ipl-logo

Holden Caulfield Rejection

1158 Words5 Pages

Rejection in The Catcher in the Rye Teenage Angst. This is a concept that lies prevalently in the minds of many young adults. Students who are commencing high school and preparing for the next phase through their journey of life are most notorious for identifying with this state of mind. Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye is no exception. Throughout the novel, Holden partakes in a journey around New York in order to flee his burgeoning feelings of abandonment, crossing into the unknown, and being surrounded by seemingly “phony” people (Salinger 17). Along with this, one problem that endures steadily throughout his journey is the desire for acceptance but denial from those whom he seeks. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden reaches out …show more content…

One of the first instances of this is when Holden has an encounter with his roommate named Stradlater. Holden, while he considers Stradlater a moron, does not really have a problem with the attractive, yet secretly uncleanly roommate. However, that changes when Stradlater steals the innocence of Holden’s old friend Jane. Holden is so enraged at him for infringing on the adolescent innocence that he still sees in Jane, that he starts a physical fight with him. However, because Holden is a sort of pacifist, he loses the fight and is left feeling defeated and lost. He flees to his suitemate Ackley for comfort and assurance, but he receives the opposite. After Stradlater leaves the room, Holden slips into Ackley’s room to see if he will play a game with him. Ackley denies this request, but Holden still stays. He continues talking to Ackley, who claims he cannot be awake at the hour because he has church the next day, and asks if he can spend the night. Both of the boys know that Ackley’s roommate will be gone all weekend and the bed will be empty, but Ackley refuses to let Holden stay the night. This leaves Holden feeling unwanted and out of place. He feels a wave of depression and loneliness wash over him that is so strong that it drives him to leave Pencey all together and take to the streets of New York to try to mend his broken

Show More
Related
340 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
1496 Words | 6 Pages

Holden originally attended Pencey Prep but could never connect with the people around him. He is always criticizing or fighting with others, which lead him to leave Pencey without telling anyone. Holden heads to NYC where he faces many challenges with others and himself, emotionally and physically. Holden finds himself in his hotel room with a prostitute and feels extremely uncomfortable with what he is doing so he pays her and sends her off. The next day he plans a date with Sally Hayes, an old girlfriend, to see a play where he calls her “a pain in the ass” and laughs.

Read More
1493 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More
403 Words | 2 Pages

When one is misunderstood, they may feel unseen or even hurt. In J.D Salinger's Catcher in the Rye the main character Holden is misunderstood by many readers across the world and Misunderstands other people in his world . Sallinger created Holden to have many similar characteristics as himself, a person who is also misunderstood and at times judged by others. Holden is mostly viewed as an immature, hypocritical, and cynical teen in 1949. However, Under each of those characteristics he is a grieving young adult who is coping from the loss of his brother, the loss of his innocence and the loss of affection and true care from his parents.

Read More
593 Words | 3 Pages

Was Holden successful in his Journey This is an essay on whether or not Holden Caulfield is successful on his journey throughout the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by Jerome David Salinger. This book shows how hard it can be for teenagers that are going from an adolescent to adulthood. Holden, who is sixteen years old, has been kicked out of several schools. Pencey Prep. was the latest.

Read More
656 Words | 3 Pages

The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was about the journey of a adolescent boy finding his way to adulthood. In the book Holden Caulfield was unsuccessful in finding his way to adulthood. Holden’s attitude in the novel throughout his journey was very immature. He also can't accept the fact that innocence can’t be forever protected. Lastly, Holden calls everyone a phony when in reality he is the real phony.

Read More
1022 Words | 5 Pages

People do not expect the death of a loved one to occur at such a young age, and so abruptly like Allie 's death. The smashing of the windows shows the huge impact that he had on Holden, and how upset he was that he no longer had his brother by his side. Holden was uncertain in how to deal with this upsetting change in his life, resulted in aggressive behavior. Holden was also exposed to another traumatic event in his life during his time at Pencey. After being introduced to one of Holden 's classmates Castle he states, ¨Finally, what he did, instead of

Read More
904 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, the protagonist Holden Caulfield demonstrates his unusual behaviour. The narrator introduces the story of an emotionally damaged teenager whose suspicions and personal issues prevent him from being “normal” in a society full of phonies that he does not seem to get along with. It becomes clear that Holden has clouded judgement as he rides an emotional rollercoaster of mood swings with the people he likes, and dislikes. Therefore, it becomes obvious that some of his personal flaws include his distrust, depression, and unreasonable attitudes and thoughts are based on his underlying emotional problems. Holden Caulfield has a variety psychological problems, such as his skepticism, depressive behaviour, and

Read More
1400 Words | 6 Pages

Rationale The catcher in the rye Title: What if the story ended different? Type of text: Alternative ending to the text

Read More
1142 Words | 5 Pages

The beginning of Holden’s journey starts with the innocence and naivety of childhood. Childhood is the stage that ignorance is bliss with no care in the world. Holden goes to a prestigious boarding school for boys and he believes that everyone in that school is a phony in some way. Holden is an observant character as he stays in the background, but he can also cause the most trouble. Like a child, he asks many questions and he is very curious to the point that he can be annoying.

Read More
1162 Words | 5 Pages

The Iliad by Homer is perhaps one of the greatest literary works ever crafted. Having remained culturally relevant for thousands of years, the epic poem depicts life and death in the midst of war. However, Homer’s tale isn’t really about physical war. Instead, Homer expertly crafts a tale about the war each human fights when they determine his or her values. On one side of the war is Achilleus, self-centered and emotional, doing only what pleases him.

Read More
859 Words | 4 Pages

Adolescence is the transitional period of psychological changes that generally occurs during puberty. Although the Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951, when the characteristics of adolescents were not fully acknowledged, Salinger portrays adolescents’ struggle comprehensively. He depicts teenagers’ unstable mindsets through the Catcher in the Rye, especially through his teenaged protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, he uses Holden to convey the immature curiosity, painfulness of the process of growing up for a typical teenagers and adolescents’ view on the adult world.

Read More
668 Words | 3 Pages

In The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a rebellious and angsty teen who suffers from internal and external conflict. Holden continously tries to create a conflict where there is none. However, after he creates these issues he is unwilling to face them. Holden’s internal conflict is his inability to accept responsibility for his actions, while his external conflict is the tension between him and anyone who succeeds. In this manner Holden continually pushes people away and refuses to accept the existence of these conflicts until the end of the novel.

Read More
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.

Read More
693 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Holden Caulfield Rejection

Related Topics

Open Document