Summary Of Catcher In The Rye By Holden Caulfield

Like Aristotle had once said about tragedy, it is “the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language; … in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, where with to accomplish a catharsis of these emotions. A tragedy, therefore, is a kind of lie (“imitation”) that tells a certain truth about human nature and the self. Classical tragic heroes possess hamartia or a tragic flaw, such as hubris, that often lead to the character’s own downfall; and according to Aristotle, "A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." The protagonist must not only possess this hamartia but must come to accept his or her

Salinger 's Catcher in the Rye, the anti-hero Holden Caulfield is constantly seen projecting extreme hate towards the pretentious society that ironically composes his upbringing. Despite being enrolled in several prestigious institutions by his parents, he intentionally gets himself expelled from them, to surround himself with a greater truth, real people, as he wanders off in New York. He struggles in searching for a certain kind of love that is unrequited. Through seemingly unrelated encounters with different kinds of individuals along his journey, Holden finds himself connected to certain characters, but he often cannot come to accept them for who they are, a recurring theme. The Catcher in the Rye does not follow or have a traditional plot line or a hero. Holden narrates a series of memories that portray his reluctance for change and specifically into adulthood, which, to him, means being a “phony.” Through the themes of innocence, betrayal, and love, Holden is an anti-hero, a different kind of tragic hero, whose idealism ultimately lead to his

His parents were hardly there to give him the love and attention that he needed, though they wanted the best for Holden, but they did not question him once about why he had been “axed”; instead, they labeled him as a senseless child. “He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn’t supply them with…They gave it up before they ever really even got started” (Salinger 187). They have all assume that Holden had been deeply affected by Allie’s death in that he can no longer be in the right state of mind. It can be argued that Holden needs a relationship of someone who can save him for himself. This fear of rejection is stronger than the reality, an irrational feeling that he would not be accepted as someone who needs love despite what he says, that he does not. In a way alone he cannot be a “catcher in a rye” everyone needs one. His suffering and the loneliness as an outcast further makes the audience sympathize for him as a tragic hero who falls because of his inability to accept for his true self, not necessarily as the “catcher in a rye” but rather a human filled with emotions he has trouble expressing and dealing