ipl-logo

Holden Caulfield Symbolism

1181 Words5 Pages

In the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye,” Salinger addressed several issues. Most importantly that of youth innocence in which his main character, Holden Caulfield faces this realization that youth is not permanent and instead of acknowledging that adulthood scares him, he invents a fantasy that adulthood is a world of superficial and full of hypocrisy, while childhood is a world of innocence, curiosity, and honesty.Salinger expresses Holden’s belief with using a significant amount of symbolism using objects, places, and interpreted symbolic meaning such as death. Did you know that Holden Caulfield was originally first introduced in another book by J.D. Salinger? Holden’s character was introduced in the story “Slight Rebellion.” This story is …show more content…

First there was Stradlater and the fight that broke out between the two in which led to Holden being on the floor with a bloody nose. “Holden can only cry helplessly under the attack of such a powerful opponent,” which comments on how Holden is not ready for adulthood. Second there was the accident with the pimp Maurice where he basically punches Holden in the stomach forcing him to the ground in pain and takes his money.“ Then I stayed on the floor a fairly long time, sort of the way I did with Stradlater. Only, this time I thought I was dying. I really did. I thought I was drowning or something.” (Salinger 75) In both incidents, Holden’s physical strengths are not shown as strong as his strong minded mentality. In his situation, his mind doesn’t equal out to his thoughts. He acts and portrays himself to be a strong grown man but crashes at every little physical thing thrown at him such as a baby or child would act. Falling to the floor, throwing a fit- well as for Holden exaggerating pain, and not defending himself to outside dangers such as these …show more content…

Holden realize that nothing is ever completely permanent and that has to come sooner or later whether anyone is ready for it. Not only does human have to go through but all nature forces. Things may go back to the same, but it will never be exactly the way you left it such as things like age, hair, skin, clothes, or whatever else that you would desire to keep the same. More than objects to Holden can have symbolic meaning. In this novel Holden tells us the symbolic significance of the museum’s display. Holden wants the the world and society to be easily understandable and externally fixed as the displays in the museum. The appearance of everything standing still appeals to him because that is what he wants. He wants time to stand still so that his youth can be preserved but, despite what Holden wants he knows that stopping time would never happen. This is also why he is discouraged every time he visits the museum because everytime he does, he has changed physically. The museum is a representation of the ideal world that Holden wants to be

Show More
Related
949 Words | 4 Pages

His most common acts of defiance are running away and being a liar. Holden ran away from Pencey, and avoided going home just to avoid the punishment his father would dish out upon him. Phoebe says exactly what he would do to him: "Daddy's going to kill you." (173) Holden lied many times, broke many laws, and is a general hypocrite in this sense. He attempts to get sympathy quite a few times throughout the story, going so far as to claim he has a “tiny little tumor on the brain” (58) when asked why he was getting out of school so early by Ernest Morrow’s mother.

Read More
2122 Words | 9 Pages

J.D Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, follows the main character, Holden Caulfield, and his experiences that lead him to be talking to a mental therapist. Told through Holden’s eyes, his profane and blunt explanations of major moments in his life allow readers to see that Holden is not crazy but is actually struggling with transitioning from child to adult. Throughout the story, he fondly remembers his early childhood and is trying the best he can to run from adulthood. He fears that he, like so many around him, may become phony when he becomes an adult. This fear drives his actions and gives him a feeling of hatred toward phony adults and a feeling of obligation to shield children from the harsh adult world.

Read More
983 Words | 4 Pages

When staring at a frequently visited museum by Holden as a child, he remembers his past experiences connecting back to his childhood trauma. Earlier in this scene, Holden goes to look for Sally when he encounters young boys who direct him towards the museum. Holden then starts to inform us that he used to visit here, and how he remembered certain factors. Holden remembers certain aspects of these museums like the flooring and a huge important idea, that nothing moves. Holden says, "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was.

Read More
946 Words | 4 Pages

While waiting for his sister to come meet him at the museum to say goodbye two kids approach him asking him if he knows where the mummies are in the museum. The is the first time Holden comes across the mummies in the novel. The significance of the mummies is that it brings him back to the museum, and the museum reminds Holden of his childhood. This reminder of childhood gives more evidence that Holden is scared to grow up. This can be seen by whenever Holden visits the museum another time and says,“The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was.”

