Emily Muzi 10/29/15 G How Holden Treats Women Holden Caulfield has trouble connecting with everyone but when it comes to women, he views them as objects to admire or protect. He doesn’t feel that they’re smart, nor hold any depth of character. Although, he holds a very intense love for some such as his younger sister Phoebe or his childhood friend, Jane Gallagher. Holden seems to be attached to them and they’re the only people that Holden is psychologically connected to.
What did you want to be when you grow up? Holden Caulfield, from Catcher in the Rye did know what he was going to do. The Catcher in the Rye is about the 16 year old boy I mentioned earlier, recalling the events that took place after he was expelled from Pencey Prep. He then decides to roam New York, after he gets into a fight with his roommate, Stradlater. Then, the rising action builds from there.
Although most of the time, Holden demonstrates his rebellious side, he actually still has fragile side. “What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of good-by”(7). “Good-by” is a word can brings a sense of sadness. Holden’s thoughts about “good-by” demonstrate he is a fragile boy who is like a piece of glass, easy to be broken. This shows that Holden is a person who has desire to love and care from others.
Holden goes through many different changes throughout the novel and becomes very different from how he was at the start. Although many would argue that he does not change and that by the end of the novel, there is no development. There is a lot of development as he continues to change throughout the novel and has many different ways of perceiving his surroundings in the end. The main reason he changes is that by the end he thinks that everyone should grow up out of their childhood, he has also gained a deeper understanding of himself, and he is finally prepared and able to fight the real world as an adult. One of the biggest things that Holden realizes towards the end of the book and throughout it is that everyone should grow up out of their childhood.
From the very beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is disgusted with the world and his attitude towards it wasn’t good. He always says how it was full of phonies and how evil and corrupt it was. He often thinks about shutting himself out of society. However, by the end he realizes he must accept he can’t change the way the world works, and that he must find his place in it.
He considers her his one true friend and the only person he can truthfully confide in, since criticism is his parents middle name and his brother “prostituted” him self fin La. Jane Gallagher is a significant character in the novel because she is a character that holden unfeignedly liked and was attracted to. He is not afraid to be himself around her. For example, his brother Allie’s baseball glove is an object that holden holds incredibly close to his heart as he considers it a connection between him and his late sibling. Holden profoundly expresses how Jane is the only one besides him and his family who has ever seen the glove.
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, focuses on a young man–Holden Caulfield–who fears growing up. Throughout the book, Holden struggles to accept that he is entering the “phony” world of adulthood. He has rebelled in various ways to prove that he has control over his life; however, the one thing Holden yearns to control is the inevitable change of growing older. J.D. Salinger uses symbolism and point of view to convey the theme of this book: fear of change and growing up. The fear of entering the adult world can lead somebody to protect themselves to avoid failure of fitting in.
About 15 million children suffer from mental illness disorder nationwide, but only about 7% of those children actually get the help they need from health professionals. (https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children/anxiety-and-depression) Throughout the book The Catcher in the Rye written by J. D. Salinger, the main character, Holden, has to face many scarring challenges at an extremely young age, such as the death of his younger brother Allie. Holden feels extremely lonely, and doesn’t have anybody to turn to, causing him to seek out attention from strangers. His parents have been absent throughout his life and have sent him off anywhere but home. Because Holden faces difficulties with Allie’s death due to a lack of parental support he finds it challenging developing strong personal relationships, causing him
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.
In JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield learns that running away from his problems won't fix them. Through his interactions with other characters and a moment of clarity, Holden sees the importance of finding a purpose, protecting, and caring for the people he loves. Holden deals with the difficulties of being a teenager and growing up in a world that can be hard to understand and handle. Holden’s brother Allie’s death, being expelled from Pency Prep, and the encounter with Mr Antolini are all events in the book that shape Holden. Salinger's book talks about feeling alone, figuring out who you are, and trying to find where you belong in the world.
Holden struggles to become the catcher in the rye. He want to do something in his life and just does not know who to accomplish his goal. Holden is faced with certain challenges that he must overcome before he can save anyone. When explaining his dream to Phoebe Holden says,“I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” Salinger 191 pg.
Sometimes growing up can hurt. Sometimes it is a scrape on your knee. Sometimes it’s a heartbreak. Sometimes it’s how life goes. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden, is growing up and misses those times when he was still innocent.
Holden refuses to interact with others because he wants to be with his brother Allie and he is still emotionally destroyed by his death. Holden is still regressing to the time of his childhood, a time where he was happy and with Allie. This is the reason why Holden refuses to enter the threshold of adulthood. The reader can notice then when Holden says, "I like Allie just because someone is dead you don't just stop liking them, for God's sakes especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that're alive". Holden still believes that true happiness resides in his childhood in the presence of his deceased brother.
The idea of having a character that struggles to find themselves is quite a common idea in many books. This is seen in the Catcher in the Rye where JD Salinger puts Holden the main character through different struggles throughout the book to finally realise what his purpose is and what he aims to be. There are many different situations that Holden is put through but they all aim to the same purpose, being a catcher in the rye. Two of the main struggles are his journey into adulthood and to retain his innocence. The second is how he is almost alienating himself from others and very rarely opens up to anybody, and his relationships with people are not great because he thinks of many of the people he meets are phony.
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.
