More handpicked essays just for you.
Holden caulfield character analysis
J. d. salinger on " the catcher of the rye
Holden caulfield character analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
No matter how many adventures somebody goes on, some people just don't change. Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, is a good example of this. The Catcher in the Rye is a story written by J.D. Salinger. It was first published in 1951 by Little, Brown and Company. The story takes place in the years of 1948 or 1949, following three days in the life of a high school student named Holden Caulfield.
J.D. Salinger fully utilizes the literary device of symbolism in characterizing Holden Caulfield in the novel, Catcher in the Rye. Whether through a red hunting hat symbolizing a desire for individuality or ducks representing an escape from life’s challenges, Salinger conveys Holden’s struggles deftly, his traits elegantly, and his character development insightfully. Salinger takes one of Holden's most apparent qualities, his desire for uniqueness, and expresses it through his red hunting hat. Aside from being different through its garish red color, Salinger adds another layer of character through the way he shows Holden wearing it. "... I swung the old peak round to the back -very corny I'll admit, but I liked it that way."
22659 Mrs. Murawski American Lit Honors - Period 2 Sunday, December 14th, 2015 Influences of unreliability and reliability There is always that one friend that can never tell a story straight, There’s always loopholes, missing pieces and biases within the stories. These people are unreliable narrators. The unreliable narrators that we encounter day to day are ones that can’t be trusted. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has many influences that make him unreliable narrator throughout his journey in the story such as his profanity, his immaturity and the way he speaks the readers. To begin, Holden Caulfield in the story uses many different ways to express his feeling to us specifically in profanity.
Both Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Huckleberry Finn from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are the main protagonists of their respective texts. Both Caulfield and Huck undertake a journey in their text, in which the character learns from their experiences and meet new people, who alter their outlook on life. Both these characters are still not mature, and this is shown throughout the two books, but the boys have to mature soon, as they are becoming adults.
J.D. Salinger depicts his character, Holden Caulfield, as a young man with strong moral convictions. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden constantly comes face to face with situations that test the moral fiber of his character. Each time a challenge presents itself, he does what he feels to be decent and right. His respect for women and intimate relationships comes to light when he confronts his roommate, Stradlater, for disrespecting Jane, Stradlater 's date and Holden 's friend (56-59). He visits his sick professor because he respects the professor’s loyalty to his students (6).
The Catcher in the Rye In the novel The Catcher in the Rye J.D Salinger writes about a teenager struggling to find his place within the existence of the reality of others. Salinger creates shocking events that lay out the foundation of the the main character Holden Caulfield’s life in the novel. Salinger uses Holden’s characteristics throughout the novel such as Holden’s stubbornness to establish a much bigger theme in the book along with many other symbols.
“I like to be somewhere at least where you can see a few girls around once in a while, even if they’re only scratching their arms or blowing their noses or even just giggling or something” (3). The narrator, Holden Caulfield, describes an aspect of his character through this confession. Obviously, he is interested in girls and desires them at all times. During the 1950s when this novel was published, having such desires would not have been approved of by the parents of the time due to the increasing social pressures of society. A majority of these adults would have considered Caulfield a terrible role model and would not have wanted the youth to read about him wanting to look at girls.
When attempting to comprehend an adolescent such as Holden Caulfield, one must always consider how he is a high born, lost, confused and an immature young man. That explains why his bewildered perception of women is greatly targeted and expressed throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye. J.D salinger, the author of the book, exemplified tremendous effort to objectify most women in the text. This created vast controversy between societies outlook on women in the book versus Holden’s perception of them.
In Tthe ‘Catcher In The Rye’, J.D. Salinger portrays a fascinating and intriguing adolescent misfit character with great depth named Holden Caulfield. What is a misfit exactly? A misfit is a person that is not suited or is unable to adjust to the circumstances of his or her particular situation. Holden is a misfit because of his alienation problem, his conflict with ‘phoniness’ and his struggle growing up.
Why Holden Caulfield is Such a memorable Character Holden Caulfield may have a rough outlook on life but there are many things in his life that are dear to him. Holden’s red hunting hat, his sister Phoebe and the Museum of Natural History are some major examples. There are a couple of other things that meant a lot to him like the ducks in the park, his deceased brother Allie, and Jane Gallagher. These things not only help the reader get an understanding of what kind of person Holden Caulfield is but they also show how Holden can be such a memorable character.
Holden Caulfield Is Mental Roughly three percent of the United States population, approximately 314,341,830 people, suffers from bipolar disorder. Holden Caulfield, from Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, has bipolar II disorder. This particular disorder is when an individual displays two extreme demeanors, yet not at persistent levels as shown in bipolar I disorders. This novel was written during an era that did not acknowledge mental illness very often; therefore Holden did not have the tools at his disposal to learn healthy coping mechanisms.
Holden confidently shares his opinions and goals. In Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the protagonist, Holden Claufield,
Holden’s Struggle To Find Himself: Throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to find himself and who he truly is in order to be happy. His struggles relate to many things that he does or say in particular. Holden lacks with a social status with women and his family, whether it’s a relationship or being antisocial. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the complexities and struggles involved with both physical and emotional relationships.
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.
