...boy who does not want to grow up. Holden often admits his loneliness and finds out he has some emotions left. He chooses to protect himself and reduce his pain. For example, whenever he thought about calling up a girl he gives himself many reasons why he should not contact her so he doesn’t get hurt in the end. He tries so hard to protect himself by shutting things out that could potentially hurt him. Holden Caulfield the protagonist isolates himself, has many fears, especially about growing up, and can’t connect well with people. Holden isolates himself from his society. Holden then becomes...
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...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...
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...Hollow Man In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield believes that almost everyone he comes in contact with is a “phony”. About the only two people that Holden does not consider phonies are his sister, Phoebe, and his dead brother Allie. Virtually everyone else fits this label, including himself. The root of Holden’s pessimistic outlook on life and people is the fact that he is invisible. Although Holden is a phony himself, he has a negative view of society because he wants to connect with someone and he’s chronically depressed. Holden claims that most of the people he call phonies are phonies because they act a different way, or sort of put on a front, when they’re around certain people. This makes Holden a complete hypocrite in every aspect because he does this many times throughout the book. For example...
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...Within Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, evidenced by Holden’s happiness, Holden begins his path to maturity when he accepts the Phoebe is “reaching for maturity” on the carousel, realizing that he needs to mentally heal and mature. Not being able to see everything good happening around us is common in our everyday life. We get used to the privileges, and we tunnel-vision in on the negatives of the world and yearn for escape. Holden, depressed and fantastical, grasps at the hopes for escape in the first three quarters of The Catcher in the Rye. The lack of the carousel symbol within the book before Holden’s change represent how he shied away from his journey to maturity. There are some major reasons as to why he shies away from maturity:...
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...mostly caused by losing a loved one or being put down by lots of people. The author of The Catcher and The Rye shows lots of points leading towards Holdens depression. Holden lost his brother allie and that is what really brought holden down. Holden’s teacher Mr. Antolini Tries to point holden in the right and tell him that the path he is taking is wrong. He tells holden that seeing life as corrupt is no good and brings bad relationships with evrything. Mr. Antolini attempts to help Holden to prevent his “great fall” as he states,“the...
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...Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye, is a 16-year-old boy who is troubled, has been expelled from four schools, and is dealing with rejection. Rejection is one of the main causes of depression and social anxiety. Humans need companionship, love, and acceptance. “He sees that the world belongs to adults and it seems to him that they have filled it with phoniness, pretense, social compromise” (Seng 105). The plot is Holden’s quest for sympathy for his physical condition and for a place of peaceful refuge. Holden is denied this sympathy and refuge, therefore he breaks down (Alsen 7). In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden’s three important rejections lead to his breakdown. The blonde girl, Sally Hayes, and Carl Luce are three of the many important rejections in the novel. The blonde girl rejects Holden, and this is the beginning of his breakdown. The blonde girl is sitting next to Holden in the Lavender Room at the hotel he is staying at in New York. Holden buys her a drink because he thinks that she is good looking. Holden also asks her to dance. While they were dancing she exclaims, “I and my girl friends saw Peter Lorre last night. The movie actor. In person. He was buyin’ newspaper. He’s cute” (Salinger 71). The blonde girl is obviously looking for movie stars, not conversation. Holden calls her a moron and calls it a dumb remark. He is obviously annoyed and upset. Therefore, he feels as if he has been rejected. The fact that she isn’t...
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...In today’s society, many teenagers struggle to fit in a group or to find their own identity. The novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger focuses on a young, lonely boy Holden, who isolates himself from his family and friends, creates depression or anxiety for himself which leads to his isolation, loneliness and eventual breakdown. Firstly, Holden isolates himself from his loved ones, folks from school by not connecting with them and his self at social setting. To begin with, Holden isolates himself by leaving/skipping school without telling his parents, friends including his sister who loves and share things with. When Holden goes to Mr. Spence’s house he asks Holden if he flunked out or any and Holden replies that he left Elkton Hills because he was...
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...Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and Chopin’s The Awakening utilizes their main characters to analyze the theme of isolation. Salinger demonstrates Holden’s increase in isolation through separation from his friends, family, school, and fallen brother, Allie. Similarly, Chopin reveals Edna’s isolation through the leaving of her traveling husband and her best friend, Robert. Both Salinger and Chopin reveal the hardships of isolation. However, Holden feels depressed due to his isolation and Edna embraces and grows from hers. Holden’s isolation from others causes him to develop a cynical and depressing view of the world. Holden describes his walk through Central Park late at night when he says, “I kept walking and walking, and it kept getting...
