When Holden attempts to make connections with other people in the city but is unsuccessful, Salinger shows that he focuses too much on what society expects from him rather than what he wants. While Holden walks through the city and pond in the park, he notices ducks. He later takes a cab and while talking with Horwitz the cab driver Holden asks him, “The ducks. Do you know, by any chance? I mean does somebody come around in a truck or something and take them away, or do they fly away by themselves – go south or something?’Old Horwitz turned all the way around and looked at me …‘How the hell should I know a stupid thing like that?’‘Well, don't get sore about it,’ I said. He was sore about it or something. ‘Who's sore? Nobody's sore.' …show more content…
I stopped having a conversation with him, if he was going to get so damn touchy about it.”(Salinger 81-82). Holden makes his discomfort clear when he asks questions and uses words like “by any chance” and not speaking in fluid sentences. His discomfort can be attributed to him comparing himself to Horwitz. In his conversation, Holden attempts to connect by discussing the ducks. Horwitz rejects Holden by saying "How the hell should I know", and then Holden reacts to the rejection by not talking to Horwiz anymore. Holden first reaches out to Horwitz when he asks about the ducks. The ducks often represent Holden’s efforts to reach out and connect with other people. They are not an in depth topic which further expresses Holden’s futile efforts to connect. Society demands connection and Holden struggles to meet this standard. His attempt to connect using ducks is rejected when Horwitz says, “How the hell should I know a stupid thing like that?” Horwitz’s rejection emphasizes Holden’s struggle to connect while also portraying society’s view of Holden. The turning point for Holden is when he accepts Horwitz’s rejection and stops talking with him. Holden holds himself up against Horwitz and sees that he lacks connection but he remains helpless to change. This idea is further emphasized by Joyce Rowe, who writes “Holden holds to his own vision of authenticity in the teeth of a morally degraded society. Unlike his forebears, however, he has little faith in either nature or the power of his dreams to compensate for what his "own environment [cannot] supply"(Hagan) Holden compares himself to a society that he cannot be a part of. Holden finds it difficult to compare himself to a degraded society while growing and changing. Holden struggles to make connections because he can only see what society wants while Edna finds success because she defines herself. Despite society’s resistance towards Edna’s new state of mind, Chopin displays Edna’s strong will to not change her beliefs and continue to live her new life which contrasts with Holden’s lack of will to continue. Edna moves out of her large, family home and moves into what she calls, a pigeon house, several streets over. Her husband is away and Edna writes him a letter telling him about her move. In response, “[Mr.Pontellier] immediately wrote her a letter of unqualified disapproval and remonstrance...and he begged her to consider first, foremost, and above all else, what people would say” (Chopin 155). Similarly to Holden, Edna goes through the three steps of attempting to change, rejection, and while Holden accepts the rejection, Edna defies the rejection and continues to make changes to her life. Edna changes in a very drastic way and goes from being a housewife to being independent and living her own life. This is Edna’s successful attempt to change. Mr. Pontellier, then, “immediately” disapproves of what she has done. Mr. Pontellier rejects Edna’s attempts to go against society and focuses on what other people and society want from Edna and disapproves of her choice. Mr. Pontellier writes about what society expects from Edna when asking what people would say about her decision to move he exemplifies society’s expectations. The Edna continues with her change and moves into her home and moves on from her family while Holden accepts the rejection. Edna explains what she wants from life by saying. “I don’t want anything but my own way. That is a good deal, of course, when you have to trample upon the lives, the hearts, the prejudices of others”(Chopin 154) Edna realizes that what she wants is a lot to ask for, but she is willing to do whatever it takes to change her life. She takes steps that Holden does not talk, in order to create her new life. Holden is not willing to “trample upon the lives” of others to get what he wants. Edna takes all steps necessary, so she refuses the rejection that society wants her to accept. Despite the disapproval from society, Edna consciously chooses to move on and go against what is normal and, as a result, is happy with her decisions. Salinger displays Holden's lack of change even after all of his experience with trying to connect, because Holden tries to fit in with what others want.
