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Holden caulfield character analysis
Holden caulfield character analysis
Holden caulfield character analysis
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Holden caulfield character analysis
Holden caulfield character analysis
Holden caulfield character analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Just to focus on what's happening now and to not worry about what's going to happen in the future. For Holden, this represents his ideals of how we should perceive the world. This also connects with his relationship with his sister, and since she's so young, she can still appreciate the little things in life. As well as in chapter 6 of the novel when stradlater was in a fight with Holden, he had just gotten up from sitting on him, he told him not to say a word because Holden had been mocking
In the catcher in the rye Holden takes the risk of fighting Stradlater. " ...then [he] tried to sock him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddamn throat open" (Salinger. 43) Holden knew that fighting is agents the school rule's, but he fought Stradlater anyway and the reason why he fought him is because Holden likes Jane, and he
(Salinger 50) Holden calling Stradlater a moron because he doesn't care if a girl keeps her kings in the back row or not is showing off how Holden would insult Stradlater and other people if they didn't care about others’ innocence. Holden supports his aggressiveness towards Stradlater by explaining that since Stradlater hates being called a moron, and all morons hate being called morons, then Stradlater is a moron. This also is the point in where Holden’s fear of Jane losing her innocence is at its highest. While Holden’s view of an innocent Jane might not be true of her right now, there are two people in Holden’s life keep their innocent view throughout the
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.
Holden hates Ward Stradlater. He calls him a secret slob. Straddler was Holden’s roommate at Pencey Prep. Stradlater is a ladies man. Holden sees that he does not take take care of his belongings.
Throughout the novel, Holden’s observations are often unreliable because he lacks experience to fully understand or simply because he is denies the truth. After the fight with Stradlater, Holden says "All that blood and all sort of made me look tough. I 'd only been in about two fights in my life, and I lost both of them. I 'm not too tough. I 'm a pacifist, if you want to know the truth" (46).
Holden has high standards for what a person should be and he sees the most authenticity in children, like his sister Phoebe. Holden breaks into his own house so that he can talk to Phoebe and possibly make an authentic emotional connection with her. While having their conversation Phoebe asks Holden what he truly likes, she says ““You don't like a million things. You don't .....
This helps explain that not even Holden knows what happen fully and it also surprised him. Nevertheless, the brawl is in the same manner as a child fighting with an adult; Stradlater holding down Holden's arms as to not get hit, all the while Holden calls names and hollers insults. It's so unlike his character, the immaturity he conveys as well as the affection he carries so deeply for someone, that the scene sticks in the mind of the
J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is considered a coming of age novel. Throughout the novel, Holden, a confused teenage boy, matures and understands more about himself. Salinger conveys Holden’s increasing levels of maturity by using a variety of symbols. The ducks in central park, the red hunting hat, and the carousel ring symbolize the the development of Holden’s adulthood.
What’s the age limit to be considered a child? 15? 18? 21? Consider Holden acting like a child, at the age of 17. Throughout The Catcher
In the Catcher in the Rye, Salinger depicts the immature mentality of typical teenagers through Holden’s childish curiosity. Teens experience
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.
Holden cannot handle accepting blame for his shortfalls. This is evident in the way he retells his story. Holden repeatedly tells the reader outrageous claims about his character. However when he ends up coming short on these expectations, he backtracks his previous statements in order to shift the blame away from himself. When he first discusses his fight with Stradlater he says, “All I know was I
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden demonstrates the struggle of transitioning between childhood and adulthood by revealing his hassle to grow up. Maturity comes through being an adult and growing up is all about becoming more mature. Throughout the book, Holden goes through numerous conflicts and problems. In the beginning of the book, Holden is gives information about himself.
He has trouble growing up and accepting life as it is. Holden thinks adults are "phony" which makes him hate the fact of growing up and staying innocent as much as he can while he is old enough to become an adult. He is frustrated with the world and people which makes him act with anger. His innocent childish dream is to be the Catcher in the Rye, to catch the kids before they become phonies like Holden says about adults. The moment he realizes that he cannot keep kids from falling or in other words, from growing up and becoming adults, he, reaches adulthood, and takes a big step towards it at the end of the novel.