Holden Caulfield is one messed up dude. He has so much going on in his life and nothing at all at the same time. He dramatizes the little problems and blatantly disregards his large and prominent issues. The boy has a drinking and a smoking problem at sixteen. He has social anxiety, he's clueless about women, he's a terrible student, and he's on a wild ride on a depressive roller coaster. Holden refuses to take life seriously and is almost proud of it. He's rude to most people he talks to and is unnecessarily fake with who he's civil with. He has some major growing up to do, but who doesn't?
Holden Caulfield is not an honest person. He lies to everyone's face, including his own. He doesn't tell anyone how he truest feels and doesn't really
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Even though I wasn't a huge fan of the novel itself, I can recognize that it's humourous. I think the satire effect stems directly from Holden's use of sarcasm as a coping mechanism. Is there any better way to avoid your problems than laughing them off? Not according to Caulfield. His constant joking is the only way that this book could possibly be relatable or even bearable for high schoolers. Holden goes through a series of events that many teenagers can identify with but nobody wants to just listen to some kid complain. I know I wouldn't be been able to sit down and read about some whiny white guy that thinks he's way better than everyone. Would …show more content…
He has been determined to do things his own way and stray from the pack. He talks so much trash on the world and what's wrong with it. He despises social norms and people that don't. But he is also one of the biggest hypocrites in a book about phoneys. He only hates the boys in his class because he's jealous of them. It's much easier to say that they are missing out on him rather than he missing out on them. It's really easy to hate women when you're repeatedly rejected by them. He dismisses school because it's way easier to say that the teachers are bs than that it's hard or that he's struggling.
The Author uses humor throughout the book to lighten the mood. If Holden is joking about it then we shouldn't be worried about it, right? When he talks about killing himself, if he chuckles then it's not serious.This tactic is also common in current day teenagers. Nobody wants to be taken seriously because nobody wants to be investigated. Its no fun to have people asking you all these questions about something that obviously don't want to talk about. Teenagers are really bad at communication and humor is the easiest way to hide that. Nobody likes a mopey guy but everybody likes a jokey
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.
Holden isn’t the happiest kid around he is very judgemental, harsh, and really opinionated. “ He had a terrible personality. He was also sort of a nasty guy.” Which Holden said about Ackley on page three, paragraph one. Holden was never afraid to state his opinion on people or things, he said what first came to mind.
In addition, his family looks normal, which is odd to feel depressed aside from other problems with his life. Also, Holden’s father presented me with his past and said, he has been kicked out
It is evident that Holden Caulfield’s anxiety and depression in The Catcher in the Rye directly correlates to the realities of child anxiety and depression. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders affect one in eight children. Common rationales that lead to child anxiety and depression include formidable parents, parental conflict, separation anxiety, academic pressure, sexual abuse and bullying (Mahale). Influences of paternal, maternal, and social structure results in child disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Holden Caulfield is not a cliche teenager that keeps his feelings in; he makes sure everyone knows how he feels and expresses it. During the book he reveals himself a little more to us. ‘When I was all set to go... I stood for a while next to the stairs and took a last look down the goddamn corridor. I was sort or crying…
Holden Caulfield is also very caring. He states “She’s very nervous. That’s another reason why I hated like hell for her to know I got the ax again.” (107). He cares for his mother and is mad himself for putting stress on her.
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.
”(Salinger 193). These quotes along with the facts that “Possible warning signs for suicide include… talking about self-harm, death or dying [and] experiencing the loss of a significant family member or friend…” (Whitmore 472) and that “Childhood trauma leaves a person extremely vulnerable to the effects of stress, … and specifically to the development of PTSD” lead me to believe Holden’s behaviors do warrant his admission to the facility. Before Holden can be released from our facility he needs to be taught some
Holden Caulfield is an extremely troubled individual with unparalleled depression. This all rooted from the slow and painful death of his younger brother, Allie Caulfield, to cancer at a young age. This has led him down a decreasing path in his life resulting in the expulsion of Holden from two boarding schools and the forming of an alcoholic addiction. After leaving his last boarding school, Pencey Prep, he went to New York where he went through a emotional rollercoaster. Overall his mental health is terrible and treatment is highly recommended with medication and therapy session's.
A. Allie’s death causes Holden to become obsessed with death and this obsession makes him believe that growing up and becoming a “phonie” is like dying; this belief that is planted inside Holden’s head when Allie died is what sends him on a quest to preserve children’s innocence and save them from the “death” of growing up. B. Salinger includes the traumatic story of Allies death that happened years in advance to provide an explanation for Holden’s obsession with death and how he sees loss of innocence as equivalent to dying. Allie died with his innocence still intact, so Holden does not want other children to grow up and have their innocence “die”. C. Holden even admits to being mentally unstable after his brother’s traumatic death when he says, “I was only 13, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all
Although Holden is a very intelligent character he finds the hypocrisy and ugliness in the world around him and quickly associates it with the adult world. Holden is a very introverted character who hesitates throughout the book to share information about his life . J.D Salinger makes sure to portray Holden that way to
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
Along with Holden’s many health problems, he is also mentally unstable in that he makes very erratic and irresponsible decisions, particularly when it comes
In this novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is the narrator that goes through a variety of problems. He has dilemmas, but meets/reconnects with people on his quest of life. This novel is more than just a simple story about a protagonist and his life events. This novel follows the structure of bildungsroman. There are four parts to it- character’s growth in social structure, a form of loss, process of maturity, and if the character ends in a new place of society.
Holden Caulfield's Development When we are are small we were all raised differently which can affect us in different ways as Erik Erikson states “Personality development takes up an entire lifetime and has eight psychosocial stages. ” When we are adolescence (12 to 18) we are on our fifth stage and it is a crucial stage because this stage focus on identity vs. Role confusion and in this time it's when we find out who we are and what we want to be. But establishing an identity within society can lead to what Erik Erikson refers to as role confusion, “ Role confusion involves the individual not being sure about themselves or their place in society.” At the time of role confusion an adolescent may explore and experiment with different cultures