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Character analysis on Holden
Analysis of holden caulfield character
Analysis of holden caulfield character
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Character analysis on Holden
Analysis of holden caulfield character
Analysis of holden caulfield character
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Another very common characteristic found in most teenagers, including Holden Caulfield, is obsession about sex. Throughout the story, Holden is always thinking about sex or in his own words thinking about “giving a girl a feel”. When Holden had a temporary stay at hotel in New York, he wanted to lose his virginity by calling a prostitute over his room, but after calling the prostitute over, he was afraid to have sexual intercourse with her since he never practiced it before, so he ended up rejecting the prostitute. The only thing Holden got from this experience was a punch in the stomach from a pimp. Holden also spends a lot of time fantasizing about sex with the girls he knew from school, which is very immature, but not surprising for a
No matter how many adventures somebody goes on, some people just don't change. Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, is a good example of this. The Catcher in the Rye is a story written by J.D. Salinger. It was first published in 1951 by Little, Brown and Company. The story takes place in the years of 1948 or 1949, following three days in the life of a high school student named Holden Caulfield.
He thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he's a kid until he realizes it doesn't last forever. Another instance of this is when Holden explains to the reader where he says “You take a really smart girl, and half the time she's trying to lead you around the dance floor, or else she's such a lousy dancer, the best thing to do is stay at the table and just get drunk with her. ”(Salinger PDF 44). Holden messes around in things he shouldn't do or even care for but it affects him.
(“Bipolar Disorder Emergencies and Suicide Prevention”). Multiple times in the novel, Holden abuses alcohol even though he is not at the legal age to drink. “Boy, I sat at that goddam bar till around one o'clock or so, getting drunk as a bastard... I could hardly see straight... When I'm drunk I'm a madman."
In the paradoxical personality of Holden we discover something much deeper. As Holden makes himself out to be tougher than what he actually is, Salinger introduces stubbornness. Holden’s true nature of gentleness and sensitivity offered throughout the book often brings bedlam into his life, though Salinger brings into
This inconsistency adds to the development of Holden as a character, he learns that being antisocial and
Novels, books, and storytelling in general are known for their specific concepts in the lives of many people, teaching us how to live life to its potential, or not; however, songs carry the same principles stories do. A song of this caliber is presented in the song “Mad World” sung by Gary Jules, written by Roland Orzabal. The lyrics of “Mad World” clearly depict the Holden’s struggle with phonies and the dilemmas he encounters when facing adulthood embodied in J.D. Salinger’s first-person narrative novel The Catcher in the Rye. The lyric, “All around me are familiar faces/
Throughout the novel, Holden makes decisions that greatly affect him based on his reckless, morose, and isolated personality. Throughout the novel, Holden makes many rash decisions that greatly affect his life negatively. From the book, “The next part I don't remember so hot. All I know is I got up from the bed, like I was going down to the can or something, and then I tried to sock him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddam throat open” (Salinger 43).
This mental illness will influence someone's thoughts, feelings, and actions. Holden said multiple times throughout the book that he was feeling very depressed. He was so lonely in fact that he hired a prostitute to have some company and to build his confidence. Although what actually happened was the complete opposite. Holden could not go through with having sex with her and asked the prostitute to “just talk to him”.
He states, "The trouble was, I just didn't want to do it. I felt more depressed than sexy, if want to know the truth" (pg 96). This one example of when he lost interest in pleasure or normal activities. Holden also shows a change in eating behavior. He states that himself; saying "I had quite a large breakfast, for me-orange juice, bacon and eggs, toast and coffee.
This describes Holden to-a-t, because of his alienation problem, his conflict with “phoniness” and his struggle of growing up and leaving his small problems behind him. Throughout the novel,
Furthermore, Holden starts to hate all the adults or loses faith in them, calls them phony. Holden has a second thought of becoming an adult he loses hope in his future and it seems to him nothing in the world matters to him anymore. We can see that throughout the book. He smokes, gets drunk, and does daring acts like getting a prostitute in his room. He also tries to escape all this guilt and grief by wasting time with unnecessary people he calls phony.
In The Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger, introduces the protagonist; Holden Caulfield. Holden feels the sense that he cannot choose between the two worlds. For example, he makes it seem as both of them are complete opposites from each other. In the book, Holden wants to keep his innocence, but he also wants to grow up and toss that innocence away. He still keeps his childhood personality by constantly obsessing over things that shouldn’t matter.
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
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has abnormal tendencies. Although he could just be a typical teenager, dealing with difficult situations, after analyzing his behavior it is believed that he is suffering from a mental ailment of some sort. Events from Holden’s past are still currently haunting him and it is evident that he is struggling. He needs the guidance of those around him in order to help himself through these tough time.