ipl-logo

Examples Of Grief In Catcher In The Rye

937 Words4 Pages

Erick Costilla
Mrs. Maggert
8th hour
3 November, 2016 [01 month 2016]
The G grief of Holden Caulfield

In J.D. Salinger's “The Catcher in the Rye” [book titles always get italicized, not underlined or quote marks] he discusses the lonely and confused life of holden caulfield. Capitalization errors. It was also the process in which Holden grieves about the death of his brother. Although not the whole book was about his brother's death, it plays a big role on Holden's part because of the effects of Holden's grief over the death of his brother, Allie, and how he needs to get some kind of closure or find a way to move on and live his life. After Holden's brother died, Holden has showed his grief in many ways. He has not been himself to other …show more content…

“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. (Salinger, 224)” This quote is very see things to leave out of your paper handout significant in his grieving process because it deals with Holden's relationship with his brother and the denial of him growing up. Past the cliff refers the adult world and this means he wants to “catch” all the kids from growing up. By “catching” them he means stopping. He doesn't want kids growing up because he fears they lose their innocence because Holden is scared of growing up for two reasons. One reason is Allie's death as a child and another would be the fear that all children lose their innocence in the adult world. Two important stages of grief play in this quote which are denial and depression. First off he wants to protect children by “catching” them from falling into the adult world, but he is in denial because he is on his way on becoming an adult. This has forced him to be more stressed and it's being hard on him because he will be left into a depression. What is really hard for him to understand is that he has to change, that everyone has to grow up sometime because it's apart of life. He has yet to figure out that no matter how much he denies growing up, he can't escape the cycle of

Show More
Related

Holden Caulfield Grief Essay

1118 Words | 5 Pages

Arrested development works in more than one fashion for Holden Caulfield, as not only does he desperately cling to the past, but his five stages of grief are similarly slowly processed—namely denial. J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye follows Holden as he adapts to life alone in the city, and is forced to deal with the consequences of living in the real world. After projecting his issues onto others throughout the novel, only by accepting his own shortcomings does Holden finally start taking steps towards changing his life for the better. Holden’s little brother, Allie, passed away some years before the story takes place, and is one of the biggest factors in his refusal to let go of the past.

Read More

Analyzing The Conscious Mind Of Holden Caulfield

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.

Read More

How Does Holden Mature In To Kill A Mockingbird

893 Words | 4 Pages

Holden’s answer was, “‘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--I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye(191). Holden wanting to be the catcher in the rye is a good dream to have but it is also an immature dream because he cannot catch everybody that falls off the cliff, which can also be seen as trying to save the children's innocence.

Read More

Catcher In The Rye Innocence Essay

643 Words | 3 Pages

And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody... that 's the only thing I’d really like to be” (224). Holden believes his purpose is to save those who are pure and innocent before they can mature. These lines reveal the unattainable goal Holden has set for himself.

Read More

Mental Illness Seen In Holden Caulfield

496 Words | 2 Pages

PREWRITING Taylor Owen Research Paper Mr Williams 5/15/23 Mental Illness Seen in Holden Caulfield: The Catcher in the Rye Analysis Holden Caulfield’s thoughts and behavior in “The Catcher in the Rye” exemplify symptoms commonly associated with depression, anxiety and PTSD. Firstly, he struggles with an intense feeling of sadness and loss, indicating feelings of depression. Holden also frequently worries about his future and the uncertainties of life, which can be seen as symptoms of anxiety. Additionally, his experiences with death, specifically the passing of his younger brother, Allie, and witnessing a suicide, contribute to the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder .

Read More

Examples Of Change In Catcher In The Rye

1022 Words | 5 Pages

Meanwhile, Holden is still stuck in the past. The change that is occuring in his life is affecting his current emotions and his ability to move forward. When forced with abrupt, unforeseen change, people desire to hold onto the familiar. Salinger uses the death of Holden 's family and friends to show the tragic change that he has to deal with.

Read More

Examples Of Teenage Grief In Catcher In The Rye

318 Words | 2 Pages

In according to the evidence and analysis, I have determined Holden Caulfield as a patient suffering from teen grief. Holden portrays the symptoms of teen grief such as depression, feelings of emptiness, and irritability. It is most common in individuals with teen grief to have it acquired through a traumatic period in their life. Holden is greatly affected by the death of his younger brother which is the main cause for his prolonged sadness. His lack of well being and emptiness are due to the fact that he is grieving over his lost.

Read More

What Are The Causes Of Holden's Mental Breakdown

2021 Words | 9 Pages

This is most likely because Holden wants to continue living in the past when his brother was alive. Several occasions in the novel Holden expresses the feeling that he is responsible for protecting the innocence of children since he was unable to save Allie. The title of The Catcher in the Rye reflects this responsibility since when Holden is talking to his sister, he says, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing… And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff… I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff,” (Salinger 191). To Holden, falling of the cliff represents the shattering of a child’s innocence, and Holden feels like he has to stop children from growing up.

Read More

What Are The Effects Of Holden Dying

851 Words | 4 Pages

When Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to be when he is older, he says, “Thousands of little kids... What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and don’t look where they’re going…I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.” (173) Holden states that he wants to stand in the rye, and catch kids all day if they happen to run over the cliff. Keeping children sae is very important to him because he does not want to experience the death of a young child again, since it will bring back the sadness of Allie dying. Furthermore, the two people closest to Holden are both children, Phoebe and the late Allie.

Read More

Examples Of Grief In Catcher In The Rye

1778 Words | 8 Pages

In this novel the main character Holden Caulfield lost his younger brother, Allie, to cancer which we learn about in the beginning chapters. We continually hear Holden’s point of view of his brother and not only how he is handling his death but how it is still affecting Holden’s everyday life. Holden exhibits his grief in various ways as a way of attempting to reach

Read More

Catcher In The Rye Grief Analysis

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.

Read More

What Are Holden's Struggles In Catcher In The Rye

858 Words | 4 Pages

This means that he wants to protect children from the nasty adult world, and to protect their innocence. " What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they 're running and they don 't look where they 're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That 's all I 'd do all day. I 'd just be the catcher in the rye and all " (p.156).From this quote you can see, this is what his purpose is. Due to alienating himself, he finds out that he want to help kids and protect them because they are the only real people in the world according to Holden.

Read More

Holden's Loss Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

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

Read More

Catcher In The Rye Holden's Struggles Essay

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.

Read More

How Does Holden Caulfield Change Throughout The Novel

693 Words | 3 Pages

Catcher in the Rye In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the narrator and protagonist Holden Caulfield a sixteen year old junior undergoes a series of changes. Holden learns multiple life changing lessons; one of them is you must grow up. In the beginning of the novel, Holden starts out as “that kid”; the one with the parents who expect him to get into an ivy league school, and end up with a kid with no intentions of doing so. At the beginning of the book it is very apparent that Holden lacks motivation; he also has hit rock bottom.

Read More

More about Examples Of Grief In Catcher In The Rye

Related Topics

Open Document