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Holden Caulfield Alienation

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The Rampart of Alienation ?
Improve; One regardless of varying strength or effectiveness wields some form of protection against threat; Threat itself manifesting in various forms. NEED TRANSITON In those, common ones include the use of weapons, violence, and death itself. In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher In the Rye one is a witness to Holden Caulfield's form of protection. As the novel proceeds Holden utse of alienation as means of protection . Holden, describing the world to be “phony” including those who reside in it. With very few not being. Holden portrays himself as an outcast and does so by using alienation as means to achieve it.
Alienation from friends-
In the very commencement of the novel, quite literally the first few pages Holden finds himself accompanied only by solitude on a windy hilltop stating; “Anyway, it was the Saturday of the football game. […] I remember around three o'clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill. […] You could see the whole field from there, and you could see the two teams bashing each other all over the place. […] You could hear them all yelling”(Salinger) He does not associate well with others. Distancing himself from social situation for afterwards inflict himself with remorse over the matter. For example, in (inset quote) …show more content…

A quandary, both internal and outward is symbolized as his hunting cap. Referencing it several times from when he first obtained in: to other less meaningful times such as when strolling down

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Holden Caulfield’s story begins on a December Saturday at Pencey Prep School in Pennsylvania, where he 's just been given the ax for failing all his classes except English. As it turns out, getting the ax is a frequent theme in Holden 's past. Before he leaves the school Holden runs to his favorite teacher’s house to say goodbye to him. Back in the dorm, Holden goofs around with Robert Ackley, a pimply and annoying kid. We 're introduced to Holden 's red hunting hat, and we meet his roommate, Stradlater, who is getting ready for a date with Jane Gallagher, an old friend and sort-of romantic interest of Holden 's. Holden is not happy about this impending date, but agrees anyway to write an English composition for Stradlater.

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697 Words | 3 Pages

In Chapter 9-14 Holden Caulfield leaves Penecy Prep and heads to New York City. Where he will stay for a couple days before winter vacation starts and he will head home. Delaying breaking the news to his family he got kicked out of school for as long as possible. These chapters are where Holden’s loneliness becomes abundantly clear. The reader is subjected to many long rants by Holden about the company he wants, though he attempts to settle several times.

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828 Words | 4 Pages

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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1217 Words | 5 Pages

His loneliness causes him to “trying to feel some kind of good-by. I mean I’ve left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don’t care if it’s a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it.

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917 Words | 4 Pages

My favorite sentence from this reading had to be, "The arms were in sad shape, because everybody was always sitting on them, but they were pretty comfortable chairs." (Salinger 18). In the short sentence, I furthermore get a glimpse of Holden's voice and personality, this time by seeing him contradict himself. He describes how sad looking and beat up the chair is, yet goes on to say how nice and comfortable it is. This to me is a very important clue to Holden's overall personality in regard to life.

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740 Words | 3 Pages

Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, is regarded throughout the book with many emotional and social issues. Holden is affected mentally from multiple past events and becomes very depressed, which leads to suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is a mental health condition that is triggered from past events that terrify the victim. Holden Caulfield suffers from PTSD because he experiences a horrifying past event that creates many symptoms similar to the PTSD symptoms. Allie dying from cancer, started affecting Holden’s emotions and actions throughout the book.

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975 Words | 4 Pages

The first way Holden represents an outcast, is that he refuses to mature and grow up. This is highlighted so many times in the story, it's basically one of it's themes. A

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1039 Words | 5 Pages

Alienation In The Catcher In The Rye In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, loneliness is the main topic of the book. The main character Holden Caulfield is an outsider from the beginning, which makes it easier for him to feel lonely. In the book he talks about the things leading up to him getting expelled from Pencey Prep, a private school, and the events that occur after. Holden Caulfield desperately wants human companionship but since he isn’t mature enough and he dislikes human interaction, he ends up being alone.

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917 Words | 4 Pages

In summary, Holden searches for people to belong to in order to feel a sense of peace and

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602 Words | 3 Pages

Gretchen Rubin once said, “Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they're big, flashing signs that something needs to change.” However, in The Catcher in the Rye there is no one who understands Holden’s loneliness, and Holden does not quite know how to express it. In his novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger develops the theme of loneliness through Holden’s need for human contact, suicidal thoughts, and his separation from others around him. One way J.D. Salinger expresses Holden’s loneliness is through his need for human contact.

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1400 Words | 6 Pages

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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1142 Words | 5 Pages

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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1436 Words | 6 Pages

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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1418 Words | 6 Pages

This describes Holden to-a-t, because of his alienation problem, his conflict with “phoniness” and his struggle of growing up and leaving his small problems behind him. Throughout the novel,

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664 Words | 3 Pages

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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