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Theme Of Repression And Objectivization Of Women In Catcher In The Rye

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The change of the characters that Holden meets from male to female transforms his thoughts and actions from chauvinistic and disrespectful to tolerable and respectful. This change proves the negative and repressive display of women that resonates throughout the novel. Holden cannot envision women on the same level as himself, which becomes evident as a simple change of gender reverses Holden’s entire perspective of the situation. When the characters he meets are female, he mulls over the best way to get them to kiss him or dance with him, but when the characters he meets are male, he consults with them about business and more intellectual ideas. Furthermore, his actions prove the recurring concepts of the repression and objectivization of women
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Holden perceives men as phonies, boring annoyances, or perverts. He believes men should not be trusted around females. “You figured most of them (girls at the Radio City Music Hall) would probably marry dopey guys. Guys that always talk about how many miles they get to a gallon in their goddam cars. Guys that get sore and childish as hell if you beat them at golf,...

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Holden “‘[does not] like the idea” of boys doing “crumby stuff” to girls without liking them; such ideas “stink” in Holden’s eyes, but he does not put all of the blame on boys. He says that girls “[are not] too much help, either.” Holden speculates that both sides, male and female, have faults and that there could be improvement. His realizations further bolster his stature on relationships and human tendencies. In conclusion, Holden’s ethos on girls and sexuality tied to them is very unique in comparison to other coequals he encounters in The Catcher in the Rye.

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Three seconds remain in the tied basketball game. The point guard shoots and the ball goes in right before the buzzer sounds off. I bet for a long time, that player worked hard in the gym to practice and perfect his shooting for game time situations like that. It just goes to show that nothing great can ever be achieved without hard work. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In The Rye, however, does not quite understand this saying.

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279 Words | 2 Pages

Conformity and rebellion are going against the act of being socially influenced involving yourself in change of behavior or belief to fit in with a group. For example in the book CITR, the main character Holden Caulfield feels as if he is mentally being forced to conform into something he's not. He uses rebellion to try and control this behavior, but it seems to take over. Conformity can be beneficial just as much as it can be detrimental. It's a leading factor driven by a society that can cause changes in the way you act, think, or dress, although it can be discarded by the use of rebellion.

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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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738 Words | 3 Pages

”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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722 Words | 3 Pages

Nothing would make sense. It´s like trying to est cheese with your eyes. The Catcher in the Rye written in a different point of view would be something totally distinct. Since all the story is told from Holden´s opinion; if the story had been written in a different perspective, you would not be able to know Holden´s feelings, the whole book would not make snese, but you will probably discover the truth of the events.

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1683 Words | 7 Pages

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

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2150 Words | 9 Pages

In the book Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield states that he wants to be a catcher in a field of rye. Holden wants to give kids the opportunity to stay innocent. He wants to give them the opportunity to be caught, to be saved from all the responsibilities that one acquires when becoming an adult. He wants to catch them and push them back into their youth, back to where they had someone to talk to, and when they had friends that they could talk to and have fun with. In Holden’s life, he has suffered an immense loss, the loss of his little brother Allie.

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915 Words | 4 Pages

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Mr. Antolini gives Holden Caulfield advice when he is at one of his lowest points. Already aware of Holden’s mental state and position on school, he quotes Wilhelm Stekel, a psychoanalyst, “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” (Salinger 188). Although Holden fails to grasp Mr. Antolini’s message, the quote applies directly to his life because of his relationship with death as a result of his younger brother, Allie’s, death. Mr. Antolini uses this quote specifically because he wants Holden take a step back and try to live for a noble cause instead of resorting to death.

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1088 Words | 5 Pages

Seeing these examples of corrupt marriages may cause Holden to be hesitant from getting intimate with a girl. Also that the perks of growing up are sex and intimacy thus causing Holden to be conflicted with this

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582 Words | 3 Pages

Although much of the novel seems to support the patriarchy, there are moments in the text that are ideologically conflicted. These are times when Holden seems to recognize the workings of the patriarchy in the world around him. At one point in the novel he recognizes that a woman's worth is determined by her appearance: “Real ugly girls have it tough. I feel so sorry for them sometimes. Sometimes I cannot even look at them...”

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394 Words | 2 Pages

Non-conformity is an evident theme that both composers of the texts value, as shown through J.D. Salinger’s protagonist Holden Caulfield, and Chobsky’s protagonist Charlie. Both protagonists show similar characteristics of non-conformity, yet the way society in their time period perceived this affected each character inversely. The conservative 50’s American society strongly upheld their modest values and repressed individuality. This is understandable since America had just come out of World War Two and was also finding it’s place in the world, progressing at a rapid pace (e.g. the ‘space race’ between the Soviet Union). For an unruly and opinionated person like Holden this value does not seem fitting if one has to adapt their personality to meet the criteria of society.

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1587 Words | 7 Pages

The feminist theory is based on finding and exposing negative attitudes toward women in literature. Their goal is to reveal the reality of how women get portrayed in literature due to the fact that most literature presents an inaccurate view of women and are most of the time minimized. In the Catcher in the Rye there is a few female characters such as Sunny, the girls at the club, and Sally who are put in situations that show nothing but stereotypes and puts them in a bad spot throughout the novel. J.D Salinger decides to put some of the female characters in situations that can cause those who read this novel to think bad or leave readers with a bad image of women. This bad image on women is due to the fact that he decided to portray some of

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1433 Words | 6 Pages

Usually considered a controversial novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger can often express the feelings of being an outcast and the desire to find a meaning in the world. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel, though often complains of the phoniness of the world around him, has a way of creating a deeper meaning within the readers. While the truth may be that Salinger purposely set the story in such a way that the readers will be able to connect with Holden, not often do readers find it easy to do so. While Holden believes that everything around him are wicked and phony, there is part of him trying to protect the innocence of those not corrupted by such phoniness. Although Holden wants to protect and save the innocence of children, can he really do so if cannot protect himself and trust those around him.

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