Read More
1493 Words | 6 Pages

In the paradoxical personality of Holden we discover something much deeper. As Holden makes himself out to be tougher than what he actually is, Salinger introduces stubbornness. Holden’s true nature of gentleness and sensitivity offered throughout the book often brings bedlam into his life, though Salinger brings into

Read More
875 Words | 4 Pages

Holden identifies innocence in this instance and through it shows maturity by not sleeping with her. Growing up/change is also shown when Holden visits the museum to kill time before his date with Sally. He says “The best thing...in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move” The museum presents him with a vision of life he can understand: it is frozen, silent, and always the same. He then goes on to state “‘Nobody’d be different.

Read More
201 Words | 1 Pages

He decides he wants to protect children from the world in which he is forced to live. While talking with Phoebe she asks Holden what he would like to be Holden wants to protect the innocence of his sister and every other innocent child in the world. Before Holden meets Sally for their date he stops in front of the Museum of Natural History. He thinks about the way he visited the museum when he was younger. He also tells that every time one visits the museum he is changed in some way but the figures in the exhibits always stay the same.

Read More
1346 Words | 6 Pages

This is not the only time where we see Holden be affected by loss of innocence. Holden’s love for the museum symbolizes his desire to avoid change and his preference of childhood’s simplicity over adulthood’s unpredictability. Holden loves the museum because it is the one constant thing in his life that will not change. The museum is a place where Holden can go to avoid growing up, because it will not change. This is a place of stability for Holden.

Read More
1441 Words | 6 Pages

Holden remembers going to the museum as a happy time with his teacher because the museum is resistant to change. The museum also makes him happy because “only thing that [is] different [is the person]” (Salinger 135), whereas “[someone can] go there a thousand times, and that Eskimo [is] still just [finishing] catching those two fish” (Salinger 135). However, he chooses to stay outside in his most recent visit because he is afraid that there is a chance that the museum goes through changes since his childhood. Holden knows that if the museum changes, he can get hurt, so he makes a conscious decision to not go in, even though his reasoning is subconscious.

Read More
647 Words | 3 Pages

Additionally, his admiration for the museum exhibits, which remain frozen in time and unchanged, reflects his yearning for a world where innocence is preserved indefinitely. The theme of the novel revolves around innocence, as well as its protection and loss. It symbolizes Holden's tireless efforts to preserve and protect the innocence he perceives in himself and others. Holden's fixation on maintaining his innocence stems from his deep-seated disillusionment with the adult world, which he sees as deceitful, hypocritical, and corrupt. The central theme of the novel is Holden's struggle to maintain his own innocence combined with the realization that innocence cannot be preserved indefinitely.

Read More
1053 Words | 5 Pages

He says, “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them”(Salinger 232). This shows that Holden is mature because it shows that he grasps the fact that every child has to learn for themselves. This is one of his biggest adult thoughts. He is growing because he realizes that you cannot stop everybody from hurting.

Read More
1028 Words | 5 Pages

I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be” (Salinger 232). He views children’s innocence as an antithesis to adulthood, and he attempts to transform his alienation into something meaningful by coining himself “the catcher in the rye.” He strives to create a concept of youth and innocence only in their opposition without really trying to understand what they mean. His inability to come up with his own ideas can be connected with the identity struggles that come with the aftermath of war. Holden forms his identity in its oppositions to adult standards--standards that, apparently, only exist to corrupt youth.

Read More
981 Words | 4 Pages

I kept picturing myself catching him at it, and how I’d smash his head on the stone steps till he was goddam dead and bloody.” (Salinger, 221) A second serious event involving Holden’s anger is when he fought Stradlater over the fact that he probably slept with his childhood friend Jane. He recalls, “I tried to sock him, with all my might … so it would split his goddam throat open.” (Salinger, 49) Holden often has trouble concentrating while talking to others, as his mind tends to wander off into different places.

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
911 Words | 4 Pages

Similarities and Differences between Two Cities A city is a place where a large number of populations resides for the permanent period of time. City’s importance depends upon the size, location, and structure of the area. Cities have the highly organized population which is comparatively bigger than town or village. A city can provide different opportunities to know about the culture and language.

Read More

More about Holden Caulfield Symbolism

Related Topics

Open Document