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Examples Of Sloth In Catcher In The Rye

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Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden, and the people he talks to, show signs of the Seven Deadly Sins continually through the novel; specifically sloth. Even though, Holden Caulfield, a teenage boy that does not apply himself, exhibited signs of sloth which is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Holden has attended three different schools in the past and was expelled from all three. The book began with Holden at a school in Pennsylvania, Pencey Prep, talking about his life and his roommate and the guy next door; Stradlater and Ackley. The reader found out Holden had been expelled from Pency when he talked about Christmas vacation. Holden was kicked out, “on account of I was flunking four subjects and not …show more content…

He had done this a few other times in the book, and it was usually because he was to lazy to go to a pay phone. Holden was an average teenage boy with inherently evil tendencies. Eventually, Holden went to see his little sister Phoebe, late at night, when his parents were out of the house. Holden and Phoebe ended up talking until his parents got home and, then he snuck back out of the house. A while later, Holden went to Phoebe's school, and while he was on the staircase, he saw swear words written on the wall and tried to wipe them off. Holden attempted to explain why, but stopped and remarked, “I can't explain … And even if I could, I'm not sure I'd feel like it” (Salinger 135). Again, Holden stoped saying something because he did not feel like it. Holden was lazy; he never finished what he tried to say. Holden may have been lazy, but just because he showed signs of sloth did not mean he was a bad person. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye By J.D. Salinger, Holden frequently provides examples of sloth; even the people he talked about throughout the novel showed signs of the Seven Deadly

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There are two reasons he is doing this, one being to make sure she feels unique and leads instead of follows and he feels that by giving her this it will prevent her from maturing. As he states towards the end of the book, he wishes he could be everyone's “Catcher in the Rye” and prevent them from falling off the cliff. The cliff being all the mistakes the children will make and Holden wants to stand on the edge and save all of them from falling off just as he did. Holden feels that the process of maturing is brutal and he wants his sister to cherish the moments she has while she is young.

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In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a peculiar character portrayed as a skeptic living in “a world of phonies” in circa 1950. These personality traits can be seen through his doubts of society as well as his way of thinking and acting toward others. He also demonstrates a lack of responsibility adding to his role as a slacker. Holden flunks out of school repeatedly and has no desire to confront his parents. He mopes around the city for days, delaying the inevitable punishments he’s sure to get.

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Holden’s main problem is he doesn’t have courage ( “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move.” ) Holden thinks that if he moves forward he is going to change and become impure. We as people all want to move forward but sometimes the people you are associated with are not helping you either. You can tell once he says “You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two

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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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You don't need water to feel like you're drowning do you ? That is a question that many people ask when they are going through many obstacles and can not seem to overcome their problems. The water is used to represent isolation, loneliness, and alienation. To be isolated, alienated, and lonely you can either push yourself away from people or someone is making you be alone. Suffering from these things you may have some issues that make you feel that way.

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Holden exhibits many of the physical symptoms of depression, such as changes in appetite, unexplained physical problems, and increased consumption of alcohol (Mayo Clinic). By the end of the novel, Holden experienced a complete nervous breakdown and displays many of the symptoms of depression. Once in the novel Holden mentions his thin physique while at a diner. He says, “I’m a very light eater… That’s why I’m so damn skinny,” (Salinger 120).

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He is constantly in denial and thinks that everything else is to blame for his own problems. Holden always has an excuse to justify his action. When he left his old school he said, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That’s all” (17). Holden is basically saying here that he left his old school not because he is not smart but it was because he could not stand the people there.

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Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual”. In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s lies become habitual throughout the book. Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy, who has been kicked out of several schools including, most recently, Pencey Prep. Holden’s younger brother, Allie, died when Holden was only thirteen and his older brother is too busy working for Hollywood to care about Holden. Although his mother cares immensely for him, Holden saddens her by failing academically.

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The Catcher in the Rye tells the story of Holden Caulfield who is a teenager growing up in the 1950’s in New York, has been expelled from school once again for poor achievement. In order to deal with his failure, Holden decides to leave school a few days before the end of the term and escapes to New York before returning to his home for the punishment. Written entirely in first person, the book describes Holden’s experiences and thoughts over the few days he takes for himself. During these few days Holden describes a nervous breakdown he experiences with symptoms of unexplained depression, impulsive spending, and unpredictable behavior. The strongest theme in The Catcher in the Rye is the main character Holden Caulfield 's fascination

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

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Holden is actually doing the complete opposite by getting kicked out and not getting the proper education. He actually managed to get kicked out of four schools, and does not care for what society thinks he should

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