Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield shows great difficulty making long and meaningful connections with other people. Holden believes he is the normal one but it is actually the other way around. He holds on to a deep emotional road block of the death of his innocent brother Allie. Holden keeps this dragging around with him which causes him to veer from connecting and having a long term relationship with others. Holden is unaware of his problem. When people try to help him he tells them there is nothing wrong with him. Holden wonders why he cannot connect with others. He blames it on other people when the source of his problems is himself. Holden’s past holds him back from connecting with others, but his fear of letting go of his past has him limited and scarred from making new relationships and connections. Holden struggled to come up with words to say to people which makes it even harder to connect with people he’s trying to bond with. For example with Jane, Holden clearly has great affection for her but he can never come up with the words to …show more content…
Holden and the three women both knew that Holden was younger than the women. Holden tries to portray himself as the older man which clearly does not work. He tries to act mature and asks “Would any of you girls like to dance?” (pg.78-79) The girls completely disregard him and start laughing as if his question was a joke. They quickly realized that Holden did not think it was funny or a joke. He perceives himself as the older man by kissing one girls on the forehead. When he does that she thinks it is weird and strange because she is much older than him. Again Holden is trying to connect but at times when it is not appropriate at the wrong times. This leaves Holden very sad and lonely. He wonders why nobody wants to talk and connect with him even though he considers himself a normal, healthy
In accordance to this Holden shows many symptoms of Peter Pan Syndrome, especially Networking Aversion, which means “Not having taken the time to develop the deep connections with the right people.” (Nemko, 1) Holden has near to none of these relationships because he avoids social interactions with those that he considers phony, and for many other reasons, and invests no time in making deep, long-lasting relationships that may help him in the future. This alienates him since he is keeping his social circle very small due to the Networking Aversion, and has very few deep, beneficial relationships. Some may believe that it is the stigma around those like Holden that is cutting him off from society, and preventing him
Holden is a very judgemental and immature character and often has vulgar language. Holden often criticizes everyone he comes in contact with and does not try to comprehend the mindset they may have. His childish nature and vocabulary are what make most of his comments laughable. “It was funny. You could tell the waiter didn’t like her much, you could tell even the Navy guy didn’t like her much, even though he was dating her.
This repeated action of Holden’s clearly shows his desire to connect with the people he misses and cares about the most, but it also reveals that something is restraining him from reaching out to them for companionship, as his unreliable excuses fail to shield Holden’s true feelings. Holden’s fruitless consideration and excuses plainly display his hand held out for connection, but also the fact that something is pulling him back
He wanted to go into a cabin in the woods and act like he could not hear and that way he did not have to talk to anyone. He enjoyed the company of Phoebe but he also wanted to just have to talk to no one. “I thought what I’d do was, I’d pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes. That way I wouldn’t have to have any goddam stupid useless conversations with anybody” (Salinger 25).Holden did not want to talk to his parents or anyone from the beginning of the story and towards the end he did not change.
The beginning of Holden’s journey starts with the innocence and naivety of childhood. Childhood is the stage that ignorance is bliss with no care in the world. Holden goes to a prestigious boarding school for boys and he believes that everyone in that school is a phony in some way. Holden is an observant character as he stays in the background, but he can also cause the most trouble. Like a child, he asks many questions and he is very curious to the point that he can be annoying.
Gretchen Rubin once said, “Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they're big, flashing signs that something needs to change.” However, in The Catcher in the Rye there is no one who understands Holden’s loneliness, and Holden does not quite know how to express it. In his novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger develops the theme of loneliness through Holden’s need for human contact, suicidal thoughts, and his separation from others around him. One way J.D. Salinger expresses Holden’s loneliness is through his need for human contact.
He talks to his brother as if he 's there searching for help from him. This novel is about him moving through New York and witnessing this and not wanting to be a part of it, yet knowing he has to fit in there somewhere. Holden grows a very dangerous drinking problem. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, Holden is a lost and depressed boy looking for a purpose in life. Holden believes that growing up is going to cause him to lose all innocence in himself.
Holden’s Struggle To Find Himself: Throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to find himself and who he truly is in order to be happy. His struggles relate to many things that he does or say in particular. Holden lacks with a social status with women and his family, whether it’s a relationship or being antisocial. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the complexities and struggles involved with both physical and emotional relationships.
Catcher in the Rye In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the narrator and protagonist Holden Caulfield a sixteen year old junior undergoes a series of changes. Holden learns multiple life changing lessons; one of them is you must grow up. In the beginning of the novel, Holden starts out as “that kid”; the one with the parents who expect him to get into an ivy league school, and end up with a kid with no intentions of doing so. At the beginning of the book it is very apparent that Holden lacks motivation; he also has hit rock bottom.
J.D Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, follows the main character, Holden Caulfield, and his experiences that lead him to be talking to a mental therapist. Told through Holden’s eyes, his profane and blunt explanations of major moments in his life allow readers to see that Holden is not crazy but is actually struggling with transitioning from child to adult. Throughout the story, he fondly remembers his early childhood and is trying the best he can to run from adulthood. He fears that he, like so many around him, may become phony when he becomes an adult. This fear drives his actions and gives him a feeling of hatred toward phony adults and a feeling of obligation to shield children from the harsh adult world.
The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was about the journey of a adolescent boy finding his way to adulthood. In the book Holden Caulfield was unsuccessful in finding his way to adulthood. Holden’s attitude in the novel throughout his journey was very immature. He also can't accept the fact that innocence can’t be forever protected. Lastly, Holden calls everyone a phony when in reality he is the real phony.
In Holden 's journey, he becomes more and more isolated from the world throughout the book. He isolates himself by choosing to not interact or go out with people. And further, when he does, he only ends up doing things that ruin the interaction with others, and makes himself become more isolated. Holden tries, but is always rejected and unsuccessful with his attempts.
Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the
Also, when Holden wakes up to Mr. Antolini patting him on the forehead in the middle of the night, he tells us of similar “perverty” stuff that happened to him multiple times as a child. Therefore, he clearly struggles to trust anyone he both meets and knows, which shows his insecurity and skepticism of others. Another instance of this is Holden’s relationship with D.B. Although Holden says that they were once close, he now considers D.B. as phony because of the work he does in the film industry. In doing so, he loses a close relationship with his brother, just because he feels
While many argue that Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye does not deviate from the traditional anti-hero attributes and, therefore, does not display any prominent change, an argument can be made to the contrary. Holden Caulfield goes through some noticeable character development and is in a better place emotionally at the end of the book because he speaks with Phoebe. His meeting with Phoebe and Phoebe’s message to him shows him a youth’s perspective on his world, rather than the superficial sincerity of his elderly professor and his favorite teacher that makes advances on him. Additionally, him being able to successfully communicate with a member of his own family puts him in a better place. His time with her lets him see his own self-image of a “catcher in the rye.”