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Catcher In The Rye Rejection Theme

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As Monica Geller once said in Friends, “Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You’re gonna love it!” Growing up and having to face reality is hard. In J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, he illuminates the themes of alienation and the painfulness of growing up through the eyes of a conflicted teen. This teen, Holden Caulfield, isolates himself from people as a form of protection. Holden remains conflicted throughout the novel. There are times when he isolates himself from everyone around him and times when he reaches out to those he knows only to be left feeling unsatisfied with the interaction or rejected after putting himself out there to feel connection. This theme is relatable to teens that have lived throughout the last few decades. It …show more content…

Holden would likely face the same challenges he does in the story only on a larger scale. For example, teens today can face rejection by hundreds of people at a time through social media. Holden would likely hate social media, but still use it as it would represent a way he could reach out to those around him without having to put himself in awkward social situations. Another way teens today are relatable to Holden is that we may try to be distinct in a crowd, but also invisible. We appreciate the opportunity to fade into the background when we are confused about how to act or act in a way that we would be accepted by those around us. Cell phones and social media are pulling people into a false reality and causing them to isolate themselves even further from the world. Furthermore, there are hundreds of campaigns on social media supporting individuality and self love. Albeit, there are also hundreds of altered pictures of people trying to hide flaws and imperfections. So is the message of self love and acceptance truly one of striving for acceptance by society at all costs? It remains a self deprecating message to teens throwing us into the turmoil of finding ourselves at the cost of “fitting in” with societal standards. Today, is a society of conflicting messages which in turn makes for a confusing existence. Holden would fit in perfectly with our generation. He understood what it

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When he was expelled from Pencey, a high school he was formerly going to, instead of facing his parents, he attempted to run away and survive on his own in the “phony” adult world. Throughout all his adventures, Holden maintained three characteristics: being cynical, being metaphorically blind, and being defiant. Holden never

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Jordan Serrano, English 10, Ms. Leonard 3/20/2023 The life of a normal teen The life of a teen has always been viewed as selfish, troublemaking, and having no important role in society, but that's not true; teenagers are the future of society and are the ones that are going to make a change for the better. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, the protagonist is Holden Caulfield, who is seen as an unstable teen with many problems, but at some times you might even relate to Holden. However, Holden had dealt with many challenges that changed his whole life's pathway. For instance, after losing his brother and having to grow up all alone during one of the most important peaks of his life, Holden is like every other teenager.

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Holden Caulfield, at first, seems to be a very pathetic, whiny person. He seems to hate everyone. He has an obsession with word “phony”, using the word numerous times in the book to describe anyone he dislikes. At many points in the book, I found myself questioning whether or not I liked him. But as I dove deeper into the book, I found Holden to be a sensitive guy who’s mind is plagued with troubles.

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‘’I felt so lonesome, all of the sudden. I almost wished I was dead,’’ a quote from the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger which relates to how some teens felt at one point in their life. The novel was published to attract adult readers and has become popular for its themes, motifs, and connections an individual has with the main character, Holden Caulfield. We tend to feel a connection to the struggles of Holden Caulfield as we put ourselves in his shoes and see life through his perspective. The book is still relevant due to Holden facing challenges such as loneliness and the inability to make a connection to make with a purpose thus the readers see themselves in Holden.

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1057 Words | 5 Pages

‘’I felt so lonesome, all of the sudden. I almost wished I was dead,’’ a quote from the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger which relates to how some teens felt at one point in their life. The novel was published to attract adult readers and has become popular for its themes, motifs, and connections an individual has with the main character, Holden Caulfield. We tend to feel a connection to the struggles of Holden Caulfield as we put ourselves in his shoes and see life through his perspective. The book is still pertinent due to Holden facing challenges such as loneliness and the inability to make a connection to make with a purpose thus the readers see themselves in Holden.

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1045 Words | 5 Pages

The Catcher in the Rye Salinger gave the tone of the book humorous so that the book can be more relatable to teenagers in society. He talks about how Holden is lonely and he’s lost like every other teenager but he more like he doesn’t see from the real world. He is judgmental, he judges everything he sees and knows. Salinger writes this book to let us know what some teenagers go through and how people stay strong no matter what. He’s wanting us to know how teenagers are all different and they go through different things and they act a certain way because of what they’re going through.

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Holden represents the typical teenager. He demands his independence and refuses to view himself as anything but invincible. In his mind, he has life figured out and everyone around him is simply stupid. He fails out of multiple schools and cannot manage to find friends because he is looking for his environment to cater to him. He does not want to put in the time or effort required to succeed.

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Growing up and dealing with the stresses of entering the adult world could be the hardest past of one’s life, especially without the right guidance. In The Catcher in the Rye, author J. D. Salinger shows how Holden struggles during this time. On top of his brother Allie’s death, Holden’s inability to fit in causes him to unravel throughout the book as the novel progresses. As Holden narrates his point of view, we could truly understand why Holden’s mental state worsens. Throughout the novel, Holden has moments that lead to his inevitable breakdown because of his different struggles with Phoebe, and his inability to get along with others.

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Throughout “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield shows great difficulty making long and meaningful connections with other people. Holden believes he is the normal one but it is actually the other way around. He holds on to a deep emotional road block of the death of his innocent brother Allie. Holden keeps this dragging around with him which causes him to veer from connecting and having a long term relationship with others.

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Holden Caulfield is shaped to be deeply lonely and isolated by the author despite his interactions with others throughout the story. He is alienated from his peers and his family, as he constantly feels like an outsider looking in. This can be seen in the first chapter when Holden stands on top of a hill looking down on those at a nearby football game. Not only is Holden physically looking down on those at the game but he is also isolating himself from them as a form of self-protection. He does this because he wants to protect himself from the potential phoniness to which he could be susceptible.

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Chesnutt choses to give the reader an overview surrounding the setting through the structure of The Sheriff’s Children. Chesnutt begins the story with describing the setting which is Branson County, North Carolina. Branson County, a parable rural southern community in the post-Civil War era. Branson which locates "a sequestered district" in "one of the staidest and most conservative States of the Union." (Walcott, 83).

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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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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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693 Words | 3 Pages

Although Holden is a very intelligent character he finds the hypocrisy and ugliness in the world around him and quickly associates it with the adult world. Holden is a very introverted character who hesitates throughout the book to share information about his life . J.D Salinger makes sure to portray Holden that way to

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2081 Words | 9 Pages

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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