Holden goes to visit his English teacher Mr. Spencer before he leaves for New York. Holden feels sentimental at the beginning of the visit and he goes to visit on his own accord. “I was beginning to sort of hate him. ‘Your essay, shall we say, ends there’ he said in this very sarcastic voice. You wouldn’t think such an old guy would be so sarcastic and all. ‘However, you dropped me a little note, at the bottom of the page.’ ‘I know I did,’ I said. I said it very fast because I wanted him to stop before he started reading that out loud. But you couldn't stop him. He was as hot as a firecracker” (Salinger 12). This is one of the first experiences in the novel that Holden describes. Salinger’s use of a first person narrator shows what Holden is thinking and his thoughts directly explain his dislike for Mr. Spencer. This is a direct way to demonstrate what Holden thinks and clearly displays his bias. Holden then describes Mr. Spencer as “sarcastic” but before he visits Mr. Spencer, Holden describes him as a nice person. Holden’s inconclusiveness displays his indecisive and quickly changing manner. Holden describes Mr. Spencer as being as “hot as a firecracker” which demonstrates Holden’s discomfort and desire to leave Mr. Spencer's home. Toward the end of the novel, Holden visits another one of his teachers, Mr. Antolini. …show more content…
Similarly to Mr. Spencer, Holden goes excitedly but leaves uncomfortable. Right before he leaves, Holden tells Mr. Antolini “Nothing’s the matter, it’s just that all my money and stuff’s in one of my bags. I’ll be right back. I’ll get a cab and be right backs' said. Boy, I was falling all over myself in the dark” (Salinger 192). Similarly to Holden’s experience with Mr. Spencer, Holden suddenly decides that he wants to leave after willingly visiting. Unlike Holden’s first visit with Mr. Spencer, this is one of the last experiences that Holden has before the novel ends. He changes very little, in regards to his attitude towards other people. Holden then lies to leave Mr.Antolini’s and will do anything to leave the apartment, with justification, but the same occurrence happens with Mr. Spencer. Holden can again be seen as nervous and uncomfortable in the situation that he is in although he chose to be there. Holden does not learn from his experiences and because he focused on what other people thought he stayed the same. Through her death, Chopin shows Edna’s closure and, by Edna’s standards, she lives the life that she wants because she set the expectations.
At the end of the novel, Edna ends her life while she is successful. Edna’s past troubles are behind her and, “She was not thinking of these things when she walked down to the beach. The water of the Gulf stretched out before her, gleaming with the million lights of the sun. The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in the abysses of solitude” (Chopin 189). While Edna walks along the coast, Chopin uses the words “these things” to describe Edna’s past troubles, as they are now irrelevant. Their trivial nature is highlighted with the use of “these” instead of directly naming the issues which signifies Edna’s success in life because she has few worries about her decisions. The water of the gulf symbolizes a fresh and clean start for Edna, so she chooses to go to the Gulf. The light also symbolizes and conveys the idea of new things, like a new day, and the narrator describes the scene as having millions of lights which magnifies and exemplifies Edna’s new life. Edna’s change and struggle with change is described as “the human will is often deeply circumscribed by the inseparability of the lives of men and women from the natural and social worlds they inhabit. The naturalistic novel... frequently introduces determinism as a thread among a complex of themes, whatever the
violations of philosophical logic which may result from this mix” (Pitzer). A naturalist novel analyzes human activities from a more scientific point of view. Chopin views Edna as connected to both other men and women, but she deviates from this idea through the novel. Edna, in the beginning, realizes that her life is not going as she wants and she needs to change, and by enacting this change, Edna goes through a drastic change through the novel and rather than focusing on what society wants she focuses on what she wants which leads to her success. Edna and Holden have different outcomes to their lives because their growth came from two different sets of standards. Edna ends her life while she is content while Holden continues living, but is still the same and discontent. Successful growth and change cannot be determined by others; it must be internal because without growth nothing would change and everything would be stagnant. Although society builds constructs for people to live by, individual's successes and choices should not be determined by the expectations of others.
J.D Salinger gives his personal vision of the world successfully through his persona Holden Caulfield in the ‘Catcher in the Rye’. Caulfield struggles with the background of New York to portray Salinger’s theme – you must live the world as it is, not as you would like it to be. There by exposing Salinger’s vision on the world.
Since Holden was isolated from his family, in order to not get hurt again he tries to find hypocrisy in people to stop himself from trusting others. Holden feels isolated after being sent to a boarding school that “was full of phonies” by his parents (Salinger 90). Salinger’s message to the audience with this quote is that when
1) This quote is an example of an allusion because Holden is referring to the book, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Moreover, it doesn't describe it in detail, its just a brief comment.
“Inside every cynic is a disappointed idealist.” This quote by George Carlin perfectly outlines the reasons why many people are bitter toward the world in their everyday lives. While cynicism is justified for those who have had a tough life, countless people become exceedingly pessimistic because life didn’t meet their expectations.. An example of this would be Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye”. Salinger does an admirable job of portraying how Holden’s attitude leads to a massive downward spiral. When a person holds too high of standards for the world around them, it can lead to an unrelenting undue criticism of people around them and even hypocrisy.
