...sixteen-year boy named Holden Caulfield. The story begins with Holden being expelled from Pencey Prep. He decides to not go home, and chooses to leave three days early. The entire novel follows these three days that Holden spends in New York. There are many clear and meaningful symbols in “The Catcher in the Rye”. Some of these symbols include the carousel in the park, and Holden’s hat. The most important symbols in the novel that are also relevant in a “real life” setting are Allie Caulfield, Phoebe Caulfield, and the museum that Holden visits. Allie Caulfield is Holden's younger brother that died many years earlier, and he was one of the major symbols in...
Words: 944 - Pages: 4
...perspective of Holden who has been expelled from his fourth school. After a fight with his roommate, Holden leaves early to explore New York City alone. Holden battles with the reality of adulthood that has turn a different turn on his life. We get to this stage where we fear to grow up and see what will be coming for us next in the future. Salinger’s novel clearly displays the experience of being isolated from multiple activities which can lead to the theme of alienation, the creation of the character (Holden) and also the symbolism which can be unnoticed. Salinger tries to convey a message with his writing to also displaying human connection is a must. The theme of “The Catcher in the Rye” is alienation which connects to Holden (the protagonist)...
Words: 1692 - Pages: 7
...within Holden Caulfield Depression is a mental illness that is very common among teens. Depression is a mental illness that is a feeling of intense of hopelessness and sadness. In the book, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Saligner, a high school student named Holden Caulfield loses his younger brother Allie to Leukemia. This leads to his depression and grief. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger uses multiple symbols to show Holden’s depression. In the following examples:the red hunting hat, a record called “Little Shirley Beans”, and the ducks from the Central Park It becomes clear to us that Holden Caulfied suffers from depression. Depression can emerge from a death of a loved one. The death of Holden’s little brother Allie took a big toll on him, causing him to drop out of school, feeling depressed as well as isolating himself from everyone. A symptom of depression is to be isolate one’s self...
Words: 755 - Pages: 4
...Adolescence is a time of development, often characterized by a desire to understand society while struggling to leave childhood. Holden Caulfield is a troubled character who regularly finds conflict with others and himself during adolescence. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger argues that Holden struggles to complete the transition from childhood to adulthood, yet never fully completes that transition. This is displayed through his childish behavior, immature language, and enduring symbols. Salinger uses Holden’s childish character to display his attachment to childhood. Holden is expelled at every school that he goes to, which in turn creates a negative feeling towards education. Despite Penceys reputation for molding boys into men,...
Words: 1109 - Pages: 5
... Salinger, the conflicted protagonist, Holden Caulfield, struggles in maintaining a balance in his life with an aversion view towards society and a disconnect with others. Also, my personal memories connect to Holden’s events and views in life. Holden’s distaste for adapting into adulthood overpowers his pursuit of identity and acceptance of reality. Holden establishes that disabling others from maturing is impractical, but discovering a meaningful purpose within himself is critical in accepting his change into adulthood. Holden encounters various people that both suit...
Words: 1889 - Pages: 8
...Aha Moment- After having a strenuous few days, Holden has come to a realization about what he wants to do with the rest of his life. While talking with Phoebe about failing out of Pencey, she brings up the point about what he will do if he does not continue school. Holden stops and really thinks about this and all of a sudden has an idea, “That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye. I know its’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be”(Salinger 225). Although this idea sounds crazy, it must mean something because The Catcher in the Rye, ended up being the title of the book. It is also ironic that Holden wants to do something that helps others because he needs the help of other people to help him through his problems. This is a significant realization for Holden because now he can have something to aim for in life instead of being depressed all the time. Aha Moment- There are two occasion in the book where Holden has came up with a plan to move to a secluded place and to never be bothered by anyone. The first time this plan came up was when Holden was on a date with Sally Hayes. Out of nowhere Holden wanted Sally to run away with him to a...