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...wellbeing that may be significantly impacted by a traumatic experience. The author J.D. Salinger illustrates this idea in his novel The Catcher in the Rye, which focuses on the life of the depressed protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden experiences the death of his young brother Allie and struggles with transitioning from his innocent childhood to his materialistic adulthood. This transition eventually influences his mental state of mind, which is evident by his lack of motivation in school, and results in him suffering from loneliness, frustration and alienation. The psychoanalytic lens discusses an individual's actions based on their conscious and unconscious mind. The Catcher in the Rye can be better analyzed through the psychoanalytic lens rather the existential lens, and this is exemplified by Holden’s desire to avoid inevitable change, his resultant isolation and his battle between his conscious and unconscious mind. Holden has a fear of change and desire to avoid...
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...Many teens nowadays are facing depression. In the book Catcher in the Rye the author J.D. Salinger explores loneliness and depression in a troubled boy who does not want to grow up. Holden often admits his loneliness and finds out he has some emotions left. He chooses to protects himself and reduces his pain. Like whenever he is thinking about calling up a give he gives himself many reasons why he should not contact them so he doesn’t get hurt. He tries so hard to protects himself by shutting things out that could potentially hurt him. Holden Caulfield the protagonist isolates himself, has many fears especially about growing up, and can’t connect with people. Holden isolates himself from his society. Holden then becomes very lonely because...
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...Holden Caulfield is a very different person in 2018 whereas to before. In the book, Catcher in the Rye, Holden experienced many events that led him to ´grow up´. Holden is going through a depressive state where he finds everything depressing. He also believes that after some point, everyone is phony, when they're not. This affects Holden´s social life, which then affects his mental state. Throughout the book, the only thing that seemed to keep him happy was children. Almost everybody has experienced a low point in their life. During these times we aren't in our best states (physically or mentally) and we tend to make a lot of mistakes. However, we pull ourselves back up and push through. Later on, we tend to learn from our mistakes and reflect...
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...in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Mr. Antolini (an English teacher) tells the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, "I have a feeling that you're riding for some kind of terrible, terrible fall" (pg. 168). This quote is terribly reflective of and true to Holden's experiences that he accounts in the novel. The entire novel is essentially Holden's account of the time between leaving Pencey Preparatory School and his institutionalization (which is revealed at the end of the novel). We can only assume that Holden has been sent to see "this one psychoanalyst guy" (pg. 192) because of his gradual mental breakdown or "fall" that is apparent throughout his narrative. This essay will recognize and trace the multiple signs, explanations and testaments of Holden's declining mental state. It is important to include Holden's past in this account and analysis of Holden's mental decline because Holden's past affects everything he does and contributes to his feelings of loneliness, depression and confusion. A supporting argument for this can be found by looking at causes for "mental breakdowns." Some common causes* of mental breakdowns that apply to Holden's particular case are: unresolved grief (as far as we know, Holden never received closure about his brother Allie's death or the suicide of a fellow student, James Castle.), academic problems (Holden failed out of three separate private schools), social stress (Holden tries and fails to connect to several characters such as Carl Luce, Sunny the prostitute...
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...of his great fall Holden really is. And that is his brother Allie's death. Alies death brings us something that is seen in most depressed people and that is to self inflict any harm.Meaning Holden hurts himself. On the eve of his brothers death Holden ends up smashing the windows of everything in his house with his bare hands stating that “They were going to have me psychoanalyzed…..I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it. I even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon we had that summer, but my hand was already broken and everything by the time, and I...
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...Growing up everyone wants to be accepted someway. It is always nice to feel accepted by your peers. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a young man who seeks the acceptance of others. Holden Caulfield reached out to many people throughout the book. Sometimes people accepted Holden Caulfield and other times people rejected him. Holden Caulfield reached out for acceptance when he asked to sleep with Ackley, when he tried to talk to the prostitute, and when he was talking with the nuns. Holden Caulfield reached out to Ackley when Holden asked to sleep in Ackley’s room after Holden’s fistfight with Stradlater. Ackley shot Holden down and said he could not just give up his roommate's bed. Holden really did not even want to sleep with...
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...Early carousels of 19th century America were advertised as highly recommended by physicians as an aid in circulating the blood. This made the ride fun and beneficial for all ages. Carousels became extremely popular around this time, and although there were many around America, one of the most well known machines was in Holden Caulfield's, the protagonist in Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, hometown, New York. During the carousel scene, Holden ventures away from childhood to adulthood, and comes to many realizations about himself and others, especially acknowledging that becoming an adult is not a bad thing, but a new experience. Prior to the carousel scene Holden is lost, confused, and feels alone. Holden is walking down...
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