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Short Summary Of The Catcher In The Rye

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Holden resents for becoming a screenwriter, after his release in one month. As he waits, Holden recalls the events of the previous Christmas. Holden begins his story at Pencey Preparatory Academy, an exclusive boarding school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania, on the Saturday afternoon of the traditional football game with a rival school. Holden has been expelled from Pencey due to poor work and is not to return after Christmas break, which begins the following Wednesday. He plans to return home on that day so that he will not be present when his parents receive notice of his expulsion. After forfeiting a fencing match in New York by forgetting the equipment aboard the subway, he is invited to the home of his history teacher, Mr. Spencer. Spencer …show more content…

During the meeting, Holden annoys Carl with his fixation on sex. After Luce leaves, Holden gets drunk, awkwardly flirts with several adults, and calls an icy Sally. Exhausted and out of money, Holden wanders over to Central Park to investigate the ducks, breaking Phoebe's record on the way. Nostalgically recalling his experience in elementary school and the unchanging dioramas in the Museum of Natural History that he enjoyed visiting as a child, Holden heads home to see Phoebe. He sneaks into his parents' apartment while they are out, and wakes up Phoebe – the only person with whom he seems to be able to communicate his true feelings. Although Phoebe is happy to see Holden, she quickly deduces that he has been expelled, and chastises him for his aimlessness and his apparent dislikes towards everything. When asked if he cares about anything, Holden shares a selfless fantasy he has been thinking about (based on a mishearing of Robert Burns's Comin' Through the Rye): he pictures himself as the sole guardian of thousands of children playing in a huge rye field on the edge of a cliff. His job is to catch the children if, in their abandon, they come close to falling off the brink; to be, in effect, the "catcher in the rye". Because of this misinterpretation, Holden believes that to be the "catcher in the rye" means to save children from losing their

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What Happened Before The Trial Of Holden Caulfield

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Holden reports that Mr. Antolini went to Mr. Antolini’s home and slept over for the night but woke up to the man petting his forehead. Holden immediately left and spent the rest of the night in Penn Station. Holden, feeling lost at this point, Caulfield reports that he left the city to go out and make a better life for himself and others around him. Before leaving, Caulfield left Phoebe a note stating to meet him before he left. Holden and Phoebe met each other in Central Park.

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Catcher In The Rye Chapter 9-14 Analysis

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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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Catcher In The Rye Literary Devices

874 Words | 4 Pages

Towards the end of the story, while having a conversation with Phoebe about what Holden wants to do with his life, he tells her, “I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff…That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (Salinger 173). With this, Holden further reveals his childhood fantasy of being a hero and saving everyone. In his soul, Holden is an innocent boy who does not want to grow up.

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What Is The Catcher In The Rye Critical Lens

1496 Words | 6 Pages

To help his mental state, he sneaks into his parent’s house where he visits with his little sister, Phoebe. Holden tells Phoebe he is leaving town and when she begs to come with him. Holden becomes upset and leads her to a carousel, which is where Holden abruptly finishes his story. Holden explains how he is going to a new school in the fall, yet is optimistic about his

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Catcher In The Rye Holden's Journey Analysis

656 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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Is Holden Caulfield Selfish

462 Words | 2 Pages

He is unable to embrace the challenges and responsibilities of adulthood because he is fixated on the innocence and purity of childhood. His interactions with Phoebe, his younger sister, demonstrate this. When Phoebe asks Holden "you know what I'd like to be? I mean if I had my goddamn choice?", he starts to talk about being "the catcher in the rye" (173). He sees himself as the protector of childhood innocence, Holden also imagines scenarios showing his resistance to adult responsibilities and challenges.

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Fear In A Separate Peace

1353 Words | 6 Pages

When she asks what he wants to do with his life. Holden answers, “I’d just be the catcher on the rye and all (173).” He so badly wants to save kids from plunging into the adult world. All adolescents mature, no matter how aware, and they must encounter evil. Holden realizes this as the good he strives to preserve is threatened.

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Catcher In The Rye Analysis

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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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Catcher In The Rye Thesis

815 Words | 4 Pages

Holden wants kids to stay naïve and does not want them to fall into adulthood, “And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody, if they start to go over the cliff…” (173). As a teenager on the border of falling off the cliff, Holden does not want other kids to become phony. Holden wanting to be the catcher in the rye shows that he appreciates the younger world and wants it back. Throughout the story, Holden is faced with times where he is surrounded by phoniness, but tries to hide it from Phoebe and other young kids, but as hard as he tries, the phoniness will always find a way out.

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An Alternate Ending to The Catcher in the Rye

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Purpose: To show how a small change in choice could affect holden’s life The Catcher in the Rye is about Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy from New York. The novel starts with Holden, writing in his book, hinting that he is in some sort of mental facility .Even though he comes from a wealthy family,because of his loss of interest in studies,and low grades, he gets expelled from all schools he has studied in .Holden leaves his final school, Pency Prep and decides that he will stay in New York City until his parents learn of his expulsion and “cool down” .Most of the novel is dedicated to Holden’s time in the city, Holden lives in a hotel room for a few days during his stay .Holden then starts meeting with people that he used know, some strangers and goes to places with. From his conversations, he

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Catcher In The Rye Rite Of Passage Analysis

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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The Catcher In The Rye Analysis

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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Holden Caulfield Lies In Catcher In The Rye

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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Character Analysis: The Catcher In The Rye

720 Words | 3 Pages

Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, embodies the classic teenager in the process of discovering himself, and how the world works. But, regardless of Holden 's rich, prep school lifestyle, the series of events that have mapped out his life up to this point have utterly affected his emotional well being and perception of the world. Many traumatic events such as the death of holds brother Allie, the death of a class mate, and countless numbers of awkward incidents with adults have all added up to affects Holden 's well-being and detach him from reality. The death of Holden 's younger brother Allie has caused him to confuse his perception of reality and to alienate himself.

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Character Development In Holden Caulfield In The Catcher In The Rye

871 Words | 4 Pages

While many argue that Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye does not deviate from the traditional anti-hero attributes and, therefore, does not display any prominent change, an argument can be made to the contrary. Holden Caulfield goes through some noticeable character development and is in a better place emotionally at the end of the book because he speaks with Phoebe. His meeting with Phoebe and Phoebe’s message to him shows him a youth’s perspective on his world, rather than the superficial sincerity of his elderly professor and his favorite teacher that makes advances on him. Additionally, him being able to successfully communicate with a member of his own family puts him in a better place. His time with her lets him see his own self-image of a “catcher in the rye.”

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