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Catcher In The Rye And The Laughing Man Essay

630 Words3 Pages

The Laughing Man and The Catcher in the Rye are both fictional works by JD Salinger. The Laughing Man is a short story about a young boy in the Comanche Club where the Chief, a law school student, tells stories; The Catcher in the Rye is a novel about Holden Caulfield, a teenager struggling to come to terms with all the phoniness in the real world. The Laughing Man is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator, who is looking back at a period of his life when he was nine years old. As the story goes on, it becomes obvious that the Chief, by telling the narrator and the other Comanches about The Laughing Man, is in some ways describing his own life. One literary element that both works feature is a strong theme. In particular, Salinger examined the themes of …show more content…

The Comanches allow the Chief to escape into a world where the realities of his life can be avoided. However, by the end of the story the Chief is unable to escape from the realities of the world when his relationship with Mary comes to an end. In other words, he can no longer escape. Holden also mentions escaping society and going to the woods in a cabin somewhere. Holden is trying to escape the world that he sees as phony. However, when Phoebe insists that either he stay or she goes with him, Holden decides that he doesn’t want to escape anymore.
Sadness is a theme in both The Laughing Man and The Catcher in the Rye, however, it is more pronounced in the latter. In The Laughing Man, the Chief becomes very sad because he has to break up with his girlfriend. This sadness results in the death of The Laughing Man, which results in the sadness of the children. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden never seems to be happy. To quantify this: the word depressed and its variations appear 50 times in the novel. Happy appears just seven times. It is safe to say that sadness is a major theme in The Catcher in the

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In every novel around the globe you can find carefully constructed paragraphs, written by the author to send a specific message to the readers. In The catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, one particular section overflows with symbolism, metaphors, and hidden messages. By analyzing the passage’s diction, setting, and selection of detail it is possible discern the less overt statements hidden in the text and reveal the turbulent nature of the main character, Holden Caulfield. The diction of this passage appears to be the key in unraveling Holden’s mood swings.

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The novel Catcher in the Rye is pessimistic because the main character Holden Caulfield always thinks negatively about any situation that he faces. In chapter 2, when Holden is with Mr. Spencer and they are talking, Mr. Spencer wishes him “good luck”. Holden hopes that he didn’t say “good luck” because it sounds terrible. Holden becomes depressed by the fact Mr. Spencer wished him “good luck”. In chapter 7, Holden is packing up his things and says the he becomes sad when he packs up his belongings.

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The transition from childhood to adulthood labeled, “growing up” is a rite of passage endured by all humans. During this process, adulthood seems inviting and free, but only when we become members of the adult world, can the blissful innocence and youth of our childhood be appreciated and missed. The novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger explores the captivations of youth and innocence experienced in adolescence. He uses literary devices of repetition and symbolism to illustrate this point.

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The Catcher in the Rye In the novel The Catcher in the Rye J.D Salinger writes about a teenager struggling to find his place within the existence of the reality of others. Salinger creates shocking events that lay out the foundation of the the main character Holden Caulfield’s life in the novel. Salinger uses Holden’s characteristics throughout the novel such as Holden’s stubbornness to establish a much bigger theme in the book along with many other symbols.

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Holden seems to be happy and he starts coming around “Although Holden identifies many of the novel's characters as ‘phonies,’ and although it appears at times that he hates being around people, there is evidence to suggest at the end of the book that he does come to terms with the fleeting nature of relationships and human existence, as Phoebe finally provides him with companionship and fosters some brief moments of happiness in his life. ”(Pettineo, Jeff. "Isolation in The Catcher in the Rye.") It seems that once he saw his sister pheobe and got to be with her, he finally felt some happiness. In the end, In J.D Salingers

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Factors that led me to this diagnosis are Holdens constant state of depression, the loss of his brother, and him expressing both feelings of loneliness and suicidal thoughts. Numerous times throughout The Catcher in the Rye Holden displays both depressive and suicidal thoughts such as “What I really felt like though was commiting suicide. I felt like jumping out the window” (Salinger 136) and “Please. I’m lonesome as hell. No kidding.

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The Catcher in the Rye is a novel that was written by J. D. Salinger in 1951. It was first published by Little, Brown and Company and was originally written for adults, but became popular among teenagers for its teenage main character, who deals with problems a large number of adolescents face in their transition into adulthood. It is not a difficult book to read, especially considering it is only 234 pages. The story revolves around the protagonist, a 16 year old boy named Holden Caulfield, who recently flunked out of a prestigious preparatory school.

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The Catcher in the Rye Thematic Essay Imagine living a lonesome life, full of fear and little hope of better days to come. Imagine the toll this would take on a person’s life and how they develop as a person. For Holden Caulfield, the main character of J.D Salinger’s classic The Catcher in the Rye this, is his reality. Holden is a sixteen year old troubled boy suffering through major mental issues and living a rather a depressing life for a teenager. Throughout the novel he goes through many hardships that only worsen his depression making him feel hatred towards his seemingly hellish world.

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Holden has a very different way of showing his depression in the novel. His depression is present when he tries to keep his innocence and stray away from adult hood all while trying to keep his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden wants to be the “catcher in the rye “. He wants to be that person who catches those kids who are falling off the cliff into adulthood. Holden wants to protect those who are close to him and those that he loves.

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In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the character Holden frequently expresses how sad he is. The cause of his depression varies, starting from Allie’s death to phony classmates to restrictive administration, but all these events and people contribute in Holden feeling worthless. He does, however, have one goal which is to become the catcher in the rye. Although this isn’t an official job title, Holden hopes that he can become a safe haven for children in need of catching. This is a very vulnerable ambition for Holden, because not only is he depressed himself needing aid from others, but connecting a person’s entire purpose of happiness on another person can be very difficult.

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In the novel The Catcher In The Rye written by J. D. Salinger shows that Holden goes through his journey and is depressed because of his isolation from

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The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of Holden Caulfield who is a teenager growing up in the 1950’s in New York, has been expelled from school once again for poor achievement. In order to deal with his failure, Holden decides to leave school a few days before the end of the term and escapes to New York before returning to his home for the punishment. Written entirely in first person, the book describes Holden’s experiences and thoughts over the few days he takes for himself. During these few days Holden describes a nervous breakdown he experiences with symptoms of unexplained depression, impulsive spending, and unpredictable behavior. The strongest theme in The Catcher in the Rye is the main character Holden Caulfield 's fascination

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From the outset, I have to say that “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger has been one of the most important and influential pieces of literature I have ever read. At its core, the book is a superb coming of age novel which discusses several extremely powerful themes such as the difficulties of growing up, teenage angst and alienation and the superficiality, hypocrisy and pretension of the adult world. These themes resonated deeply with me and were portrayed excellently through the use of powerful symbolism and the creation of highly relatable and likable characters. One such character is Holden Caulfield whom the story both revolves around and is narrated by.

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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.

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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.

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