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The catcher in the rye about
Gender issues in literature
Catcher in the rye analysis
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More handpicked essays just for you.
The catcher in the rye about
Gender issues in literature
Catcher in the rye analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
Holden Caulfield is a sixteen-year old boy that hates a lot of things. He attends a school named Pencey where he got kicked out because he had very poor grades. The only class he actually likes is English class. He doesn’t care that he got kicked out because he thinks that a bunch of “phonies” go to that school anyways. In J.D Salinger’s novel the Catcher in the Rye, Holden is affected by his two brothers Allie, and D.B.
Catcher in the rye is a phrase that Holden misunderstands horribly. So another question that could be raised is his constant image issue. Also faced with his prostitute dilemma he refused to pay money to the Maurice, the pimp. Because he’s Holden he thinks he is invulnerable to everything. “Maurice said five, I told her…
In chapters 14-20 of the Catcher in the Rye, Holden is spiralling out losing control of himself and who he is. He’s chain smoking from the stress, going to extreme lengths to maintain companionship as always. His biggest fear at this point being alone. Holden’s date with Sally is the prime example of him finally losing it. The stress from school, pressure from others to be sexually active and perform well in school is crushing him.
The Catcher In The Rye is a book about Holden Caulfield’s physical breakdowns and his self-centeredness. People in his life have cause this to be relevant, his family, his teachers, and friends. He is also greatly effected by the events that occur in his life. The people with the biggest impact on Holden are the people who have taught him something.
In The Cather in the Rye Holden is indeed a hypocrite. Throughout the story Holden does many things that would define him as a hypocrite. He is immature and rebellious and wants people to treat him like an adult even though he isn’t one. Holden’s actions often contradict his words, which would make him a hypocrite. For example, in chapter four Holden complains about his next-door neighbor Ackley spending all his time in Holden’s room.
While this novel does have profanity and sexual references, it still deserves to be taught in high school because Holden shows how having a negative attitude towards life does not get a person far. In the beginning of the novel Holden tells the reader that "[Pencey] kick[s] [him] out [of their school]" (6) because he "was [failing] four subjects and not applying [himself]" (6). However, he does not just notify the reader, he notifies them in a way of forgetting to mention that he is no longer going to be attending Pencey. Holden passes this off as some minor detail when in reality it is not just a minor detail. Later on, Holden reveals to the reader that this is not the first school where he has gotten expelled.
An example of Holden having problems emotionally can be found when he the prostitute he paid for sat on his lap. Holden said “The trouble was, I just didn’t want to do it. I felt more depressed than sexy (Sallinger 96)”. Throughout the book Holden has tried to display himself as a masculine man who gets girls however that is all an act he used to hide the fact that he does experience the depression phase of the grieving process and it can make something that Holden very much looks forward to like sex come of as depressing and miserable. Another example of Holden’s emotional distraught behaviour can be found when he was crossing the road at night in new york.
Holden’s desire for individualism coupled with the loss of the only true individual he knew created a breach of loneliness in Holden's life that was unable to be filled. Overall, chapter 20 best displays Holden’s struggle with depression as his thoughts of his own death, funeral, and afterlife become more frequent. Throughout the chapter Holden constantly voices his ideas of what his funeral would be like. Holden is even happy that “[his mother] wouldn't let old Phoebe come to [his] funeral because she was only a little kid” (171) implying Holden feels it would be ok to die since, Phoebe would be shielded some of the pain she may face with his death.
He tells readers that he is feeling peculiar, probably because of how nervous he is and the amount of regret he might be feeling at the moment. This plays a big part in the book because this is one of the first times we see that Holden is protecting his innocents by not giving up his virginity. Even though he is acting grown, Holden doesn't want it to change. The novel states that Holden is the catcher in the rye. Describing Holden catching kids from falling off a cliff symbolizing the protection of innocence.
Therefore, his depression and thoughts of suicide are enkindled by the emotional dissatisfaction he experiences at Pencey. Second, Holden’s reckless behaviour of excessive drinking to escape his problems also displays his depression. For example, after Holden’s heated argument with Sally, he fails to maturely resolve his problem with Sally. Instead, he decides to bury himself in alcohol. This is revealed when he states,“she kept telling me to go away and leave her alone, so finally I did… and left without her.
Holden is a character who falls more comfortably in a feminine form of masculinity, which Baldwin supports by Holden’s tendency to prefer tangents rather than a directly conveying a point, shown by his attitude in his Oral Expressions class. Holden’s strive for this idealized manhood is also shown when he attempts to have sex with a prostitute, though not being emotionally prepared for what he is about to put himself through. Holden’s idea of masculinity is very James Bond, an unrealistic embodiment of strength, resilience, and adoration from females. At the end of The Catcher in the Rye, there is no clear resolution of his struggles with self-imposed
Holden caulfield is the main character in The Catcher in the Rye and he has several reasons why people are phonies. The Catcher in the Rye was written by J.D. Salinger and was published in 1951. Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy that is failing the preparatory school that he goes to. He calls people phonies because he believes that people are fake. Holden just doesn’t want the phonies to be around anymore.
The only motivator that Holden has to continue living is his younger sister, Phoebe, who is extraordinarily intelligent for her age. After he gets kicked out of Pencey, Holden is lost in life. He speaks to many people, seeking advice and comfort, but they are not able to help him find a human connection. Holden’s depression increases throughout the novel, almost to the point of suicide. He criticizes many people and ideas, labeling them as ‘phony’.
In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, relationships, sex, and sexuality are ideas that often appear. Holden’s obsession with them reveals his distant perspective of these subjects, which demonstrates that relationships, sex, and sexuality are factors that can cause someone to be alienated from the rest of society. The adults at the hotel in New York, The Edmont, have a relationship that, to Holden, is perverted; he would rather be away from that type of relationship.