice about who he wants to become and how he wants to guide others who are in the same situation he is in. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger utilizes symbolism, vivid imagery, and slangy diction to expose Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of the people that he loves while alienating himself from the adult world he calls “phony.”
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a coming-of-age novel set in New York during the 1940’s. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the story, is a detached seventeen-year old boy harboring feelings of isolation and disillusionment. He emphasizes a general dislike for society, referring to people as “phonies.” His lack of will to socialize prompts him to find nearly everything depressing. He’s alone most of the time and it’s apparent that he is very reclusive. This often leads him to pondering about his own death and other personal issues that plague him without immediate resolution. Holden possesses a strong deficit of affection – platonic and sexual – that hinders and cripples his views toward people, his attitude, and his ability to progressively solve his problems without inflicting pain on himself. The absence of significant figures in his life revert him to a childlike dependency and initiate his morbid fascination with sexuality. In this novel, Salinger uses Sunny, Sally Hayes, and Carl Luce to incorporate the hardships of discovering sexual identity and how these events affect adolescents as they try to understand their own sexuality.
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.
“Catcher in the Rye”, written by J.D Salinger, is a coming-of-age novel. Narrated by the main character, Holden Caulfield, he recounts the days following his expulsion from his school. This novel feels like the unedited thoughts and feelings of a teenage boy, as Holden narrates as if he is talking directly to readers like me.
The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D.Salinger, is a novel written to convey the emotions of transitioning from a child to an adult. The story takes place primarily in New York City, New York, following teenage boy Holden Caulfield during a short snippet of his life. The reader travels through this time as Caulfield is kicked out of secondary school and journeys to New York shortly after. The novel’s purpose is to detail the painful experience of being a teenager through the eyes of a boy who does not understand adults and experiences withdrawal from society due to his discontent with it. This experience relates to many which is why the book is still to this day so popular and why it is a valuable piece of literature.
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.
In J.D. Salinger’s controversial 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character is Holden Caulfield. When the story begins Holden at age sixteen, due to his poor grades is kicked out of Pencey Prep, a boys’ school in Pennsylvania. This being the third school he has been expelled from, he is in no hurry to face his parents. Holden travels to New York for several days to cope with his disappointments. As James Lundquist explains, “Holden is so full of despair and loneliness that he is literally nauseated most of the time.” In this novel, Holden, a lonely and confused teenager, attempts to find love and direction in his life. Holden’s story is realistic because many adolescent’s face similar challenges.
In the talk, Old Spencer asks Holden if he is concerned about his future, and Holden responds, “Not too much, I guess” (14). Holden doesn’t care about where he goes in life. He is so caught up on the death of his brother and the idea that if he tries to apply himself, life will just screw him over as well. Holden has accepted a life of failure. The night Allie died, Holden punched all of the windows in his garage. He says, “My hand still hurt me once in awhile, when it rains and all, and I can’t make a real fist any more- not a tight one, I mean- outside of that I don’t care much. I mean I’m not going to be a goddam surgeon or a violinist or anything anyway” (39). There are five stages of grief affiliated with tragic events. These five stages are Denial/isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance (Axelrod 2017). Holden is trapped in the second stage which is Anger. Holden is only caught up the negatives in life, and is a very pessimistic person. The stage of Anger is characterized by, “The intense emotions deflected from our vulnerable core, redirected and expressed instead as anger. The anger may be aimed at inanimate objects, complete strangers, friends or family” (Axelrod 2017). Holden takes his anger out on other people, and himself. In the book, Holden gets into a fight with his roommate Stradlater. "I tried to sock him, with all my might,