Words: 2143 - Pages: 9
...Rye, written by J.D Salinger, we are introduced to Holden Caulfield , the 17 year old narrator and protagonist of the novel. In the beginning of the story Holden is at a resting home in California. Holden tells the readers what happened to him over a two day period in the previous December. In this essay I will identify a theme from this story and explain how it is developed in the novel. In my opinion an important theme of the Catcher in the Rye is the painfulness of growing up. Many people interpreted this novel to be a coming of age novel, due to the fact that it talks about issues teenagers go through. Readers can relate to Holden Caulfield because of his disdain to the process of maturity. For example, in chapter 16, Holden's thoughts about the Museum of Natural History establishes Holden's fear on change and how overwhelmed he is of complexity. Holden wants everything to be easy to understand and a fixed, An example of this is the statues of Eskimos and Native Americans in the museum. Holden doesn't really understand whats going on around him. He acknowledges this fear with his confusion on sex, “sex is something I just don't understand. I swear to God I don't”. Holden invents a fantasy that being an adult is a world of superficiality and phoniness. Holden also feels that childhood is a world of innocence, curiosity, and honesty. In my opinion, Holden's view on childhood and adulthood are immature and foolish. Holden conceptions are very shallow and are proven shallow...
Words: 679 - Pages: 3
...The Catcher in the Rye is a book that many high school students can relate to. The main character Holden Caufield is very similar and relatable to me because we both like to fool around, we both went to private school, and we are both kind. Firstly, like Holden, I generally like to fool around. I always tend to make a joke out of most things and usually do not take things too serious. I like to joke around all the time because I have noticed that people who are always serious don’t have fun. For example, when Holden was joking around with Ackley he says, “Sometimes I horse around quite a lot, just to keep from getting bored. I pulled the old peak of my hunting hat around to the front, then pulled it way down over my eyes that way I couldn’t see a goddam thing. “I think I’m going blind,” I said in this very hoarse voice. You’re nuts. I swear to God, Ackley said. I was only horsing around naturally” (Salinger 21). This shows that Holden likes to joke around all the time. Secondly, Holden went to an all boy private school. We are similar because I did go to a private school but it wasn’t an all boy school. The kids at the private school I went to was just like the kids at Pencey. The food was awful, and when we had parent student lunch they changed the food up to make it look like we ate it all the time like at Pencey. Most of the kids were pretty stuck up and rich. Holden says “Pencey is full of crooks. Quite a few guys came from these wealthy families, but it was full...
Words: 627 - Pages: 3
...Young Elites by Marie Lu, Adelina and Holden have very intense mental states which leads to the motif of isolation within the novel. Adelina is a young girl who is living a happy life, when suddenly a blood fever emerges and she becomes infected. Adelina survives but becomes a malfetto, causing her father to not love her anymore. Adelina despises her father, therefore, her bottled up hatres causes her to hate herself, which then leads to her isolation, “Perhaps I was as selfish as my father” (Lu 5), Marie Lu uses a simile to compare Adelina with her father and create an image in the reader’s mind. The reader associates Adelina’s acts with her father’s and learns her further hatred for her father. The use of the word “selfish” has a negative connotation to it which causes the reader to have a negative image of Adelina’s father, and it sets the hateful tone in Adelina’s narration. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is also a normal boy -like Adelina- who faces...
Words: 868 - Pages: 4
...Maturation involves reassessing the childish ideals that one holds dear. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger writes about an adolescent teen experiencing loneliness and depression. The character, Holden, is plagued by the “phonies” of the adult world and deflects any complex views that hinder his innocence. Through symbols, such as the red hunting hat, the Shirley Beans record, and the profanity on the wall, Salinger emphasizes Holden’s struggle to embrace his individuality and protect his childish innocence. The red hunting hat has been Holden’s favorite since the minute he bought it. Wearing the hat backwards, Holden is the most comfortable and embraces his true personality. When Ackley inquiries about it, Holden jokingly replies, “This is a people shooting hat” (26). Literally, he horses around with people while wearing the hat,...
Words: 853 - Pages: 4
...Thinking childish in its simplicity can lead anyone to the path of innocence. The protection of innocence is something that holden searches for in J.D. Salinger's novel the catcher in the rye which shows that he believes that the innocence of childhood is very valuable and should be protected from the adult world. Holden is wanting to protect the innocence of those people who he thinks are really innocent. In addition, holden himself is innocent. As, he does many things that show that he is still not mature enough and should protect himself. Finally, he is willing to save his younger sister phoebe’s innocence from the world of phonies. Holden’s desire to save...
