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Examples Of Patriarchy In Catcher In The Rye

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Although much of the novel seems to support the patriarchy, there are moments in the text that are ideologically conflicted. These are times when Holden seems to recognize the workings of the patriarchy in the world around him. At one point in the novel he recognizes that a woman's worth is determined by her appearance: “Real ugly girls have it tough. I feel so sorry for them sometimes. Sometimes I cannot even look at them...” (Salinger 95). Holden feels sympathy for girls that are traditionally considered ugly because he realizes that no one, or man more specifically, will find any worth in them. This portrays the patriarchy in a negative way because it shows how the patriarchy can make women’s lives harder. Patriarchal men already have the …show more content…

Another moment when Holden recognizes the patriarchy is when he contemplates the future of random women he sees. He concludes that “most of them [will] probably marry dopey guys....Guys that get sore and childish...Guys that are very mean. Guys that never read books” (Salinger 137). Holden realizes that even though these women have their own individual life, yet the expectations of the patriarchy can force them to marry men because it is the proper thing to do, even if the man is a substandard, creating a negative situation for the women. Yet once again, Holden does nothing and worries very little about this. It was just a thought that passed through his mind and held no real importance to him, showing the huge influence, the patriarchy has on him. Furthermore, Holden also realizes the damaging impact the patriarchy can have of men who do not follow traditional gender roles. The men who are shown to be feminine in anyway or presumed to be homosexual are often given a negative image in the novel, however Holden realizes that this assumption may be wrong. When Holden stays at his old teacher’s house, he wakes up to find his teacher patting his head and watching him

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In J.D. Salinger “Catcher in the Rye” Holden says statements that catch the eye of some readers by the way he pays attention to her and loving

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As the book starts Holden describes his childhood and how he has been kicked out of several school and once more again from his currently school, giving a sense of irresponsibility and no care in the world. Holden later on mentioned slowly the loss of his brother due to leukemia and how he reacted outrageously by breaking the windows of his garage home. As a reader one would view that behavior as abnormal, but Peter Shaw descried it as a normal behavior for a fictional character in the 1950s and by mentioning that Holden, “is presenting in a somewhat different manner than are the sentimentalized young people in other novels if his period” (par. 3), admitting that Holden was somewhat of an outcast of a character even for its time he is still considered normal. Shaw also challenged the reader’s view of Holden by emphasizing that Holden is not a real person, but a fiction character developed in the 1950s and in fact a mad psychological character is normal and made the reading rather more interesting and acceptable during that time. As readers someone may come across as understanding Holden’s behavior due to a loss and everyone mourns differently and as Shaw said, “ the one period of life in which abnormal behavior is common rather than exceptional” (par.

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Catcher in the rye is a phrase that Holden misunderstands horribly. So another question that could be raised is his constant image issue. Also faced with his prostitute dilemma he refused to pay money to the Maurice, the pimp. Because he’s Holden he thinks he is invulnerable to everything. “Maurice said five, I told her…

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In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, there are minor characters such as Phoebe and Stradlater that resemble the different characteristics that Holden has, and this is presented through their relationships with him suchs the innocence and hope that Phoebe has and gives peace to Holden, and the corruption and falseness that Stradlater maintains while showing his “phoniness” which causes Holden anger, yet it shows his hypocrisy. While he does have a good side to his personality because he wants the best for the future of the younger kids and praises honesty as well as innocence, Holden also has a negative side to his character that shows his loss of hope and corruption through the use of his language and angry nature towards others and

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While the naivete of the aforementioned is seen as generally negative, Holden demonstrates something beautiful, a self-righteous innocence. To explain, Holden always says he becomes “excited” when he talks of his beliefs about sex and intimacy with every character he interacts with in the novel. His compass on what is right and what is wrong never seems to stagnate. This basic and self-righteous idea of how sacred sex and intimacy must have completely been brought about by his childhood and thus is full of childish beliefs. He wants his ideas to come to fruition and mentally criticizes people who do not believe or do what he thinks is right.