Published in 1951, J. D. Salinger's debut novel, The Catcher in the Rye, was one of the most controversial novels of its time. The book received many criticisms, good and bad. While Smith felt the book should be "read more than once" (13), Goodman said the "book is disappointing" (21). All eight of the critics had both good and bad impressions of the work. Overall, the book did not reflect Salinger's ability due to the excessive vulgarity used and the monotony that Holden imposed upon the reader.
After spending some time at Mr. Spencer, his history teacher's house and getting lectured regarding his poor efforts in school, Holden fabricates a story to leave his teacher’s house without seeming rude. On his way to his dormitory at Pencey, Holden claims that he is an exceptional liar, and would lie even about the most insignificant facts, such as where he is going. He then goes into detail about whom his dormitory is named after, and how much of a phony the man is.
Holden often shares his dreams (good and bad) of what he would like to do as he moves from childhood to adulthood. Other characters that he interacts with also influence his self-image. One crucial conversation is with the taxi driver regarding the ducks in Central Park. The conversation seems trivial, with no real significance.
First, he goes to Mr. Spencer, his history teacher, who provides advice for his life and his future and even says “I’m trying to help you, if I can” (Salinger, 18). Because Mr. Spencer gives realistic advice to Holden to prepare him for his future even though it is not obligated, Mr. Spencer can be considered a mentor for Holden. Before Holden packs and leaves, he says “I was sort of crying” and “then I yelled at the top of my goddam voice, ‘Sleep tight, ya morons!’” (Salinger, 59). Although he becomes emotional when he realizes the company he is going to miss by leaving Pencey, he still acts immaturely as a result of an adolescent pitfall called invulnerability, when adolescents makes decisions without proper regard for their consequences (Adolescent Pitfalls). Holden finally leaves to take a train and reveals his love for riding trains at night (Salinger, 60). He is setting out on an adult journey by leaving Pencey, but he is still grasping to child interests by usually becoming excited to ride trains. Concluding sentence
Earlier in the novel, Holden talks about the museum he often visited as a child.
Protected by a cocoon of naiveté, Holden Caulfield, the principal character in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, therapeutically relates his lonely 24 hour stay in downtown New York city, experiencing the "phony" adult world while dealing with the death of his innocent younger brother. Through this well-developed teenage character, JD Salinger, uses simple language and dialogue to outline many of the complex underlying problems haunting adolescents. With a unique beginning and ending, and an original look at our new society, The Catcher in the Rye is understood and appreciated on multiple levels of comprehension. The book provides new insights and a fresh view of the world in which adolescents live.
Moving from school to school, as he cannot seem to thrive in any one place, Holden is mesmerized by the ducks of the Central Park lagoon. He even asks a cab driver, “Well, you know the ducks that swim around in it? In the springtime and all? Do you happen to know where they go in the wintertime, by any chance?” (Salinger 91) Holden’s repeated mention of his question of the ducks gives insight into his thoughts. It shows genuine innocence through spirit of inquiry. Holden’s curiosity of the Central Park ducks also portrays a parallel between the ducks and himself. Holden looks to the ducks, as he may see personal habits of his reflected in them. The ducks themselves never change, though their environment does, just as Holden never changes, as seen through his repeated expulsions from academies, but his environment
From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word “phony” to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who are“phony”, it is the young main character. First, Mr. Spencer, Holden’s ex- history teacher, is not described as phony, but according to the adolescent, his choice of words are. Secondly, according to our main character, Ossenburger is not the generous philanthropist he portrays himself to be, but rather a greedy undertaker. Lastly, the protagonist could quite possibly be the authentic phony. All in all, the main character’s use to describe many other characters in the book is with the single word phony, when in fact the word phony would be the most probable word to describe the lead character.
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
While Holden was attending Pencey Prep, he formed a relationship with his history teacher, Old Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer was really the only teacher that Holden liked. While Holden was getting ready to go into Mr. Spencer?s bedroom, he said, ?His door was open, but I sort of knocked on it anyway, just to be polite and all.? (7). This showed his respect for Mr. Spencer and his privacy. It also showed that Holden had manners but had enough of a friendship with Old Spencer to talk with him in his own home. However, Holden felt a little uncomfortable with the situation when he actually saw Mr. Spencer, started talking to him, and felt a lecture coming on. Holden often thought about Mr. Spencer. While walking to Mr. Spencer?s room, Holden thought, ?? If you thought about him too much, you wondered what the heck he was still living for?. But if you thought about him just enough and not too much, you could figure it out that he wasn?t doing too bad for himself.? (2-3). Holden saw Mr. Spencer as childlike and helpless which made it easier for him to form a relationship with an adult.
Jerome David Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is a truly unique novel in terms of writing style. The story is told in a second person narrative style by a character named Holden Caulfield, and is written loosely in a fashion known as 'stream of consciousness writing'.