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Character analysis of Holden of the catcher in the rye
The catcher in the rye holden character analysis
The catcher in the rye holden character analysis
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Holden can put an end to his judgmental behavior by watching the movie Rocky. Throughout the novel, Holden constantly judges people and calls them phonies. An example of this is when Holden says “I can just see the phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs”(20). Holden does not know much about who he is talking about but finds it necessary to judge them. In the movie Rocky, there is an example of not judging a book by its cover.
While some students would actually listen to their teacher's input and apply it to their lives, Holden disregards Mr. Spencer's advice. It seems like education is not on top of Holden's priority list. When it comes to anything that has to do with his education, the reader can see that he does not have much determination. Not putting in effort into things he should shows that Holden is at the point where he no longer cares or has hope in succeeding in many
He faces many problems throughout the book, and is always trying to save kids innocence. Holden also wants to stay a kid and not grow up, however he finds out that he can’t do this by the end of the novel. Some people may think that Holden wasn't successful throughout his journey, however, one could also see how he was successful in his journey. By the end of the novel, Holden was able to find out that he couldn't save kids innocence, he couldn’t be a kid forever, and he sees that even though the world is filled with evil, he can accept it, or at least live with it.
Although others may say that Holden was successful on his journey, saying that he grew up he. Holden showed lots of immaturity throughout the novel and was the biggest phony of all.. Holden’s attitude throughout the novel was very immature and made constant poor decisions. While he was still at Pencey he put in no effort and had the attitude that nothing mattered. As he moves on from Pencey and goes to New York, he shows no care for anything as he blows lots of his money and doesn’t even take care of himself. He doesn’t clean himself up or get any sleep because of his attitude towards life.
He is constantly in denial and thinks that everything else is to blame for his own problems. Holden always has an excuse to justify his action. When he left his old school he said, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That’s all” (17). Holden is basically saying here that he left his old school not because he is not smart but it was because he could not stand the people there.
Moreover, there is conflict in Holden’s transition from his teenage years to adulthood. Exhausted of this life, Holden wants to skip town and “get a job at a filling station somewhere”(Salinger 198). Just like a child, Holden literally wanted to run away from his problems, his only notion was to say goodbye to his younger sister, Phoebe. As he is with her, she tells Holden that she wants to accompany him, she even packed her bags. Admittedly, Holden then has an epiphany and realizes that he cannot leave.
Holden is a very judgemental and immature character and often has vulgar language. Holden often criticizes everyone he comes in contact with and does not try to comprehend the mindset they may have. His childish nature and vocabulary are what make most of his comments laughable. “It was funny. You could tell the waiter didn’t like her much, you could tell even the Navy guy didn’t like her much, even though he was dating her.
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.
Holden cannot handle accepting blame for his shortfalls. This is evident in the way he retells his story. Holden repeatedly tells the reader outrageous claims about his character. However when he ends up coming short on these expectations, he backtracks his previous statements in order to shift the blame away from himself. When he first discusses his fight with Stradlater he says, “All I know was I
Furthermore, Holden starts to hate all the adults or loses faith in them, calls them phony. Holden has a second thought of becoming an adult he loses hope in his future and it seems to him nothing in the world matters to him anymore. We can see that throughout the book. He smokes, gets drunk, and does daring acts like getting a prostitute in his room. He also tries to escape all this guilt and grief by wasting time with unnecessary people he calls phony.
Holden first had a conversation with Mr. Spencer in chapter 2. Mr. Spencer is Holden’s history teacher at Pencey Prep. Holden says that Mr. Spencer is not very wealthy because they do not have a maid and that they have to open the door themselves. This is different than Mr. Antolini because Mr. Antolini is wealthy and Holden describes this in chapter 24. Mr. Spencer is the only teacher and Pencey Prep that cares that Holden was expelled.
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
Although Holden is a very intelligent character he finds the hypocrisy and ugliness in the world around him and quickly associates it with the adult world. Holden is a very introverted character who hesitates throughout the book to share information about his life . J.D Salinger makes sure to portray Holden that way to
Although Holden is immature at the start of the novel, he matures and learns to accept loss of innocence in others and himself. At the start of the novel holden is far less mature and aware of his surroundings than at the end. Holden is sitting above the football game at Pencey telling the reader what happened, he says“ I left the foils and equipment and
This is because Holden views society and the people in it as phonies. Whether it’s people selling out for money like his brother D.B. or people just being phony. Afraid, Holden is convinced that he himself will become phony if conforms to the status quo, so he tries to remain innocent while also protecting the innocence of children
