Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The catcher in the rye overview essay
Essay on katniss hunger games
Literary devices in the catcher in the rye essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The catcher in the rye overview essay
In Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to compete in the Hunger Games, a youth survival competition, ultimately winning the competition with help along the way. Separately, in J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield’s decisions in school lead to his expulsion. Upon leaving school, he begins a journey of self-discovery. Both characters face tests and trials which cause them to discover their inner strengths. Katniss and Holden exemplify the Hero’s Quest by answering their calls to adventure, meeting their mentors, and fulfilling their respective quests. Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games is called to adventure at the competition's yearly lottery. When Katniss' sister’s name, Prim, gets called, Katniss volunteers to take her place. Once she leaves her home and sent to the capital to start training for the Games, Katniss meets her mentor. Before the competition, she meets her mentor, Haymitch. He helps her by providing advice on how to survive in the competition. …show more content…
He also helps in securing sponsors and sending packages that further her progress in the contest. During the Games, Katniss survives getting burned, getting stung by wasp-like insects, and defeating her enemy, Cato. Even with the hardships brought forth by the competition, Katniss succeeds in fulfilling her quest and wins the Hunger Games with her partner, Peeta. She not only wins against her opposition, but her path to victory follows that of the Hero's Quest. Holden Caulfield depicts the hero's quest in his journey to discover himself and what he wants to do with his life.
Holden’s adventure begins after expulsion from the private school, Pencey Prep, when he is forced to examine his life. He realizes he hasn’t taken life seriously. As he is leaving school, Holden visits his favorite teacher, Mr. Spencer, who has been Holden's mentor throughout his time at Pencey. Now that he is leaving, he gives Holden some words of advice. Mr. Spencer tries talk to Holden because he sees he has no concern for his future. Unfortunately, his teacher words of advice fall on deaf ears. Several days after he leaves Pencey, Holden returns home. During a conversation with his sister, Phoebe, he realizes he wants to be a ‘catcher in the rye’. He wants to be able to help keep the young innocent. He doesn't want them to be alone in their transition from childhood to adulthood. In his journey of self-discovery, Holden finds his life’s
purpose. Altogether, Katniss and Holden’s journeys can be seen as Hero’s Quests because they rise to the challenges set before them, their mentors gave them advice on how to go about achieving their desires, and they carry out their purposes. Katniss perseveres in the Games and returns home with honour. Holden discovers his craft and finds satisfaction. Ultimately, both characters show growth and development through their experiences completing the Hero’s Quest.
The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger's novel set in the 1950s, told the story of sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield. Deciding that he's had enough of Pencey, his fourth school that he'd failed, he goes to Manhattan three days before his scheduled return to home, not wanting to inform his parents that he'd been expelled and sent back. He explores the city, calls up some old friends, gets nicked by the elevator operator, and gradually becomes bitter about the world and people. He then visited his sister Phoebe. After fleeing from the house of Mr. Antolini, his former English teacher, because of mistaking his actions for a homosexual overture, Holden went to Phoebe's school and sent her a note telling her he was leaving home and to meet him at the museum. When Phoebe arrived, Holden angrily refused her request to take her with him and she ignored to speak to him. He then took her across the park to a carousel, bought her a ticket and watched her ride. Holden ended his narrative here, telling the reader that he was not going to tell the story of how he went home and got "sick". He planned to go to a new school in the fall and was cautiously optimistic about his future.
Throughout the history of literature, a great deal of authors has tried to reveal a clear understanding of the American Dream. Whether it is possible to achieve lies all in the character the author portrays. The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye stand as prime examples of this. F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, the authors of these titles, respectively, fashion flawed characters, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield, with one vital desire: the longing to gain what they can’t have; acceptance and the feeling of belonging. Each retaining characteristics that shows their differences and similarities in opinion of the world around them.