Words: 1168 - Pages: 5
...Why does Holden want to preserve time is it, is it because he wants to hold onto the memories? Or he just does not want things to change? Why doesn't he want things to change? Holden is a character that experienced a childhood trauma; his little brother Allie dying of cancer at a young age. Ever since then, Holden has been afraid of change. When Holden loses Allie, he loses one of the few good people he knew. This shows him early on how harsh life can be. After Allie died, Holden felt like he didn’t protect Allie from the bad thing of the world cancer. Holden now feels like he has to protect all kids from change. Holden believes that when you change you are putting yourself at more risk to danger. Since he feels this way he wants everyone and...
Words: 1133 - Pages: 5
...sixteen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield who is troubled and misunderstood. He is critical and skeptical about the world he lives in, and only respects his deceased brother, Allie, and his younger sister, Phoebe, because of their innocence. Phoebe isn't “phony” like everybody else is to Holden, and because of this he truly admires and trusts her with his inner thoughts. In a way, Holden and Phoebe are each other's heroes without even knowing it. Holden yearns to live in a world that is genuine, and it's clear that Holden is fighting a psychological battle within himself, which makes depression and conflict major themes throughout this novel. Salinger's novel is extremely controversial because of the teenage angst displayed and the language used by Holden, but it is an accurate look inside the mind of someone who feels alienated. The literary critic, Michicku Kakutani, mentions that Salinger gave Holden “a voice that enabled him to channel an alienated 16-year-old's thoughts and anxieties and frustrations, a voice that skeptically appraised the world and denounced its phonies and hypocrites and bores.” Holden fails out of school and goes to New York where he interacts with people, but he thinks they are all phony, so he spends a lot of time feeling like a failure. Past events that occurred in Holden's life definitely make him judgmental, such as when his former English teacher, Mr. Antonlini, pats him on the head while sleeping, which made Holden feel uncomfortable and he...
Words: 1119 - Pages: 5
...the Rye the main character Holden Caulfield, a troubled young man, is going through a tough time in life where everything is moving so quickly. He cannot accept the fact that he is becoming an adult and needs to start behaving as well as act like one. He constantly wants to be treated like an adult, but never acts like one. The reason for this is because he does not want to let go of his childhood. Dealing with change has been the issue he cannot seem to conquer. There are various images, symbols, and motifs that Salinger used in the novel that helps the reader realize that Holden is going through a tough time in life and cannot handle the fast paced. Overall the main problem with Holden is his trouble with dealing with change. There are many images in the book that Salinger used to make the reader come to a conclusion that Holden is having a hard time dealing with change. The movie theater, the museum, and the carrousel are just a few that were used in the novel. The movie theater is a strong image because basically that is the place where Holden goes to get away from everything. The movie theater is a place where he can escape reality and just relax from the fast paced life he has at that moment. Even though he thinks of the movie actors as phony, he still watches the movie to get his mind off the problems he is facing. Holden seemed really interested when he went to the museum. In the museum there were a bunch of artifacts, and displays. Holden really likes this museum because...
Words: 1275 - Pages: 6
...Holden Caulfield can be described as a tragic hero in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye. He has the potential to do something with his life, but fails due to his rejection of life for what it is and hesitation of growing up. He is caught in a downward spiral with his great adventure during the holiday season. He is put through a series of unfortunate events and must accept his fate. His adventure begins when he flunks four out of five of his courses at Pency Prep, a prestigious private school for the wealthy. He has the intelligence and money to become very successful in life but he doesn’t apply himself in school and ruins his potential. This is evident when Mr. Antolini lectures him, “I think that one of these days, you’re going to have to find out where you want to go. And then you’ve got to start going there. But immediately. You can’t afford to lose a minute. Not you.” (Lines 29-33, Page 188) Mr. Antolini really believes that Holden has a future ahead of him, but needs to find what that is exactly, before it is too late for him to go back. Mr. Antolini also believes that his great fall will arrive soon, “I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall.” (Lines 26-7, Page 186) This justifies that Holden is a hero that is destined for a great fall, but can change his life if he just finds what he wants to do with it and starts pursuing that goal. Holden definitely fits the role of a tragic hero because his adventure and his entire life are...
Words: 711 - Pages: 3
