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Rhetorical Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye

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In the book “Catcher in the Rye” the main protagonist and narrator of the novel is Holden Caulfield. Holden is a 17 year old telling us about his story last Christmas at age 16. At age 16, Holden was a junior at school. Holden is being kicked out for failing four of his five subjects. It was the last game of the year and Holden didn't go to the game to say goodbye to Spencer, his history teacher. Holden lived at the new dorms only for juniors and seniors. His roommate was a handsome secret slob Stradlater, a senior. Stradlater was going to the game and his date was Jane Gallagher, a next door neighbor in summer who played checkers with Holden. Holden's next door neighbor was a pimply, nasty guy with lousy teeth and a terrible personality Robert …show more content…

Holden's tone in the novel is sad, annoyed, happy and angry. In chapter 1 page 4 Holden says “I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by. I mean I’ve left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don’t care if it’s a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it.”. Holden is feeling sad that he wants to feel sad and regret of leaving Pencey Prep but he can’t feel anything. In chapter 2 page 11 Holden says “I had to sit there and listen to that crap. It certainly was a dirty trick.”. Holden is feeling annoyed that Spencer is reading his essay out loud to him, you can tell Holden is feeling annoyed by saying “crap”. In chapter 2 page 13 Holden says “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That’s all.”. Holden is feeling happy that he is being kicked out of Pencey Prep because he is being surrounded by phonies. Holden dislikes phonies the most. In chapter 3 page 24 Holden says “Ackley! For Chrissake. Willya please cut your crumbly nails over the table? I’ve asked you fifty times.”. Holden is angry and annoyed at Ackley for cutting his big horny-looking nails and not using the table. “I don’t feel like walking on your crumby nails in my bare feet tonight.” Holden

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Holden isn’t the happiest kid around he is very judgemental, harsh, and really opinionated. “ He had a terrible personality. He was also sort of a nasty guy.” Which Holden said about Ackley on page three, paragraph one. Holden was never afraid to state his opinion on people or things, he said what first came to mind.

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Holden originally attended Pencey Prep but could never connect with the people around him. He is always criticizing or fighting with others, which lead him to leave Pencey without telling anyone. Holden heads to NYC where he faces many challenges with others and himself, emotionally and physically. Holden finds himself in his hotel room with a prostitute and feels extremely uncomfortable with what he is doing so he pays her and sends her off. The next day he plans a date with Sally Hayes, an old girlfriend, to see a play where he calls her “a pain in the ass” and laughs.

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It was the same story with his terrible grades. Since Holden lived on campus, he had a substantial amount of stories to preach about. Holden had his moments with Old Ackley. Ackley was a weird individual, because he would squeeze his pimples and continually annoy Holden. On the other hand, Stradlater was another kid Holden crazy moments with.

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Evans is incorrect for assuming that the emotions Holden expresses are fabricated. In fact, Holden is a young man who feels incredibly deeply, but he often subconsciously chooses to conceal those feelings, like adolescents are known for doing. For example, when Old Maurice and Sunny come to his hotel room and abuse him to get the money he ‘owes’ them, he reveals, “I was still sort of crying. I was so damn mad and nervous and all“ (Salinger 103). He feels truly upset as a result of this personal injustice.

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The book Catcher In The Rye Holden Caulfield is a 17 year old boy who wants to be mature and not be treated as a child. Throughout the book he tries to build relationships or has build relationships but those relationships does not last because he think that those people are phony. Those people include Sunny the prostitute, Sally Hayes his ex-girlfriend, and even his own brother D.B. Trying to build a relationship with a prostitute isn't very smart. Holden learns that the hard way when he tries to get a prostitute named Sunny to be in a relationship and to run away with him. But when Sunny tries to charge Holden an extra five dollars and he refuses to pay it, she comes back with her pimp and they rob Holden of his money.

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Throughout the novel, J.D. Salinger uses slang as a method of style to not only show the time period when this book was written, but also the intelligence of Holden and his accompanying characters. In chapter two, Holden’s slang is especially evident when describing Mr. Spencer and the way he lives his everyday life. This chapter also depicts Holden’s feelings about Mr. Spencer and shows that Mr. Spencer is the only known father figure around Holden at this time and Holden just continues to disappoint and push Mr. Spencer further away. The author uses this passage and passages like it to further develop the characterization of Holden and show how he views the world and its inhabitants. This style is evident in the paragraph “They each had

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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.

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Stradlater, Holden 's roommate at Pencey Prep, qualifies as another person who Holden considers to be a phony. He is often described as this handsome and well groomed guy, but Holden often acknowledges that he is a “secret slob”. Holden continues to provide details that Stradlater appears well groomed, but his toiletries, such as his razor, are disgustingly unclean. Holden’s continuous hatred for phonies eventually leads him into the feeling of loneliness, which shows his value honesty. Holden’s strong value for honesty, along with his deep hatred for phonies later results in him entering a state of loneliness.

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Holden tries to punch his roommate, Stradlater, out of jealousy because he thinks he slept with a girl he liked. Another example, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was

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During his short time in Manhattan, just the thought of his yellowness and his gloves being stolen at Pencey Prep depresses him to the point where he decides to have more alcoholic drinks after a night in the town. After a night in which Holden didn’t socialize the way he wanted to, he feels so depressed that he wished he died. These instances are important, because it shows that his feelings are unreasonable, and as a result, his depression affects his rational

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”Anyway, I’m sort of glad they’ve got the atomic bomb invented. If there’s ever another war, I’m going to sit right the hell on top of it. I’ll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will”. This is a direct quote from J.D. Salinger 's novel The Catcher in the Rye. On page 141, the author is describing how his main character Holden Caulfield feels very lost and he is saying some pretty suicidal things in this quote.

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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.

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In the novel, “ The Catcher in The Rye”, written by J.D. Salinger, uses symbolism, cruelty, and deception to help convey a very strong portrayal of loss of innocence. This novel tells the story of a teenager named Holden Caulfield and his crazy journey on how he ended up in a mental institution. Caulfield starts off by describing how he flunked all of his classes in his private school and was going to get expelled. He decides to run away to a hotel in New York City where he then calls up a prostitute to try and lose his V-card to. He ends up not doing anything with her and realizes that she is about his age and he just wants to talk to her instead.

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He then goes and hangs out with his roommate Ward Stradlater for a while. Holden later gets into a fight with Stradlater over Jane Gallagher, Holden loses. Holden then decides he is tired of all these phonies, so he packs his bags and heads for a hotel in New York. At the hotel, Holden get into a fight with a pimp named Maurice over money and loses again. Holden drinks and smokes a lot for only being 16 years old, so when Holden is in New York he spend a lot of time a bar and clubs.

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Catcher in the Rye In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, the narrator and protagonist Holden Caulfield a sixteen year old junior undergoes a series of changes. Holden learns multiple life changing lessons; one of them is you must grow up. In the beginning of the novel, Holden starts out as “that kid”; the one with the parents who expect him to get into an ivy league school, and end up with a kid with no intentions of doing so. At the beginning of the book it is very apparent that Holden lacks motivation; he also has hit rock bottom.

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