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Catcher In The Rye Holden Analysis

380 Words2 Pages

Holden refuses to interact with others because he wants to be with his brother Allie and he is still emotionally destroyed by his death. Holden is still regressing to the time of his childhood, a time where he was happy and with Allie. This is the reason why Holden refuses to enter the threshold of adulthood. The reader can notice then when Holden says, "I like Allie just because someone is dead you don't just stop liking them, for God's sakes especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that're alive". Holden still believes that true happiness resides in his childhood in the presence of his deceased brother. As the story progresses, Holden begins to come to his senses and realizes he is not able live in the …show more content…

Holden's fear of rejection is the source of not being able to create relationships which isolates him from society. Because of this fear of intimacy and rejection, Holden begins to go into a very depressed state. Another reason why Holden is never integrated into society is because he still has the mentality of living in the last. This is another problem Allie comes into. When Holden states, "I like Allie just because someone is dead you don't just stop liking them, for God's sakes- especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that're alive (Salinger 171), he believes that genuine happiness and peace can be obtained in his past and believes that Allie is no longer present in society. However, Holden eventually realizes that it is impossible to live in his childhood forever. This makes him realize that he cannot continue living with the same values in society that Allie died with. Acknowledging that his objectives in life are unattainable brings forth immense discomfort and sadness. However, Holden's sadness is heightened when he knows he cannot change societal norms and value. The realization that he cannot remain in the past with his idyllic concept of innocence ultimately causes his

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808 Words | 4 Pages

The loss of his older brother and the absent parents have really affected Holden’s behavior. He lives a life without any care but with exception of younger children. Holden has a fascination with younger children and their innocence possibly because he wasn’t able to enjoy his adolescent years and nor did his brother. Holden mentions “‘Every time I'd get to the end of a block I'd make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I'd say to him, "Allie, don't let me disappear.

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1024 Words | 5 Pages

This moment of recalling the moments he has with Allie, and looking back at what Allie was like was a heartfelt moment for Holden, and him choosing to write the essay about Allie’s mitt shows Holden’s connection and love for Allie and the relationship he had with him. Later on towards the end of the novel, we can see Holden frantically walking down the streets yet again, as he finds himself slowly losing touch of reality, and starting to do strange things. When this happens, Holden recognizes that his first instinct was to call for his brother to help him. Holden explains, “Then I started doing something else… I'd make believe I was

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1022 Words | 5 Pages

People do not expect the death of a loved one to occur at such a young age, and so abruptly like Allie 's death. The smashing of the windows shows the huge impact that he had on Holden, and how upset he was that he no longer had his brother by his side. Holden was uncertain in how to deal with this upsetting change in his life, resulted in aggressive behavior. Holden was also exposed to another traumatic event in his life during his time at Pencey. After being introduced to one of Holden 's classmates Castle he states, ¨Finally, what he did, instead of

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2662 Words | 11 Pages

He has to reach the lowest point of his mental and emotional health so that he can accept somebody’s help. By enduring through the worst of his grief and alienation, Holden can finally realize that he wants to be around people he loves again. Earlier in the novel, he had so desperately wanted to return to his past,

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1381 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout the entirety of the book, Holden always had a negative perspective on things and tends to see the worst in every situation. This is directly related to his depressive state since his depression clouded all his happiness. The fact that he tried to talk to Allie while he felt depressed showed that the loss of his brother is the source of his trouble. Talking out loud to someone that is no longer living is a very common way to cope with a loss. In fact, Holden tried to talk to Allie as a way to pull him out of his state of

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1308 Words | 6 Pages

Holden Caulfield lives his life as an outsider to his society, because of this any we (as a reader) find normal is a phony to him. Basically, every breathing thing in The Catcher in the Rye is a phony expect a select few, like Jane Gallagher. What is a phony to Holden and why is he obsessed with them? A phony is anyone who Holden feels is that living their authentic life, like D.B. (his older brother). Or simply anyone who fits into society norms, for example, Sally Hayes.

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1092 Words | 5 Pages

Holden’s difficulties growing up relate to his anxiety about what he is leaving behind. His emotional level became stuck when his brother Allie died. He believes that if he grows up, he will leave his brother behind. In Holden’s eyes, Allie was perfect. He was kind-hearted and innocent, which Holden misses the most about him.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the book, Holden is struggling to get by. The death of his brother Allie has left him in a tough spot. Holden doesn’t exactly know how to deal with this. The different stages of grief are represented through Holden. Holden shows denial and anger when he flashbacks to one of his memories after his brother’s death.

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779 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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1308 Words | 6 Pages

Tragic events can affect your mindset in irreversible ways, causing self-destructive behavior, low self-esteem, and devious actions. Jerome David Salinger in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, he develops the character of Holden Caulfield, an adolescent boy who is living a tragedy, causing suffering and deep pain within him. According to Mary Klages from the University of Colorado, she incorporates Warren Hedges and Freud through a psychoanalytic lens and they come to a conclusion that psychoanalytical approaches reveal how and why people behave as they do, which helps clarify Holden Caulfield’s actions in the novel. Holden is presented as a troubled adolescent, facing discontent of his childhood in which he desires not to describe much in

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837 Words | 4 Pages

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

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1230 Words | 5 Pages

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

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624 Words | 3 Pages

Holden can’t seem to make up his mind on who to call, but every time he decides who to buzz he would rather be alone so he does not call anyone. On page 219, Holden says “I would build a cabin in the woods so no one can talk to me.” This is an example of isolation because he wants to be away from everyone so no one can ever talk to him or bother him. After Allie’s death, Holden became more isolated from everyone because he does not to be around people who act fact around him and also he does not like to talk to people. As a result to get away from everyone he wants to live in the woods by himself away from everyone and his

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830 Words | 4 Pages

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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767 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a deep character that shows(possesses) many personality traits. His character is what connects many readers to him and helps in understanding him. Some character traits Holden possesses are that he is generous, kindhearted, usually honest, very intelligent, makes quick judgements, speaks his mind, is anxious about change, and likes kids. Considering his many character traits, it is easy for the reader to understand and relate to Holden. There are many character traits that I share with him.

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