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Holden Caulfield Character Analysis

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As Edward Morrow says, “To be persuasive we must be believable, to be believable we must be credible, to be credible we must be truthful.” This quote perfectly presents how a person has to be believable in order for people to trust and relate to him/her. This person is someone that has weaknesses, is not a stereotype, expresses his opinions, and has hopes, fears and disappointments. Usually, authors try to write about believable characters in their stories, allowing the readers to connect with them. Holden Claufield is a quintessence of this type of character, since he has the exact same qualities as a believable person. Holden confidently shares his opinions and goals. In Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the protagonist, Holden Claufield, …show more content…

Holden is only a typical rebellious teenager that wants to be an adult; therefore, he expresses himself through a unique language in the story. Holden uses vulgar language to express his opinions on everything and everyone. “I didn 't even bother to get up. I just lay there in the floor for a while, and kept calling him a moron sonuvabitch. I was so mad, I was practically bawling.” (51) In this quote, Holden keeps calling someone a moron and a sonuvabitch, proving that Holden uses inadequate words. Normal adolescents use similar vulgar slangs to communicate and refer to other people. In addition, teenagers enjoy fooling people, and Holden is no exception. He constantly deceives people by lying about his age and name. "May I ask your name, dear? Rudolf Schmidt, I told her. I didn 't feel like giving her my whole life history. Rudolf Schmidt was the name of the janitor of our dorm.” (61) This quote provides a perfect example of when Holden lies to an adult about his name. Holden deceives a woman in a train by telling her that his name is Rudolf Schmidt, which is the name of his school’s janitor. In this case, Holden lies for the following two reasons: he feels ashamed of himself and to mess with the woman in the train. Many teenagers lie for the same reasons. Holden reveals his thoughts and deceives people through inadequate language, just as a regular

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In the books The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby the main characters are phony. Yet, one is phonier than the other and that is Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield is the phoniest because he lies about his name, he’s an hypocrite judges people for things he does as well, and he lied about his age so that he could drink alcohol. By way of example, Holden is a character in the book The Catcher in the Rye. Indeed, Holden was suffering and grieving from his brother’s death.

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Since Holden likes to blow through money, but makes fun of his brother for earning it, it makes Holden a hypocrite. As should be obvious, Holden is indeed a hypocrite. There are many examples that portray him as such. Holden spends money while criticizing people for earning it, complains about Ackley staying in his room but Holden stays in Ackley’s room, and calling himself the most terrific liar he ever met but spends most of his time making fun of other phonies. In conclusion, Holden is an immature young teenager who cannot live up to even his own

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Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye we see Holden struggling to make connections with many different people and Phoebe being the only person he really trusts. The book shows us in a couple different ways how much of a problem recognizing uniqueness really is for him through Holden's attitude about people, his values for only true friendships, and his system to cope with rejection from others. Holden's attitude towards the way he thinks people really are is very prominent in the book. He uses the word phony countless times as a way of describing a person. Anytime anyone tries to have a conversations with someone he blocks them out because he feels as though they are just liars who are bragging about things that aren't even

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Holden has been conditioned by society to acquire mannerisms such as drinking, smoking, rebellion and lewdness. His vulgarity is the only way he feels he can gain attention to both his opinions and beliefs. This is demonstrated when he admits to smoking in school. He does this in order to rebel against school rules, as well as, to challenge the jurisdiction of Stradlater. The purpose of challenging Stradlater is to have him admit to what really happened on his date with Jane.

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Holden is unaware of his problem. When people try to help him he tells them there is nothing wrong with him. Holden wonders why he cannot connect with others. He blames it on other people when the source of his problems is himself. Holden’s past holds him back from connecting with others, but his fear of letting go of his past has him limited and scarred from making new relationships and connections.

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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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Holden is a very judgemental and immature character and often has vulgar language. Holden often criticizes everyone he comes in contact with and does not try to comprehend the mindset they may have. His childish nature and vocabulary are what make most of his comments laughable. “It was funny. You could tell the waiter didn’t like her much, you could tell even the Navy guy didn’t like her much, even though he was dating her.

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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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Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the

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I was already sort of sorry I 'd let the thing start rolling, but it was too late now” (Salinger 19). This quote goes to show that Holden is trying to be a different person. He normally would accept a night with an escort but as stated in the quote he was so depressed he couldn 't even think about his decisions. A later quote shows that he doesn 't even use his real name he uses the name “Jim Steele”.

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Although Holden is a very intelligent character he finds the hypocrisy and ugliness in the world around him and quickly associates it with the adult world. Holden is a very introverted character who hesitates throughout the book to share information about his life . J.D Salinger makes sure to portray Holden that way to

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Throughout the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a deep character that shows(possesses) many personality traits. His character is what connects many readers to him and helps in understanding him. Some character traits Holden possesses are that he is generous, kindhearted, usually honest, very intelligent, makes quick judgements, speaks his mind, is anxious about change, and likes kids. Considering his many character traits, it is easy for the reader to understand and relate to Holden. There are many character traits that I share with him.

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