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Moral Dialectic Elements In The Catcher In The Rye

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The moral dialectic is an inner conflict of choosing good or evil to dictate one’s response to a particular event. Holden is confronted with the moral dialectic in his starkly contrasting encounters with first, Sunny the prostitute and then, the two charitable nuns. Holden, therefore, is a dynamic character because he learns to choose the side of good over evil. Consequently, Holden’s character development reveals that when people are faced with situations that demand selfless acts - the moral dialectic - an individual 's inner motivations are brought out. My response to this theme is that this constant debate of good versus evil leads to people trying to be someone who they are not; thus, people are conflicted with so many different ideals that the boundaries between good and evil become ambiguous.
The use of irony in The Catcher in the Rye evokes Holden’s …show more content…

Holden is victim to the desire of being someone he is not: a suave, sophisticated guy that gets all of the girls, a common stereotypical masculine portrayal in the movies that Holden claims to despise. Meanwhile, Holden also values staying

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Reveals about situation: This quote serves a vital role in characterizing Holden. Specifically, it reveals how Holden actually does feel sympathy for others, but he does not know how to express his feelings externally. Thus emphasizing how Holden struggles with more person vs. self conflicts opposed to person vs. person conflicts.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

1.In the previous past chapters and Holden acts more like child than an adult. Holden seems to call adults phonies and doesn’t really call children phonies. It 's immaterial to me," she said. "Hey—how old are you, anyhow?"That annoyed me, for some reason. "

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Holden Caulfield, at first, seems to be a very pathetic, whiny person. He seems to hate everyone. He has an obsession with word “phony”, using the word numerous times in the book to describe anyone he dislikes. At many points in the book, I found myself questioning whether or not I liked him. But as I dove deeper into the book, I found Holden to be a sensitive guy who’s mind is plagued with troubles.

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828 Words | 4 Pages

Rhetorical Précis 1: In his essay, “ Love and Death in The Catcher in the Rye” (1991), Peter Shaw claimed that Holden behavior and way of thinking is due to common abnormal behavior in a certain time for teenagers (par. 10). Shaw supported his assertion of the young Holden by comparing the literary culture of the 1950s and how Holden’s fictional character fits within the contemporary Americans novels as a, “ sensitive, psychological cripples but superior character” (par. 3). Shaw’s purpose was to show that Holden’s sensitive and psychological behavior is not abnormal, but such like stated by Mrs. Trilling that,” madness is a normal, even a better then normal way of life” (par 4). Peter Shaw’s tone assumed a highly educated audience who is

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1017 Words | 5 Pages

In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, there are minor characters such as Phoebe and Stradlater that resemble the different characteristics that Holden has, and this is presented through their relationships with him suchs the innocence and hope that Phoebe has and gives peace to Holden, and the corruption and falseness that Stradlater maintains while showing his “phoniness” which causes Holden anger, yet it shows his hypocrisy. While he does have a good side to his personality because he wants the best for the future of the younger kids and praises honesty as well as innocence, Holden also has a negative side to his character that shows his loss of hope and corruption through the use of his language and angry nature towards others and

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1493 Words | 6 Pages

In the paradoxical personality of Holden we discover something much deeper. As Holden makes himself out to be tougher than what he actually is, Salinger introduces stubbornness. Holden’s true nature of gentleness and sensitivity offered throughout the book often brings bedlam into his life, though Salinger brings into

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1003 Words | 5 Pages

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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584 Words | 3 Pages

Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Discourse Community about soccer sport team Although communication is regarded as art of sending a piece of information from one entity to another, it is perceived differently as far as discourse community is concerned. Essentially, the way communication takes place discourse community one needs to have a better understanding of certain terminologies and certain values in order to be in consensus with what the rest in that discourse community are discussing or to generally conform to that community. With regards to discourse community about soccer sport team, an individual needs to be familiar with the team

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903 Words | 4 Pages

Holden’s failure to embrace the masculine stereotype is epitomized in his idealized and naive views on romance and sexulaity. When Holden enters the upscale Edmont Hotel and sees a young couple on a date, he remarks, “I think if you don't really like a girl, you shouldn't horse around with her at all …. It's really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes” (Salinger 70). Holden’s belief that a man should not engage in a casual relationship with a woman unless he truly loves her, stands in stark contrast to masculine standards which encourage and congratulate men’s sexual exploits. Holden’s asexual beliefs

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1142 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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837 Words | 4 Pages

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

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532 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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1230 Words | 5 Pages

Holden’s unusual fantasy metaphorically displays this desire to save children’s innocence on his quest, and literally displays his obsession with death and preventing it, as being the catcher in the rye would accomplish both goals. F. Literary Critics also note that Holden’s catcher in the rye job is a dream of his that he pretends to be a reality to hide the fact that he secretly knows that he is unable to save the innocence of all children. G. Authors James E. Miller jr, and Arthur Heiserman explicitly state that, “Holden delights in circles – a comforting bounded figure which yet connotes hopelessness” (Miller, Heiserman 496). H. The “comforting bounded figure” is Holden’s catcher fantasy that he literally uses to comfort himself against the reality he refuses to believe because it “connotes hopelessness” and he is still too innocent and naïve to accept that. I. Holden possesses this dream as a weak attempt to save the innocence of children and to avoid a hopeless reality of defeat he has yet to accept.

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693 Words | 3 Pages

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

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1244 Words | 5 Pages

Some babies are born with thick hair while others are born with barely any noticeable hair. The range of normality when comes to the growth if babies hair is quite wide. Don’t get too much attached to your baby’s thick hair nor worry about his baldness. Both are not going to remain the same.

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