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Examples Of Religion In Catcher In The Rye

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In CATCHER IN THE RYE by J. D. Salinger, Holden reflects on his thoughts about religion, exposing his distaste especially for the disciples. Holden thinks about Allie's death in this instance, too, as he reflects on Christianity. This quotation is styled in the form of Holden's opinion, which is spoken in vernacular diction. The Disciples of the Bible seem to be trustworthy, ideal citizens. However, Holden believes that they cannot be trusted, even though they are from the Bible and have been with Jesus. This is the case since he deems many people are phonies, and he has no reason to trust them. Like the many phonies he has observed, these Disciples may prove to be different people than they seem. Holden relates his opinion on the religious disciples with the greater …show more content…

In the novel CATCHER IN THE RYE by J. D. Salinger, Phoebe causes Holden to think about his future, which prompts him to compare it to a game in a field of rye. After Holden returns home from Pencey, Phoebe talks to Holden, and he dreams about himself protecting the kids when they "start to go over the cliff". Holden's connection of his life with the rye field is a parallel to the theme of childhood and innocence. The "thousands of little kids" playing in the field represent the joys and innocence of being a kid. However, as the kids grow up, they start to get closer to the edge of the cliff, and risk falling into the abyss of adulthood. Holden is on the edge of the cliff himself, as he transitions from his teenage years to an adult. He does not like the corruption of many adults, which he calls phonies. Because of this, Holden acts as a savior on the metaphorical field of rye. As kids start to veer off into the direction of being a phony adult, Holden "[has] to come out from somewhere and catch them". Holden still wants to hold on to his jubilant past as a child, but as he gets closer to the edge of becoming an adult, the best thing he can do is to help others stay free from becoming a phony

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464 Words | 2 Pages

The attraction to these women is troubling to Holden because he is convinced that non-serious sex is wrong and he is disturbed with himself for being attracted to the women in the Lavender room and when he arranges a date with Sally. Through the book he is troubled because he repeatedly comments on the “stupidity” of Sally and the lack of attractiveness of other women. He also believes that he has to help children hold on to their innocence. He describes himself as the catcher in the rye who has to catch children from falling off of a hypothetical cliff that symbolizes the loss of innocence. He attempts to save the children and keep them in their innocence but he is never able to save all of them or even

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707 Words | 3 Pages

This mentality is constantly expressed in all aspects of his life. When Holden’s sister Phoebe asks what he wants to be, he answers, “You know that song ‘If a body catch a body comin’ through the rye?’... I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. What I have to do, I have to catch anybody if they start to go over the cliff... I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be” (Salinger 174).

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1039 Words | 5 Pages

“ 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 and I 'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do 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 do all day I just be the catcher in the rye and all…”(Salinger 173). Holden doesn’t want to grow up, and he doesn’t want anyone else to grow up.

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1145 Words | 5 Pages

In The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger through the character Holden show the readers that at one point, everyone has to go through the journey of innocence. Holden is a seventeen year old teenager who loses his innocence along with the death of his endearing brother and draws a conclusion that losing innocence is harmful. His own journey of innocence consists of him losing innocence, then trying to protect others from losing innocence, and finally realizing that losing innocence is not damaging as he imagined it to be. Therefore, through his journey, J. D. Salinger proves that although losing innocence is damaging and can break a person, it is not as damaging as trying to protect one’s innocence because it is unrealistic.

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609 Words | 3 Pages

Holden has grown out of the innocence of his childhood. Holden often finds his happiness from children as he states, “I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy but that's the only thing I'd really like to be”(Salinger, 191). What Holden means, is that he would save all the children from falling off of the cliff, which represents adulthood, preserving their innocence. Holden likes the

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478 Words | 2 Pages

Holden's internal struggle with his faith and spirituality is highlighted in Chapter 16. “Losing my Religion” is the perfect song for this chapter. Here we saw Holden having trouble finding any real reason to believe in religion or God. In the song we hear the artist metaphorically Losing his Religion, or rather losing his trust in his beliefs. We see these characters questioning their beliefs, both in extreme states of doubt and uncertainty.

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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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613 Words | 3 Pages

Multiple times throughout the book Holden shows that he’s a hypocrite

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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.

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1107 Words | 5 Pages

The effects of Holden constantly isolating himself can be seen especially through his improper speech and how he speaks to others. For example in chapter two Holden says “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies (pg 14).” In this Holden is exhibiting his poor vocabulary and shows how he does not put thought into the things he says. When he uses the word phonies to describe the boys at Elkton Hills in reality he means he thinks they are boys whom he is not friends with and does not like. In many other cases Holden appears to immediately result to the word phony when describing something or someone he does not like.

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364 Words | 2 Pages

Close Reading and Observations of Religion in Catcher of the Rye Holden’s view of religion fluctuates throughout the novel, though he mostly viewed it negative Holden doesn’t seem to hate idea of religion- he just hates how people seem to manipulated (take Ossenburger who uses religion to benefit his image and the big showy Christmas) celebrations that Holden saw in the park) the only good part of religion that he likes is Jesus- in fact he talks extremely fondly of him believes firmly that Judas never went to hell outwardly atheist I think he relates to Jesus so much because in a way, Holden is like Jesus; he feels like he has to sacrifice himself to save the innocence of children Holden isn’t really assertive whenever he says that he’s atheist- he

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953 Words | 4 Pages

Yet, he cannot pray because he is “sort of an atheist” (Salinger 99). Holden admires Jesus, but the Disciples annoy him (Salinger 99). Holden admires Jesus because of his leadership, yet dislikes the Disciples because they were followers. His parents disagree when it comes to religion, therefore none of his siblings attended church. Holden did not have a belief system

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668 Words | 3 Pages

Holden has a “Me vs the World” mentality against anyone that succeeds causing him to push people out of his

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1381 Words | 6 Pages

Residing in the jungles of Madagascar, the Aye-aye is a very unique creature in the Animalia kingdom and is the only member of its family classification. Since the Aye-aye has such a unique physique, it was originally classified as a rodent, but is now considered a to be a specialized lemur. Once thought to be extinct, the Aye-Aye is now being more adequately studied but researchers, biologists, and scientists alike. The Aye-Aye is a unique species of Lemur dwelling in the rainforests of Madagascar. Originally thought to be a large species of Squirrel, The Aye-Aye is the largest nocturnal primate in the world.

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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.

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