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Catcher In The Rye Literary Analysis

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The Catcher in the Rye is a story written by J.D. Salinger in 1940 - 1950. The story was published by Little, Brown and Company in 1951. It is considered a coming-of-age novel, due to the fact that the main character Holden Caulfield is constantly maturing throughout the novel. The story has a total of 288 pages. The story has many literary elements that are easily identifiable. The main characters include: Holden Caulfield, Phoebe Caulfield who is Holden’s younger sister, Mr.Antolini who is a well respected teacher of Holden, and Ward Stradlater who cares only for himself and despises others. The conflict of the story is mainly external due to Holden being against the outside world. The setting of the story begins in a school in Pennsylvania, where he later relocates his adventures to New York, while narrating the story all in first person. …show more content…

In the exposition, Holden describes what is going on with him in school and how he dislikes everyone in his boarding school. He calls them all “phonies” and it leads to him being expelled by his third boarding school. A rising action in this story may include his attempt of connecting with others, when Holden took a girl named Sally on a date and he expresses all the things he wants to do in life which gives Sally a uncomfortable feeling inside and ends with Holden telling Phoebe everything. His loneliness is expressed when he decides to hitchhike out West and leaves a note for Phoebe to meet him at a museum where he begins his trip throughout the climax. The resolution later comes where he ends up in a medical institution and realizes that he truly misses everyone, quickly abandoning “adulthood” and retreating into

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340 Words | 2 Pages

Holden Caulfield’s story begins on a December Saturday at Pencey Prep School in Pennsylvania, where he 's just been given the ax for failing all his classes except English. As it turns out, getting the ax is a frequent theme in Holden 's past. Before he leaves the school Holden runs to his favorite teacher’s house to say goodbye to him. Back in the dorm, Holden goofs around with Robert Ackley, a pimply and annoying kid. We 're introduced to Holden 's red hunting hat, and we meet his roommate, Stradlater, who is getting ready for a date with Jane Gallagher, an old friend and sort-of romantic interest of Holden 's. Holden is not happy about this impending date, but agrees anyway to write an English composition for Stradlater.

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697 Words | 3 Pages

In Chapter 9-14 Holden Caulfield leaves Penecy Prep and heads to New York City. Where he will stay for a couple days before winter vacation starts and he will head home. Delaying breaking the news to his family he got kicked out of school for as long as possible. These chapters are where Holden’s loneliness becomes abundantly clear. The reader is subjected to many long rants by Holden about the company he wants, though he attempts to settle several times.

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648 Words | 3 Pages

This causes Holden to pack his bags in the middle of the night and leave. He got on a train to New York, and stayed in a hotel for a while. While he was in New York, he met up with his younger sister, Phoebe. While Holden was in New York, he tried to get with a lot of women-all of his attempts failed. Holden is having a very difficult

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976 Words | 4 Pages

Also, Holden is very protective of Phoebe. When Holden finds a notebook of hers, he discovers that bad words and inappropriate drawings are written in it. As a result, Holden becomes angry and lashes out because he believes that the world is corrupting his sister. Lastly, Holden proves his longing to protect Phoebe’s innocence while he watches her ride the carrousel in the park. Holden describes this powerful moment by saying, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around.

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1032 Words | 5 Pages

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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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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1432 Words | 6 Pages

It is evident that Holden faces depression when he has a lack in interest in school and decides to leave Pencey Prep before being expelled. He thinks the students attending Pencey Prep are phonies, making Holden dislike his school even more. This is evident when he tells his sister Phoebe “It was one of the worst schools I ever went to. It was full of phonies. And mean guys.”

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873 Words | 4 Pages

What does someone do when he is falling apart but has no one he can trust to turn to? This is the scenario that a young, unstable Holden Caulfield must face throughout his journey of adolescence. In the novel The Catcher in The Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a sympathetic character. The novel is a bildungsroman, which shows that at first the protagonist may not assimilate well with the rest of society. Holden is a troubled teenager who cannot form relationships.

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1142 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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915 Words | 4 Pages

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Mr. Antolini gives Holden Caulfield advice when he is at one of his lowest points. Already aware of Holden’s mental state and position on school, he quotes Wilhelm Stekel, a psychoanalyst, “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” (Salinger 188). Although Holden fails to grasp Mr. Antolini’s message, the quote applies directly to his life because of his relationship with death as a result of his younger brother, Allie’s, death. Mr. Antolini uses this quote specifically because he wants Holden take a step back and try to live for a noble cause instead of resorting to death.

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1378 Words | 6 Pages

The only motivator that Holden has to continue living is his younger sister, Phoebe, who is extraordinarily intelligent for her age. After he gets kicked out of Pencey, Holden is lost in life. He speaks to many people, seeking advice and comfort, but they are not able to help him find a human connection. Holden’s depression increases throughout the novel, almost to the point of suicide. He criticizes many people and ideas, labeling them as ‘phony’.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger makes a variety of choices regarding elements of the novel. Each of these elements contribute to the success to the text as a whole. The setting, the way the characters are introduced, and the order of the plot are all elements of the text. Salinger chooses New York City as the setting, introduces his characters to symbolize innocence and orders his events in means of a flashback. All of these attributes contribute immensely to the comprehensive impact of the book seeing as they make the book more sentimental, help captivate the reader, and better enhance the theme of the novel.

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693 Words | 3 Pages

Holden 's life issue is his need to be, “The Catcher in the Rye”, his life lesson is how he overcomes it. At the end of the novel Holden comes to the understanding that everyone grows up. At the end of the book Holden accepts that he doesn 't need to be little kids protectors and that Phoebe wants to grow up and be an adult. Even though he didn 't grow to his full potential at the end of the novel his progression is made apparent by the quote “Don’t tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (Salinger 214).

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2081 Words | 9 Pages

Holden Caulfield’s story traces psychological/moral development and maturation. The conflicts that Holden deals with, shape him into a new adult. Holden learns so much on his journey, and finally accepts what society has to offer him. Society accepts him back, and Holden is rebirthed into an adult with new knowledge to benefit society. First off, Holden is portrayed as this terrible delinquent.

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1344 Words | 6 Pages

The deficiency theory suggests that gender differences in language reflect power differences in society. In mixed-sex conversations men are more likely to interrupt than women. An old study of a small sample of conversations, (Zimmerman & West 1975) at the University of California produced 31 segments of conversation. In 11 conversations between men and women, men used 46 interruptions, but women only 2. However, it is true that in studies like these, one interrupting man can seriously destabilise these results and skew conclusions (Beattie 1982).

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