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Does Holden Corrupt The World In J. D. Salinger's Demons

640 Words3 Pages

Lastly, Holden feeling the need to protect the world and save the next generation relates to the song “Demons,” by Imagine Dragons. They both exhibit the desire to prevent the world from conforming to the evils of the world. In the novel, Holden goes to Phoebe's school and notices that someone wrote “Fuck you” on the wall so he erased it thinking that he is doing right so the other kids don't see it and start asking questions. He notices it written again on the wall and gets frustrated. He then says, “It’s hopeless, anyway. If you had a million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the “Fuck you” signs in the world. It's impossible.” (Salinger 222). This shows his frustration with the people in the world. Society is poisoning the …show more content…

Nobody’d move. You could go there a hundred thousand times and… the only thing that would be different would be you” (Salinger 135). Holden wishes the world was a museum because he thinks that the world was pure back then. Before society had been corrupt. He wants to hold onto the past me he likes that in the museum everything is just as it was before, as everyone continues to change this is the one thing that will always stay back with him. In the song, this relates to the lyric “No matter what we breed we still are made of greed” (Imagine Dragons). People are going to become who they are meant to become and there is not much one person can do to change that. As Holden comes to the realization that he can't become the catcher in the rye he gets frustrated that he can't control society. He wishes, at an extent, to play God. He wants to stop people, especially the ones close to him, from changing in order to keep his old relationships. He admires Phoebe because she thinks in her own way and has not yet been subjected to society. Change is part of life and although it may not be what everyone wants, it can be a good

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Salinger is demonstrating in this phrase the fact that Holden admires his

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Despite this, he is still unable to come to terms with his own shortcomings. Salinger wants the reader to understand the dangers of being too cynical as well as being too accepting. The mood of The Catcher in the Rye is morose. Throughout

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Holden’s dream of wanting to be the catcher in the rye proves that he wants to keep every child innocent and pure. He says, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody’s around―nobody big, I mean―except me” (Salinger 224). Holden wants no adults except for him in the field because he believes that the adults are the ones who change children and break their innocence. Similar to his dream of being the catcher in the rye, his fantasy about the glass cases and the cabin camps also proves that Holden wants to protect others and himself from losing innocence by isolation.

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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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If the book is read solely on its surface level, it just seems like a book about an annoying teenager who just complains about everything, but the messages it carries are actually profound. For example, near the end of the story Holden is upset by some profane graffiti on the wall at a museum that says “F*** you” (Salinger 224). He is upset by it because he is worried some little kids will see it and wonder what it means, and then be curious enough to find out adn have their innocence stolen. He finds the graffiti multiple times in the museum. The profane graffiti, if looked at beyond the surface level, symbolises the fact that Holden can not do anything to stop little kids from losing their innocence.

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1364 Words | 6 Pages

I didn 't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at me when I was all gory". (Salinger 2010 : 58)  Holden seems to think that it is better to die young than to become an adult materialist like his parents, brother, and nearly every adult he meets. In this case death act as a symbol of freedom, a gateway, a relief from one’s troubles and responsibilities, this is its very quality that at times caused Holden to consider it

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In Holden’s mind becoming “the catcher in the rye “means that he can still catch Allie from falling off the cliff. This is relevant to Holden’s depression because everything around him is telling him to grow up but instead he runs away from it in fear that is will pull him farther apart from his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden is on the edge of becoming an adult which creates more pressure and leads him to

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When we are children we grow up watching movies that transport us to another world. Take Disney movies, typically Disney movies transport you to a faraway land with interesting individuals that tend to on adventures; take Disney’s motion animated picture The Little Mermaid, within this movie we are given the opportunity to see how living underwater is “better”. That if you living on land there are many problems you generally would not find under the sea. Although this is an animated motion picture utilized to promote happiness in younger generations something interesting to note is that not everything under the water is better.

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In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield states that he wants to be a catcher in a field of rye. Holden wants to give kids the opportunity to stay innocent. He wants to give them the opportunity to be caught, to be saved from all the responsibilities that one acquires when becoming an adult. He wants to catch them and push them back into their youth, back to where they had someone to talk to, and when they had friends that they could talk to and have fun with. In Holden’s life, he has suffered an immense loss, the loss of his little brother Allie.

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It is the “phoniness” he wants to blame. Salinger used “phony” this word many times in the book and is one of the most famous word from “The Catcher in the Rye” and it accurately describes the human nature of most adults’. During Holden’s three-day-trip in New York, he has met and encountered with many characters who are pretentious and fake, from Mr. Spencer to Luce and Sally. In society people have to lie or be “phony” just to socialize, or impress someone. Holden is a judgemental person who keeps observing other people’s phoniness but never notices them in himself.

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1322 Words | 6 Pages

Nobody’d move.. Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different is you. ”(chpt.16) This shows Salinger use of Imagery where you can see Holden in the museum all alone wanting to go back to a time where he felt safe and happy and he longs for that.

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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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These two struggles are what causes Holden to realise his purpose is being a catcher in the rye. His struggle to adulthood is quite evident. Holden states that the adult world is a nasty and horrible place, he thinks that the adult world is very phony, fake, and corrupt. These are words he uses quite often to describe the adult world, proving that he despises the thought of being an adult.

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Out of all the places he visits in NYC, the two most notable ones are the Museum of Natural History and Central Park. The museum is an illusion of how Holden wishes the world was. In the novel, he says: “Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.” (Salinger 123).

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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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