In J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye", Holden Caulfield describes his younger brother's, Allie's, baseball glove. Holden's roommate, Stradlater, asks Holden to write a descriptive composition for Stradlater's English class, but Holden decides to write the composition about Allie's glove. While Holden thinks about what to write, he decides to take out Allie's glove and write about the poems written on the glove. Holden states,"..he had poems written all over the fingers and pocket and everywhere. In green ink." Holden describes his brother's glove with lots of sensory details in order to allow the reader to visualize and connect with the glove. Holden's description of Allie's glove brings the glove and the person to life within the …show more content…
D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye", Holden Caulfield describes his lucid imagination to his younger sister, Phoebe. Holden describes a song he had heard as he walked through the streets of New York and tells Phoebe what he thinks the song is telling him. This quote implies what Holden believes to be his true purpose in life. Holden uses descriptive language in order to help Phoebe, as well as the reader, visualize his imagination. Holden states," ...all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye... I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff." Holden uses imagery in order to illustrate the situation of his fantasy. Along with this imagery, Holden states what he believes his role is in this field of rye. Holden describes," I have to catch everybody [little kids] if they start to go over the cliff.. That's all I'd do all day." Holden uses his fantasy as a huge metaphor for his life. He implies that the catcher in the rye is the savior of these little kids, who will never grow up because they are not allowed to "go over the cliff." Holden describes himself as the catcher, and believes his true purpose in life is to save the little kids from going over "the edge of some crazy cliff" because he believes the adult world is phony and that innocence must be kept for as long as possible. He believes in this metaphor so strongly that he could "do [it] all
The baseball mitt was significant to Holden as it displayed how emotionally attached that he was towards his brother, Allie. Holden carries this glove everywhere that he goes, as this glove is a symbol of his late brother. With this glove, Holden is reminded of Allie’s personality, intelligence, and his spirits which are with Holden. This mitt is significant to Holden as it was Allie’s favorite to write his poem with green ink so that he could read them on the field when he was bored. For Stradlater’s composition assignment, Holden wrote about his bothers left-handed fielder’s mitt as it meant allot to him. This shows how deeply connected that he was towards his brother, therefore when he died he broke all the garage windows, which caused him
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. While in New York with the fencing team, Holden loses all of their equipment, then buys a red hunting hat.
Salinger went through many of the experiences Holden went though. Salinger much like Holden had a sister that he loved very much, in the novel Phoebe is the only person that Holden speaks highly of; both men also spent time in a mental institution; Holden is telling the story from inside a institution; they were both kicked out of prep school and most importantly they were both a recluse from society. This is why Salinger uses Holden as his persona all though out the book. The ‘catcher in they Rye’ is almost like an autobiography for Salinger. He is using Holden as his persona to let us, the reader, dive into his thought pattern and find out some of the thoughts that he kept locked up in there.
Allie’s baseball mitt is a very important symbol in the novel. It is connected to the novel, because the heart of the novel is Holden's grief over his brother's death and his inability to accept it. When Holden finds out that his brother Allie died, he is in denial because he refuses to accept Allie’s death. Holden is in denial because he thinks why his innocent brother had to die and not him. Because Holden needs help dealing with this grief he must always take out the mitt, and acknowledge his feelings over Allie in order to release himself from the guilt he feels. When Holden’s roommate at Pencey, Stradlater, asks him to write a descriptive essay, Holden writes about Allie’s baseball mitt. Holden treats the mitt differentially, taking it with him to Pencey and copying “down the poems that were written on it” (Salinger 38). For Holden, t...
J. D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher in the Rye explores the ambiguity of the adult world Holden must eventually learn to accept. Throughout the novel, Holden resists the society grownups represent, coloring his childlike dreams with innocence and naivety. He only wants to protect those he loves, but he cannot do it the way he desires. As he watches Phoebe on the carousel, he begins to understand certain aspects of truth. He writes:
Holden wants to shelter children from the adult world (Chen). In Chapter 16, the catcher in the rye finally appears. This is also a symbol for what Holden would like to be when he grows older. He pictures a group of many kids playing in a field of rye, where it is his job to catch them from falling off the cliff. This shows Holden’s love for childhood and his need to preserve it in any way he can. According to Alsen, “The way Holden explains why he wants to be the catcher in the rye shows the kindness and unselfishness of his character. However, the surreal nature of the metaphor also reveals his unwillingness to face the real life choices he needs to make now that he is approaching adulthood.” By the end of the book, Holden realizes in order for kids to grow, there can’t be protection from all of potential harm. “He therefore gives up his dream of being the catcher in the rye and is ready to make a realistic choice of what he wants to do with his life” (Alsen). Holden’s dream world, that doesn’t involve change, is unrealistic. He is terrified by the unpredictable changes of the adult world, but there is no way for Holden to avoid the experiences and changes that the
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.
