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What personal struggles does holden face in the book the catcher in the rye
Catcher in the rye holden's view of people
What personal struggles does holden face in the book the catcher in the rye
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Holden Caulfield internally rebels against society, choosing to value his own defiant, unorthodox judgment over the authority figures and institutions in his life. He describes nearly everyone in society as hypocritical and “phony,” and constantly points out people’s flaws. In the environment of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a social outcast, since he detests the phonies and refuses to engage in their pretentious behavior. Salinger demonstrates these people do not act according to their true personalities, and instead try to change their behavior to conform to social expectations. Furthermore, Holden observes that many continually focus on money and celebrities, leaving no room for any positive emotions or genuine connections.
Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye we see Holden struggling to make connections with many different people and Phoebe being the only person he really trusts. The book shows us in a couple different ways how much of a problem recognizing uniqueness really is for him through Holden's attitude about people, his values for only true friendships, and his system to cope with rejection from others. Holden's attitude towards the way he thinks people really are is very prominent in the book. He uses the word phony countless times as a way of describing a person. Anytime anyone tries to have a conversations with someone he blocks them out because he feels as though they are just liars who are bragging about things that aren't even
In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, the protagonist Holden Caulfield demonstrates his unusual behaviour. The narrator introduces the story of an emotionally damaged teenager whose suspicions and personal issues prevent him from being “normal” in a society full of phonies that he does not seem to get along with. It becomes clear that Holden has clouded judgement as he rides an emotional rollercoaster of mood swings with the people he likes, and dislikes. Therefore, it becomes obvious that some of his personal flaws include his distrust, depression, and unreasonable attitudes and thoughts are based on his underlying emotional problems. Holden Caulfield has a variety psychological problems, such as his skepticism, depressive behaviour, and
“What I liked about her, she didn't give you a lot of horse manure about what a great guy her father was. She probably knew what a phony slob he was.” (Salinger 3) Throughout the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a sixteen-year-old boy living in a world full of ‘a bunch of phonies’. As he feels a lingering sense of loss over his life; he does not want to grow and be a complicated adult, acting like everyone else.
In more depth, this quotes shows his need to save children like his sister phoebe or his dead brother Allie from losing their childhood innocence and becoming adults which he believes are all phonies. In reality, Holden is one person so he can not be the catcher in the rye; despite that he keeps trying to be till he reaches a loin where he is truly lost in touch with reality and blinded. He does however realize that in the back of his mind, which is what leads him on such a destructive path of competing with himself constantly on meeting the idea he believes he is. He does this by drinking, smoking, becoming involved in fights and even attempting to have meaninglessness sexual encounters. However in the end he comes to the realization that he can not be the catcher in the rye despite what he’s done, and what triggers this realization for him is when he sees the word “Fuck you” on the walls of phoebe’s school.
While reading this book, one may notice that the main character Holden calls almost every character that we meet phonies. Never once in the book did Holden call himself a phony. The word phony was used 48 times throughout this entire novel making it one of the top 5 words used in this book. The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger. This book is narrated by the main character Holden Caulfield.
Holden’s obsession stems from his fear that he may become a phony one day. So, he spends the book running from adulthood by doing childish things and struggling to keep his life from changing. We see Holden’s fear of phonies shine throughout The Catcher in the Rye. Why does he have this fear?
Sixteen-year-old, Holden Caulfield, describes majority of people in the novel, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, phony. During my High School years, although I was tremendously social, I decided to join in on home studies to keep distance from the students. Although I didn’t consider literally everyone phonies, I consider majority and it’s similar to as Holden states, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That’ all” (Pg. 19).
It might be said that a sweet lie can be better than the cold truth; however, it may be argued that honesty is a better feeling than the experience of believing a lie. Holden, the main character of the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, experiences similar attitudes towards the world of phonies that exists around him. Holden despises the phoniness of encountered characters, but he is not aware, ironically, of his own untruthfulness. This struggle to be self aware creates an ongoing conflict between what Holden believes and how he acts. Holden withholds his truths from the world, yet he seeks for truth from others, portraying a positive and negative perspective of the truth.
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.
In the beginning of the novel Salinger portrays Holden as a antisocial person who is often seen alone and describes the world as a “ world full of phonies” one example of this is at the beginning of the book wherein the
He is triggered to call his own acquaintances phony for even the most minor of misdemeanors. For example, when he talks to his favorite teacher, Mr. Spencer, he criticizes his word choice. Holden says, “Grand. There’s a word I really hate. It’s a phony.
Discoveries are often significant as they challenge the individual to reconsider what they previously believed in order to theorise about their world and make new connections surrounding themselves and others, such reevaluation can often lead to the development of a greater understanding regarding morality. This concept is exemplified through J.D Salinger’s ‘Catcher in the Rye’, were a young teenager, Holden Caulfield is constantly reaffirming his passion for preserving the innocence of the youth from “phonies”. The value that he places on morality is illustrated by his persistent quest to stop transgression. However, Holden does not realise he is a phony himself, “Her son was doubtless the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey... "
Holden describes phonies all throughout the book, he keeps calling out people for being fake. " The waiter was waiting for her to move out of the way, but she didn 't even notice him. It was funny. You could tell the waiter didn 't like her much you could tell even the Navy guy didn 't like her much even though he was dating her. And I didn 't like her much.
Usually considered a controversial novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger can often express the feelings of being an outcast and the desire to find a meaning in the world. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel, though often complains of the phoniness of the world around him, has a way of creating a deeper meaning within the readers. While the truth may be that Salinger purposely set the story in such a way that the readers will be able to connect with Holden, not often do readers find it easy to do so. While Holden believes that everything around him are wicked and phony, there is part of him trying to protect the innocence of those not corrupted by such phoniness. Although Holden wants to protect and save the innocence of children, can he really do so if cannot protect himself and trust those around him.
