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Holden Caulfield Vs Catcher In The Rye

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Salinger vs. Caulfield: An Analysis When I was a freshman in highschool, I decided to read The Catcher in the Rye for an outside reading assignment for my english class. Initially, I picked the book because I read that the main character had a little sister named Phoebe. I ordered a copy online and I fell in love with the revolutionary coming-of-age novel. I've done an assignment over the book at least once every year throughout my high school career. I think it's safe to say that it's my favorite book. Along with my love for the book, I’ve found that it’s author, J.D. Salinger, was a fascinating human being. Salinger was typically a short story writer, and Catcher was his first novel and even then, Holden Caulfield originated from some of his short stories. J.D. Salinger lived a long life, and his experiences shaped his writing, and his writing shaped the world. Salinger produced a revolutionary novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and through his work, he told two stories; …show more content…

Many people have found that Holden Caulfield is just a reflection of Salinger himself and that, while Salinger used all of his works as a form of self-expression, Holden was truly his own voice. It can also be perceived that Catcher was heavily shaped by Salinger’s time in WW2. As Kenneth Slawenski said, “It is with Salinger’s experience of the Second World War in mind that we should understand Holden Caulfield’s insight at the Central Park carousel, and the parting words of The Catcher in the Rye. ‘Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.’ All the dead soldiers.” Holden Caulfield could have possibly been a much happier character if it weren’t for Salinger’s war time. Although I believe that Holden’s sadness is part of what makes him resonate so much with young people throughout the

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Haley O’Neal English I 3/12/18 Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Sallinger, 1951 Catcher in the Rye is a fictional story by J.D. Sallinger that tells the story of sixteen year old Holden Caufield during the 1950s. It wasn’t clear as to where exactly the story took place, but it is inferred that Holden was narrating it from a mental hospital. Holden begins his story talking about how he is about to be expelled from Pencey Prep. He was failing four-out-of-five classes, and was not putting forth any effort.

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J.D. Salinger depicts his character, Holden Caulfield, as a young man with strong moral convictions. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden constantly comes face to face with situations that test the moral fiber of his character. Each time a challenge presents itself, he does what he feels to be decent and right. His respect for women and intimate relationships comes to light when he confronts his roommate, Stradlater, for disrespecting Jane, Stradlater 's date and Holden 's friend (56-59). He visits his sick professor because he respects the professor’s loyalty to his students (6).

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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

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744 Words | 3 Pages

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a peculiar character portrayed as a skeptic living in “a world of phonies” in circa 1950. These personality traits can be seen through his doubts of society as well as his way of thinking and acting toward others. He also demonstrates a lack of responsibility adding to his role as a slacker. Holden flunks out of school repeatedly and has no desire to confront his parents. He mopes around the city for days, delaying the inevitable punishments he’s sure to get.

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1063 Words | 5 Pages

The book, The Catcher in the Rye, takes place in the years of the 1940s-1950s of New York City. Author J.D. Salinger expresses in the book about the struggles and the countless amount of stereotypes and establishments of the American society. Holden Caulfield, J.D Salinger’s protagonist, gives perspectives of society’s conflicts and facets of society. Holden addresses that would should not change, but should be preserved within a glass case at a museum. Now explore the varieties of encounters and how the give an example of the theme of conflict between control and independence that the protagonist confronts in the book, The Catcher in the Rye.

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If the book is read solely on its surface level, it just seems like a book about an annoying teenager who just complains about everything, but the messages it carries are actually profound. For example, near the end of the story Holden is upset by some profane graffiti on the wall at a museum that says “F*** you” (Salinger 224). He is upset by it because he is worried some little kids will see it and wonder what it means, and then be curious enough to find out adn have their innocence stolen. He finds the graffiti multiple times in the museum. The profane graffiti, if looked at beyond the surface level, symbolises the fact that Holden can not do anything to stop little kids from losing their innocence.