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This shows Holden is trying to cover up his own vulnerability about not wanting to grow up and instead masks it with immature comments of others to make himself feel younger and childlike. Another example of Holden's critical observations is when he and Jane are intruded on by her mother's husband asking where the cigarettes are. Holden has a very critical opinion of the man immediately. In Holden’s perspective, this man is who Holden believes he should be, and it intimidates him because Holden knows he does not want to be like this stereotypical man. Holden says, “I didn't know him too well or anything, but he looked like the kind of a guy that wouldn't talk to you much unless he wanted something off you.

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Holden’s failure to embrace the masculine stereotype is epitomized in his idealized and naive views on romance and sexulaity. When Holden enters the upscale Edmont Hotel and sees a young couple on a date, he remarks, “I think if you don't really like a girl, you shouldn't horse around with her at all …. It's really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes” (Salinger 70). Holden’s belief that a man should not engage in a casual relationship with a woman unless he truly loves her, stands in stark contrast to masculine standards which encourage and congratulate men’s sexual exploits. Holden’s asexual beliefs

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Holden lives in conformity doing things not because he wants to but because they’re the socially accepted. According to Freud’s theory this is because of Holden’s ego, stating, “ The ego operates according to the reality principle, the basis for operating in the world by taking into account what is practical and acceptable. The ego seeks to ways to satisfy the demands of the id without incurring social disapproval” (Nevid 470) Holden’s action do not represent his his true

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Holden throughout the book seeks comfort among a variety of women. He dreams of relieving his sexual desires for them, but is never able to complete it. His relationship with women are obscure. For example, when Holden agrees to having a fling with Sunny, a prostitute, he later on says, “...I don’t feel very much like myself tonight. I’ve had a rough night.

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Holden is victim to the desire of being someone he is not: a suave, sophisticated guy that gets all of the girls, a common stereotypical masculine portrayal in the movies that Holden claims to despise. Meanwhile, Holden also values staying

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In J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, the main protagonist, Holden, encounters a spectrum of characters throughout the book— many of whom are women. Holden shows varying attitudes towards these women, mainly because many of these characters are vastly different from the next. The women in the Catcher in the Rye are uniquely illustrated through an assortment of female characters in the book, such as: Phoebe, Sally Hayes, and the Nuns. These specific characters all have their own unique portrayals, and they all play important roles in presenting different themes and ideas, and revealing certain characteristics about Holden. Of these females characters, Phoebe is surely the closest one to Holden.

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The change of the characters that Holden meets from male to female transforms his thoughts and actions from chauvinistic and disrespectful to tolerable and respectful. This change proves the negative and repressive display of women that resonates throughout the novel. Holden cannot envision women on the same level as himself, which becomes evident as a simple change of gender reverses Holden’s entire perspective of the situation. When the characters he meets are female, he mulls over the best way to get them to kiss him or dance with him, but when the characters he meets are male, he consults with them about business and more intellectual ideas. Furthermore, his actions prove the recurring concepts of the repression and objectivization of women

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Holden is a virgin, and he is very uncomfortable with the idea of sex. He sees sex as something that is dirty and corrupting, and he is repelled by the idea of losing his virginity. Holden reveals that he has “had quite a few opportunities to lose [his] virginity and all,” but he “never got around to it yet” (Salinger 92). Holden claims to have had many chances to lose his virginity but his attitude towards sex reflects his desire to hold onto his innocence.

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Holden thinks of sex as "a spiritual experience" where he can 't do it with a girl "[he] don 't like a lot" (Salinger 162) (Salinger 163). He needs to be with a girl how he has feeling for, not just a random stranger. This shows he don 't take advantage of

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His lack of understanding of sex and relationships make him different from the rest of society. Holden tells the reader that "If you want to know the truth, I 'm a virgin. I really am. I 've had quite a few opportunities to lose my virginity and all, but I 've never got around to it yet. Something always happens" (92).

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