Over the years, members of the literary community have critiqued just about every author they could get their pen on. One of the most popular novels to be critiqued has been J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. In favorable critiques, Holden Caulfield is a good guy stuck in a bad world. He is trying to make the best of his life, though ultimately losing that battle. Whereas he aims at stability and truth, the adult world cannot survive without suspense and lies. It is a testament to his innocence and decent spirit that Holden would place the safety of children as a goal in his lifetime. This serves to only re-iterate the fact that Holden is a sympathetic character, a person of high moral values who is too weak to pick himself up from a difficult situation.
Holden plays the role of the catcher in the rye by physically catching the children before they fall off the cliff proving that we all end up falling. Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to be, Holden responds, “if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them…I’d just be the catcher in rye and all” (Salinger 173). The cliff is symbolic of loss of innocence. Holden’s role of the catcher in the rye allows him to physically catch children before they fall off the cliff, therefore saving their innocence before they fall into adulthood. When the children fall off the cliff, it is much like the fall into adulthood, we fall in not looking where we are going and not knowing what to expect. Not only has Holden become obsessed with trying to preserve the innocence of children, but he also ends up having a nervous breakdown. Holden says to Phoebe, “I know it’s crazy…I know it’s crazy” (Salinger 173). Salinger’s use of repetition emphasizes the word crazy, therefore; foreshadowing that Holden will have a nervous breakdown and go crazy. Not only has Salinger’s use of repetition foreshadowed that Holden will go crazy, but so has Mr. Antolini....
Salinger had a deep love and fascination with young children, especially young women. In the 1970s, Salinger maintained a close connection with an eighteen year-old girl, Joyce Maynard, who eventually moved in with the author. J.D. Salinger continued to have many relations with younger women, much like this one. His fascination with young women is reflected in Holden, who has a similar mind-set. Even as a seventeen year-old, Holden is infatuated with his perception of Jane Gallagher as a little girl. It is this picture of innocence that Holden is in love with, and not what Jane is like now. The concept of, "the catcher in the rye," itself projects his interest in children. He day-dreams about standing at the edge of the rye field catching any children that are too close to the edge of the cliff.
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 the Catcher in The Rye, the baseball glove represents Holden's anxiety about remembering Allies death. Before Holden begins writing Stradlater’s composition, he put on his “pajamas and bathrobe and my old hunting hat” (37), the clothes represent being comfortable, this helps Holden to channel his memories of Allie without being nervous or uncomfortable. Holden was hiding Allie's baseball glove in a “suitcase”(44) because he himself is hiding his feelings like he is hiding the baseball glove. In this scene Holden describes Allie’s glove like as if it were Allie himself. Stradlater later ignores Holden’s silent cry for comfort, and says “For Chrissake, Holden. This is about a goddam baseball glove”(41). This especially hurts Holden because
“I was crying and all, I don’t know why, but I guess it was because I was feeling so damn depressed and lonesome” (53), Holden says. As humans, we have a hard time belonging in society. This is the same case for Holden Caulfield, the main character from the Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in the rye, a novel by J.D Salinger, is about Holden, a lost boy in desperate need of help. Throughout the novel, Holden seems to be excluded by the world around him. He continually attempts to try and belong in a world in which he is isolating from. In this novel, Salinger uses symbols such as the red hunting hat, the ducks and Allie’s glove to support the theme, belonging and isolation.
Which is the kind of world he wants to live in. Holden expresses his desire to preserve the innocence of others when his sister Phoebe tells Holden that he doesn't like anything, and that he has no ambitions of what he wants to be when he is older. Holden then explains that he wants to be the catcher in the rye. He says that he imagines little children playing on top of a hill and that his job is to protect children from falling of the hill. This symbolizes catching children from losing their innocence and falling into the adult world. Holden tells Phoebe, “I know it crazy, but that is the only thing I’d like to be” (172). This unrealistic desire is contributes to why Holden is struggling to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Critics of the novel have said Holden would like to suspend time stating, “Holden's desire to protect children shows his desire for suspending time, for inhabiting a space of young people conserved endlessly” (Yahya 3). Not letting go of childhood memories or accepting the harsh realities of adulthood are damaging when transitioning from