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Holden And The Perks Of Being A Wallflower In Catcher In The Rye

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“Adolescence is the conjugator of childhood and adulthood” by Louise J. Kaplan. Holden and Charlie both live in a risky time of adolescence and are attempting to make better sense of the world around them. The existence of adolescence in the Catcher in the Rye and the perks of being a wallflower are constructed through the examination of innocence, phoniness, and isolation. Firstly, the Catcher in the Rye and the perks of being a wallflower demonstrates Holden’s and Charlie’s innocence throughout the novels. Innocence in the Catcher in the Rye is shown when Holden explains his idea of the Catcher in the Rye more fully, it's revealed to be his vision of a protecting field of innocence where Holden is the guardian stopping kids as …show more content…

Holden lacks matureness to understand losing innocence is a part of growing up. This is shown when Holden says “Anyway, 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… I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.” (Salinger 173) This symbolizes how Holden would like to catch children before they fall like he did, before adulthood corrupted him. In this metaphor, he envisions a field of rye standing by a cliff. Children play in the field and if they come too close to the edge of the cliff, Holden is there to catch them. Holden Caulfield wants to preserve the innocence of children, this is very important to him. Another example of innocence in the Catcher in the Rye is when Holden notices a “fuck you” scratched on the wall, this proves that the innocent world of children has already been infected by the profanities of the adult world. This is shown when Holden says “But while I was sitting down, I saw something …show more content…

Isolation in the Catcher in the Rye is shown when Holden says “Anyway, it was the Saturday of the football game with Saxon Hall…It was the last game of the year, and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win.” (Salinger 2) in this quote Holden could not care less about the game from the way Holden is describing the game. Right from the beginning Holden shows his isolation through his lack of attendance at the biggest game of the year. This just emphasizes his lack of belonging. It is clear that Holden is not like the other students at Pencey. Instead of attending a social gathering, he was off by himself. He does not seem to grasp the idea of spending time with others who he should want to connect to but instead he considers them as "phonies". Another example of isolation in the Catcher in the Rye is when Holden says “The first thing I did when I got off at Penn Station, I went into this phone booth. I felt like giving somebody a buzz. I left my bags right outside the booth so that I could watch them, but as soon as I was inside, I couldn't think of anybody to call up." (Salinger 59) Following this quote Holden lists four people whom he could call, his brother D.B, his little sister Phoebe, Jane Gallagher, and Sally Hayes. But despite being able to call anyone of

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Catcher in the Rye is the recounting of the weekend after the main character gets expelled for the umpteenth time from another uppity private school. The name of the main character, "Holden Caulfield," can be broken down in such a way that it reveals the character in question's tendency to hold onto and protect happier memories and childhood innocence from this big, unfair, scary game we call life, without realizing that he would be stunting the growth of those whom he is protecting. The character's first name, "Holden", can be interpreted as a pun for how he wants to "hold on" to better times. Throughout the story, Holden speaks fondly about his childhood summer memories, talking about when he used to play checkers with Jane Gallagher (p.17), or when he, his younger siblings, Phoebe and Allie, went to the park every Sunday (p. 37) to play, and often brushes the more serious moments he has experienced off, instead of going on a tangent like he usually does (p.21).

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Holden is the “Catcher in the Rye” to catch the children from falling off a cliff, which signifies the loss of their innocence. He didn’t want to become an adolescent, he wants to defend other children, so that they don’t lose their innocence. Also, if Holden was an actual person he would be able to fit at any high school today. For example, when Holden says “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 … mean, if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them.

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Was Holden successful in his Journey This is an essay on whether or not Holden Caulfield is successful on his journey throughout the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by Jerome David Salinger. This book shows how hard it can be for teenagers that are going from an adolescent to adulthood. Holden, who is sixteen years old, has been kicked out of several schools. Pencey Prep. was the latest.

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In many ways The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and “The Perks of being a Wallflower” movie face similar circumstances coping with the loss of innocence. Main characters Holden and Charlie both emerge the hardship of dealing with maturity as well as irresistible growth to adulthood. However, they have unlike perspectives on their innocence, disparate relationships with the society, and their process of moving from ignorance to knowledge. Although “Catcher in the rye” and “The perks of being a wallflower” both emphasize the importance of loss innocence, there are still very little in common. Both with an age of sixteen, Holden and Charlie come to a stage of dealing with maturity in different perspectives.

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In the beginning of the novel, Holden demonstrates a clear desire to preserve childhood innocence. When conversing with Phoebe about his future plans, Holden responds, “Anyway, 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, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (Salinger 173).

