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Holden Caulfield Inevitable Memory

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Recommended: A catcher in the rye characterization of holden

Holden Caulfield’s constant questioning of the ducks at the pond, a recurring motif in The Catcher in the Rye, a novel by J.D. Salinger, gives a clue as to what is inside Holden’s mind. But many commonly perceive this clue, as a clue that Holden is trying to stay away from adulthood and its obligations. Throughout many parts of the novel, this perception that Holden does not want responsibilities can be applied, but is not accurate. While it may seem like Holden does not want the responsibilities of adulthood, he is actually afraid of not knowing what the future brings him. When Holden is planning to run away from New York with Sally, he is really trying run away from an unseeable future. When Holden guarantees to Sally that he “could get a …show more content…

Holden loves the museum, not because he is reminded of his childhood, but because of its unchanging qualities. The impeccable memory Holden has of the museum from the “long Indian war canoe… with about twenty Indians in it” to the “birds… all stuffed up and hung up on wires” further shows Holden’s love for the museum’s permanence (Salinger 134, 135). Because of this, in the museum he is able to find certainty, unlike his future. Likewise, Holden admires that the “museum was full of glass cases” and wants to be able to stick his life in “one of those big glass cases” (Salinger 135, 136). In the museum, he is able to guarantee to himself what will be waiting for him, something that is lacking in his …show more content…

He is desperate to find an answer to “where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over” (Salinger 16). Through this question, Holden is indirectly asking about what will happen to him as an adult. For Holden, the ducks that do not know where to go in the winter represents himself not knowing what awaits him in adulthood, and therefore the pond frozen in winter is symbolic of adulthood. Furthermore, Holden is adamant about the idea that the ducks “can’t just ignore the ice”, confirming the idea that Holden recognizes adulthood is unavoidable as much as the pond freezing in the winter is bound to happen (Salinger 92). By asking this question, Holden is trying to reassure himself of his impending adulthood, something he desperately needs to grow

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823 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the story we see Holden that suffers from a lot of illnesses like Post traumatic stress disorder, detachment, agitation, depression, denial, acceptance, sleep deprivation, and loneliness. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder characterized by failure to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. I believe Holden was diagnosed with this disorder after the death of his younger brother Allie. Like any other human being losing a younger sibling is a life changing event especially the way Holden lost his brother. After Holden found out his brother died he was so angry that he punched the windows out of his old summer home and broke his hand.

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827 Words | 4 Pages

The ducks are usually being mentioned when they talk about frozen images, for example when Holden was “wondering where the ducks went when the lagoon got all icy and frozen over?”(16, Salinger) as he was driving in a taxi and asking a stranger such a question. Holden's mind was so concentrated into finding out where the ducks go, and where he should go, that he ended up asking a random taxi driver where do the ducks end up going when it gets all frozen over? He is so desperate knowing that he asks that again later in the book, “Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks when it gets all frozen over?” (67, Salinger) Again Holden feels the need to ask a taxi driver where do ducks go, since he hasn't gotten a proper answer from the previous one.

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471 Words | 2 Pages

Soha Tariq Ms. Mac ENG3U 6 March 2023 Holden Caulfield’s Psychoanalytic Examination One of the largest themes in Holden’s life is his inability to grow up. Throughout the book, many readers can tell that Holden lacks maturity, and is obviously afraid of adulthood. This can be portrayed by how Holden says, “The best thing, though, in that museum was the everything always stayed right where it was.” (Salinger, 121).

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744 Words | 3 Pages

“‘...we could get married or something. I could chop all our wood…” (Salinger 132). Here, Holden is pressuring Sally to run away with him and live in a farmhouse for the rest of their lives, before even asking her opinion. He didn’t give much thanks to his parents either.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

Holden says that all he want to do is be the catcher in the rye protecting children from falling. The whole novel Holden makes observation around him that are taking away from children's innocence. This is what upsets him the most the fact that everyone will eventually have to grow up. While he is trying to go get Phoebe he is reminded this in the following quote. “I went down by a different staircase, and I saw another "Fuck you" on the wall.

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545 Words | 3 Pages

Holden is terrified of the complexity of the outside world and dreams that it could be just like a museum that is frozen in time. Holden wants everything to be simple, understandable, and stay the same over the years, like a museum, even though that is an unrealistic

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1695 Words | 7 Pages

The lagoon itself is symbolic of Holden’s longing for an eternal childhood, the frozen state representing a lack of change. The ducks represent the rest of society which Holden fails to assimilate with. Another symbol of this is the Museum of Natural History which Holden enjoys visiting, for similar reasons as the lake. He enjoyed going to the museum because “Nobody’d move.” and “nobody’d be different”. Holden visits this museum twice throughout the novel.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

Holden recalls the time he spent the night in his garage: “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it. It was very stupid I have to admit, but I hardly didn’t even know I was doing it, and you didn’t know Allie (Salinger, 39).” His denial is represented when he does not admit why he did what he did to the garage. Holden

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809 Words | 4 Pages

In this chapter, Holden is trying to say goodbye. What does he say about leaving places? Is it better to know when you are leaving or not? What’s his reasoning? Holden expresses a strong dislike for goodbyes and the idea of leaving places.

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858 Words | 4 Pages

These two struggles are what causes Holden to realise his purpose is being a catcher in the rye. His struggle to adulthood is quite evident. Holden states that the adult world is a nasty and horrible place, he thinks that the adult world is very phony, fake, and corrupt. These are words he uses quite often to describe the adult world, proving that he despises the thought of being an adult.

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1453 Words | 6 Pages

Furthermore, Holden also refers to his fears of disappearing as to not mention death, a term with which he has not fully come to terms with, “every time I came to the end of a block and stepped off the goddam curb, I had this feeling that I 'd never get to the other side of the street. I thought I 'd just go down, down, down, and nobody 'd ever see me again”. (Salinger 2010: 106) This is also what causes him to wonder if the ducks of the lake have vanished. In contrast to that come the mummies in the museum, whose death seems alright in Holden’s perspective since they did not disappear after it.

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465 Words | 2 Pages

Held captive. Forced to do the unimaginable. Threatened. Beaten. Power.

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890 Words | 4 Pages

Out of all the places he visits in NYC, the two most notable ones are the Museum of Natural History and Central Park. The museum is an illusion of how Holden wishes the world was. In the novel, he says: “Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.” (Salinger 123).

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837 Words | 4 Pages

In The Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger, introduces the protagonist; Holden Caulfield. Holden feels the sense that he cannot choose between the two worlds. For example, he makes it seem as both of them are complete opposites from each other. In the book, Holden wants to keep his innocence, but he also wants to grow up and toss that innocence away. He still keeps his childhood personality by constantly obsessing over things that shouldn’t matter.

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830 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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