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2021 Words | 9 Pages

The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger in 1951, is the story of an angst-ridden sixteen year old Holden Caulfield as he learns to deal with growing up. The story follows Holden through his three day experience through New York as he learns about the truth about innocence, sex, and mortality, making The Catcher in the Rye one of America’s most notable coming-of-age stories. One of the largest influences on Holden’s life was his younger brother Allie who died from leukemia at age eleven when Holden was thirteen. The death of Holden’s brother had a profound effect on Holden emotional state, which eventually caused his complete mental breakdown by the end of the novel.

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As a soldier who fought in World War II, J.D. Salinger witnessed his fellow comrades' and friends' youthful lives dwindle in the wake of battle. Distraught and pained by their shortened adolescent years, J.D. Salinger developed Holden Caulfield, the main character of his classic American novel, Catcher in The Rye, to mirror the pain he endured and his desire to sustain his generations youthfulness. Salinger uses Holden's loss of youth due to his brother's death, (in order) to drive the loss of adolescence Salinger encountered during the World War II. Salinger takes us through Holden's fit of rage, preempted by his brothers decease, in which he breaks every window in his garage, "I slept in the garage the night he died, and broke all the windows with my fist..." Salinger uses the broken windows as a symbol to exhibit the loss of Holden's innocence and protection from the outside world.

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The Catcher in the Rye Thematic Essay Imagine living a lonesome life, full of fear and little hope of better days to come. Imagine the toll this would take on a person’s life and how they develop as a person. For Holden Caulfield, the main character of J.D Salinger’s classic The Catcher in the Rye this, is his reality. Holden is a sixteen year old troubled boy suffering through major mental issues and living a rather a depressing life for a teenager. Throughout the novel he goes through many hardships that only worsen his depression making him feel hatred towards his seemingly hellish world.

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3148 Words | 13 Pages

Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger scribes a story in which Holden Caulfield, a troubled sixteen-year-old boy, becomes riddled with mental instability. Following his expulsion from a ritzy private school, Holden

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656 Words | 3 Pages

  The main character of Salinger's signature book, Holden Caulfield,

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Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, embodies the classic teenager in the process of discovering himself, and how the world works. But, regardless of Holden 's rich, prep school lifestyle, the series of events that have mapped out his life up to this point have utterly affected his emotional well being and perception of the world. Many traumatic events such as the death of holds brother Allie, the death of a class mate, and countless numbers of awkward incidents with adults have all added up to affects Holden 's well-being and detach him from reality. The death of Holden 's younger brother Allie has caused him to confuse his perception of reality and to alienate himself.

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694 Words | 3 Pages

Many people are familiar with serial killers like Ted Bundy and Jeffery Dahmer because of recent exposure in the media through streaming apps like Netflix. However, the one my research paper describes is one commonly unknown. He goes by the Golden State Killer. Throughout his killing spree, he lived in different locations of California, but undercover as what people trust the most. Research shows the peaceful life he had with his family during the day and the gruesome monster he evolved into at night.

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“I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall. But I don’t honestly know what kind…It may be kind where, at the age of thirty, you sit in some bar hating everybody who comes in looking as if he might have played football in college. Then again, you may pick up just enough education to hate people who say, “It’s a between he and I. ‘ Or you may end up in some business office, throwing paper clips at the nearest stenographer. I just don’t know…

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871 Words | 4 Pages

While many argue that Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye does not deviate from the traditional anti-hero attributes and, therefore, does not display any prominent change, an argument can be made to the contrary. Holden Caulfield goes through some noticeable character development and is in a better place emotionally at the end of the book because he speaks with Phoebe. His meeting with Phoebe and Phoebe’s message to him shows him a youth’s perspective on his world, rather than the superficial sincerity of his elderly professor and his favorite teacher that makes advances on him. Additionally, him being able to successfully communicate with a member of his own family puts him in a better place. His time with her lets him see his own self-image of a “catcher in the rye.”

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