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Critical essay catcher in the rye
Critical essay catcher in the rye
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Throughout the book holden gives off a vibe of being depressed, which might have started when his brother passed away. It’s seems like after that happened he lost all enthusiasm and energy to really try and also to really plan out his future. Most
When he was expelled from Pencey, a high school he was formerly going to, instead of facing his parents, he attempted to run away and survive on his own in the “phony” adult world. Throughout all his adventures, Holden maintained three characteristics: being cynical, being metaphorically blind, and being defiant. Holden never
Have you ever wondered why the protagonist in a work of literature acts as he/she does? Have you ever wondered what the prime influence in his/her actions, values, and attitudes was? Well, in many cases, namely Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist endures significant influence, both negative and positive, from past events that are often traumatic and serve as guides for the character in present instances. This trend can be found in many other works of literature such as Number the Stars by Lois Lowry in which the abuse of the protagonist’s Jewish neighbor leads to her taking a much more sensitive approach in her present life. Holden Caulfield repeatedly displays this pattern in Catcher when he commits actions, and puts forth his values and attitudes based off of a variety of prior events in his life including the death of his younger brother Allie, the departure of his older brother D.B., and
As the book starts Holden describes his childhood and how he has been kicked out of several school and once more again from his currently school, giving a sense of irresponsibility and no care in the world. Holden later on mentioned slowly the loss of his brother due to leukemia and how he reacted outrageously by breaking the windows of his garage home. As a reader one would view that behavior as abnormal, but Peter Shaw descried it as a normal behavior for a fictional character in the 1950s and by mentioning that Holden, “is presenting in a somewhat different manner than are the sentimentalized young people in other novels if his period” (par. 3), admitting that Holden was somewhat of an outcast of a character even for its time he is still considered normal. Shaw also challenged the reader’s view of Holden by emphasizing that Holden is not a real person, but a fiction character developed in the 1950s and in fact a mad psychological character is normal and made the reading rather more interesting and acceptable during that time. As readers someone may come across as understanding Holden’s behavior due to a loss and everyone mourns differently and as Shaw said, “ the one period of life in which abnormal behavior is common rather than exceptional” (par.
The novel is an admirable representation that not all conflicts are external. I can relate to his bitterness and difficulty maintaining positive relationships. In the novel, Holden appears to experience emotions in a different way than the other characters. It is as if he feels things deeper, more intensely than others.
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.
Throughout the book, Holden is struggling to get by. The death of his brother Allie has left him in a tough spot. Holden doesn’t exactly know how to deal with this. The different stages of grief are represented through Holden. Holden shows denial and anger when he flashbacks to one of his memories after his brother’s death.
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 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.
Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual”. In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s lies become habitual throughout the book. Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy, who has been kicked out of several schools including, most recently, Pencey Prep. Holden’s younger brother, Allie, died when Holden was only thirteen and his older brother is too busy working for Hollywood to care about Holden. Although his mother cares immensely for him, Holden saddens her by failing academically.
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 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