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The Catcher in the Rye is a novel that was written by J. D. Salinger in 1951. It was first published by Little, Brown and Company and was originally written for adults, but became popular among teenagers for its teenage main character, who deals with problems a large number of adolescents face in their transition into adulthood. It is not a difficult book to read, especially considering it is only 234 pages. The story revolves around the protagonist, a 16 year old boy named Holden Caulfield, who recently flunked out of a prestigious preparatory school.

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The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger in 1951, is the story of an angst-ridden sixteen year old Holden Caulfield as he learns to deal with growing up. The story follows Holden through his three day experience through New York as he learns about the truth about innocence, sex, and mortality, making The Catcher in the Rye one of America’s most notable coming-of-age stories. One of the largest influences on Holden’s life was his younger brother Allie who died from leukemia at age eleven when Holden was thirteen. The death of Holden’s brother had a profound effect on Holden emotional state, which eventually caused his complete mental breakdown by the end of the novel.

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Purpose: To show how a small change in choice could affect holden’s life The Catcher in the Rye is about Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy from New York. The novel starts with Holden, writing in his book, hinting that he is in some sort of mental facility .Even though he comes from a wealthy family,because of his loss of interest in studies,and low grades, he gets expelled from all schools he has studied in .Holden leaves his final school, Pency Prep and decides that he will stay in New York City until his parents learn of his expulsion and “cool down” .Most of the novel is dedicated to Holden’s time in the city, Holden lives in a hotel room for a few days during his stay .Holden then starts meeting with people that he used know, some strangers and goes to places with. From his conversations, he

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Adulthood is when we mature into a person that continues to live life in reality as we let our childhood and adolescence become a faint memory. The memories, however, taught us lessons of acceptance as we cannot always shape the future. Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye takes a journey through the rite of passage by experiencing the innocence of youth and the phoniness of adulthood.

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Holden attempts to assert himself above everybody else in society and essentially portrays that he is better than everyone. Isolation is a major characteristic in Gothic writing because it forces the audience to solely focus on the protagonists and his everyday struggles with fitting into society. Holden isolates himself from everyone by the judgment he places on people in society. This isolation correlates to him immaturity and the reason he doesn't connect with anyone. When Holden comes out of the theater and sees the phonies in the mist, he states, “At the end of the first act we went out with all the other jerks for a cigarette.

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In Holden 's journey, he becomes more and more isolated from the world throughout the book. He isolates himself by choosing to not interact or go out with people. And further, when he does, he only ends up doing things that ruin the interaction with others, and makes himself become more isolated. Holden tries, but is always rejected and unsuccessful with his attempts.

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Alienation as Self-Protection in The Catcher in the Rye Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, there are many themes, motifs and symbols that emerge and develop along with Holden, the protagonist, and the plot. Though the most significant theme is alienation as means for self-protection. In many instances, Holden isolates and alienates himself from his peers and the world in order to protect his morals and his self-imposed superiority. The first evidence of this alienation occurs when Holden speaks to his history teacher, Mr. Spencer. While talking about Mr. Thurmer’s lecture, Holden begins to ponder the “right side”, stating “if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s the game about?”

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Holden’s unusual fantasy metaphorically displays this desire to save children’s innocence on his quest, and literally displays his obsession with death and preventing it, as being the catcher in the rye would accomplish both goals. F. Literary Critics also note that Holden’s catcher in the rye job is a dream of his that he pretends to be a reality to hide the fact that he secretly knows that he is unable to save the innocence of all children. G. Authors James E. Miller jr, and Arthur Heiserman explicitly state that, “Holden delights in circles – a comforting bounded figure which yet connotes hopelessness” (Miller, Heiserman 496). H. The “comforting bounded figure” is Holden’s catcher fantasy that he literally uses to comfort himself against the reality he refuses to believe because it “connotes hopelessness” and he is still too innocent and naïve to accept that. I. Holden possesses this dream as a weak attempt to save the innocence of children and to avoid a hopeless reality of defeat he has yet to accept.

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He has trouble growing up and accepting life as it is. Holden thinks adults are "phony" which makes him hate the fact of growing up and staying innocent as much as he can while he is old enough to become an adult. He is frustrated with the world and people which makes him act with anger. His innocent childish dream is to be the Catcher in the Rye, to catch the kids before they become phonies like Holden says about adults. The moment he realizes that he cannot keep kids from falling or in other words, from growing up and becoming adults, he, reaches adulthood, and takes a big step towards it at the end of the novel.

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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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