“If the path before you is clear, you're probably on someone else's.” (Joseph Campbell). Every character walks through an astringent journey throughout their lifetimes. This journey can be viewed as the Hero’s Journey. Undertaking the journey of the hero can elevate the character achievement. The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye--Holden Caulfield with no exception undergoes the journey. Holden’s journey ventures beyond what he is able to endure, forcing him into the unknown territory. Holden received the quest call to adventure, and responded to the call for the journey when he left Pencey prep school. Holden accepted the call, faced his challenges struggling through hardships and oppression, with helps from the guidance, he then eventually returned to his comfortable world with a tremendous intellect and physical transformation giving a closure to his journey.
In the novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger,Holden the main character tries to take on adult and mature situations but finds himself in reality not getting very far. Holden Caulfield who goes to Pencey has failed four out of five classes and gets the notice that he is being expelled from the school. He leaves the school and goes out and tries to adventure into the real world. Holden takes on many challenges and obstacles throughout the book . Although Holden wants to be independent many people perceive Holden in numerous different ways to his actions and feelings. Faith and Stradlater both perceive Holden as irritating, when in reality he tries to distract himself from being depressed. For example when Holden was in the phone
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.
Since Holden relies on his isolation to sustain his detachment from the world and to keep intact a level of self-protection, he frequently sabotages his own efforts to end his seclusion. When Mr. Spencer explains that “life is a game that one plays according to rules” Holden reveals that he feels imprisoned on the “other side of life” where there are no “hot-shots”. Here, Mr. Spencer is lecturing Holden on his failed attempts at schooling and illuminating key aspects of Holden’s character. After hearing this advice from Mr. Spencer, Holden immediately goes on the defensive and internalizes his thoughts of not belonging in this world. This event shows Holden’s failed attempts at trying to find his way in this “phony” world that he feels is against him and leaves him feeling alone and victimized.
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.
When Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to do with his life he replied. 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 he
At the beginning of his story, Holden is a student at Pencey Prep School. Having been expelled for failing four out of his five classes, Holden leaves school and spends 72 hours in New York City before returning home. There, Holden encounters new ideas, people, and experiences. Holden's psychological battle within himself serves as the tool that uncovers the coming-of-age novel's underlying themes of teen angst, depression, and the disingenuous nature of society. The novel tackles issues of blatant profanity, teenage sex, and other erratic behavior.
Holden's brother died when he was growing up and throughout his life he has always been getting kicked out of school. Later, he then goes to New York for a couple of days so that he doesn't have to go home early and explain to his parents that he got kicked out. He then goes to his sister Phoebe's school to give her a letter and finds something inappropriate written on the wall and scrubs it out. At the end of the book, Holden and his sister Phoebe go to the carousel.
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
It takes many experiences in order for an immature child to become a responsible, well-rounded adult. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story represents a coming of age for all young adults.
The Catcher in the Rye is a story about a teenage boy who struggles with the harsh reality of growing up and dealing with his own troubles. This story begins with the main character Holden failing out of school. Holden seems to have problems wherever he goes. He writes an essay about his brother Allie who died from leukemia. His roommate insults the essay causing Holden to punch him in the face. He runs away from school after getting into a fight with his roommate. He stays inNew York City until the remainder of the school year is over. On the subway to the city he tells made-up stories to other passengers. Once he makes it to the city he checks himself into Edmont Hotel. While exploring the city he seems to simultaneously explore his sexual curiosity. He says “In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw” (34).
He begins to tell his story while undergoing treatment in a mental hospital. Holden starts his narrative on a Saturday at the Pencey prep school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. This is the fourth school that Holden is expelled from due to not meeting academic requirements. Since Holden is not scheduled to return home until Wednesday, he decides to stay in Manhattan for three days without telling his parents. While living on his own, Holden tries to retain his innocence as he witnesses the vulgar and repulsing actions of adults in the real world. Holden’s attributes make him susceptible to this level of explicitness. In, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s attempt to protect himself from the adult world, to stop himself from growing up, and to preserve purity are all characteristics that develop the theme of
In the Hunger Games Katniss Everdeen is faced with a tough decision. Katniss doesn't want her younger sister Prim to take on the harsh reality of being a tribute. Instead of letting Prim go Katniss takes on the responbilty of being a tribute. This is where Katniss's skills save her life. Katniss Everdeen is a teen who takes full responsibility for others and she gets the job done.