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Psychological analysis of holden caulfield
Character development of holden caulfield
Character analysis of Holden Caulfield
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Holden Caulfield’s early loss of innocence causes him to fiercely guard the innocence of others, resulting in pain for him when he realizes that his attempts are futile. Holden’s negative experiences with the adults in his life lead to his valuing the idea of innocence. Despite his bad role models, Holden clings to the concept that integrity is the most important quality in a person. While reflecting on one of his old boarding schools, he expresses his dislike for its “phony” headmaster, Mr. Haas. He complains, “[O]ld Haas went around shaking hands with everybody's parents when they drove up to school.
The novel is an admirable representation that not all conflicts are external. I can relate to his bitterness and difficulty maintaining positive relationships. In the novel, Holden appears to experience emotions in a different way than the other characters. It is as if he feels things deeper, more intensely than others.
Analysis of Holden Caulfield In United States millions are diagnosed with a mental disorder ranging from minor to damaging effects on the human mind. During my meeting with Holden Caulfield his father has provided me information on his son. In addition, from my first meeting with Holden he sounded like a man who was unstable, like he said “When you’re feeling very depressed, you can’t even think” (Caulfield, 49). These direct words from Mr. Caulfield presents me with a feeling that Holden is feeling detachment from his life and feeling worthlessness.
Holden Caulfield is an irresponsible character and this can be proven time and again through his thoughts and actions toward himself and others. To start, Holden was proven to be careless with his schoolwork. He flunked out of several schools,
The trouble is, you wouldn't” states Holden. In the Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger includes many different times when Holden is trying his best protecting the innocence of kids. Holden’s view on everybody as phony urges him to save the innocence of children because they have the qualities that most adults don’t have. In the novel, Holden loves children.
Holden Caulfield lives the bumpy life as a teenage boy. If being a teen wasn't stressful enough imagine being taken away from home and the ones you care about the most. Holden has faced many ups and downs in his life which has mentally and physically wore him out. Holden's breakdown is caused by all of the loneliness he experiences in his life whether it's having no friends, losing the ones he cared about, and his reserved and stuck up personality. Being a teenager is about living life, learning, and having fun.
Holden Caulfield is not a cliche teenager that keeps his feelings in; he makes sure everyone knows how he feels and expresses it. During the book he reveals himself a little more to us. ‘When I was all set to go... I stood for a while next to the stairs and took a last look down the goddamn corridor. I was sort or crying…
He has a big hero complex and wishes that everyone else did as well, he even goes to the extent of becoming upset when no one knew what happened to the ducks in the winter. Innocence is a huge theme in this book. Holden wants to protect it as much as he can and that makes sense. When we are young we see things in a different perception, we think that life is great and its full of wonderful things and people. It hits us hard when we grow up and realize that the world is actually full of people who don't care about us.
He takes the reader on a journey over a few days from him leaving the school to roaming the streets of New York. The question is Holden a Phony often pops into the minds of the reader. Holden is a phony because he is a hypocrite who does things that he criticize others for. He is a phony because he pretends to be someone that he is not,
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.
Even though Holden is sometimes honest, most of the time he confirms that he is a “pathological liar”, which demonstrates that he is a phony. Holden Caulfield is a phony because he frequently lies to those around him and regularly pretends to be something that he is not. He continually lies about insignificant subjects, such as his name. On multiple occasions he pretends to be tough, even though in reality he feels weak. Even though Holden is honest to those he loves and speaks frankly about his true emotions, these few truths do not outweigh his frequent lying and pretending to be a different person than he really is, which, overall, results in the conclusion that Holden Caulfield is a
Furthermore, Holden starts to hate all the adults or loses faith in them, calls them phony. Holden has a second thought of becoming an adult he loses hope in his future and it seems to him nothing in the world matters to him anymore. We can see that throughout the book. He smokes, gets drunk, and does daring acts like getting a prostitute in his room. He also tries to escape all this guilt and grief by wasting time with unnecessary people he calls phony.
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
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
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.
