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• Catcher in the Rye Essay

  ...Everybody has somebody in this world they can share their thoughts and emotions with. Whether it is a best friend, a co-worker, or even God…someone to talk to is sometimes the only cure to the things you are feeling inside. In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield’s person to talk to, or “confidante”, is his little sister Phoebe Caulfield. At the beginning of the novel Holden describes Phoebe as extremely smart and funny, but as the book progresses her significance in the work progresses too. Much of Phoebe’s life is used symbolically and vicariously of Holden’s at her age. The most important part of the novel is the closing scene when Phoebe is on the merry-go-round. The three symbols used in this final scene (the rain, Holden’s hunting hat, and the merry-go-round itself) all directly correspond to the overall theme of the book. Phoebe’s character is brought up in many important scenes throughout the novel. Because she is Holden’s confidante, Phoebe is the one person Holden has left to trust with everything. The symbolism used in the final passage of the novel is much deeper than the reader would think. Holden explains himself watching one of the most important people in his life simply go around and round on a merry-go-round in the pouring rain. The symbol of rain has appeared many times throughout the book. . One of the most ironic things about this scene with the rain is that it is almost identical to when...

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• Essay about Catcher in the rye

  ... Character analysis I´m going to tell you about Holden Caulfield, the main character in book "The Catcher in the Rye", written by J.D. Salinger. But to tell you about Holden you need to know Holden, therefore I´m going to tell you briefly were Holden comes from and his relationship with his family. Holden Caulfield is a 16 year old teenager that refuses to grow up because he doesn´t want the responsibilities that come with it. Holden comes from a very wealthy New York family, however, he has no particularly close relationship with his Parents. But Holden has a younger sister named Phoebe, which he adores and has a good relationship with. He is constantly admired for her intelligence and dancing skills, because Holden is a passionate dancer. Phoebe is one few people who Holden actually can talk to about everything and therefore she is a very important person in Holdens life. Holden also has two brothers, Allie and DB. Allie is Holdens younger brother and he died in leukemia at the age of 11 when Holden was 13 years old. Allie had a very big part in Holdens life and Holden considered Allie to be his best friend and the one who knew him best, therefore was Allies death very hard for Holden to deal with and the night of Allies death Holden went out to the garage and smashed all the windows and later he had to be hospitalized. Though Allie is dead Holden still speak to him, in his imagination, therefore Allie is still Holdens...

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• Catcher in the Rye Essay

  ...The Catcher in the Rye - An analysis of the novel The Catcher in the Rye is published by the American author J.D Sallinger in 1951. The story is about a teenager Holden Caufield’s turbulent last few days before his Christmas vacation. During these days, Holden leaves Pency Prep, a boys’ school he has been kicked out of and takes off for a few nights alone in New York City. Through this story, he tells about his mental problems and gets some flashbacks to remember his experiences. The story begins at Pency Prep on the day of the big football game. Instead of going to the game, Holden, who has been expelled for failing four of his five classes, visit his history teacher, Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer lectures Holden about playing by the rules and thinking about his future. He pretends to listen, but actually he thinks that Mr. Spencer is a “phony.” Back in his dorm room his roommate, Stradlater, is going out for a date with Jane Gallagher, a girl Holden knows and likes. Holden and Stradlater are coming into a brawl and Holden leaves Pency early same evening. He takes the train to NY where he soon feels lonely and depressed. He starts acting strangely. He wears a red hunting cap everywhere he goes, asks cab drivers what happens to the ducks in the central park lagoon during the winter and wanders around from the hotel lounge to another bar trying to pick up women. Holden feels alone in a depressed world and has hit the...

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• The Catcher in the Rye Essay

  ...Sabrina Huwang Mr. Maiore AP English Language 9 June 2014 Alienation as the Embodiment of Self-Preservation in The Catcher in the Rye Written in 1951 during Post-World War II America by J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye details the deteriorating psychological state of the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, a pessimistic misanthrope who is convinced that the adult world is spurious and full of “phonies.” Throughout the bildungsroman, Holden’s various interactions with incommensurable individuals highlight his frequent obsession with the child-like innocence that he desperately covets and fails to protect in himself and others around him. While resisting maturation, Holden believes he resents society because society is fraudulent and artificial, but all he really yearns for is someone who is willing to listen to his fears regarding his transition into adulthood. When nobody gives him the attention he craves, Holden subconsciously estranges himself from others, and in his mind, it is the validation he seeks as to why he is more copacetic than everyone else around him. His cynical sense of superiority is his habitude of self-preservation, and while it does offer him some stability, it also debilitates his mental soundness and social capability. Holden craves human interaction but his contemptuously defensive barrier prevents him from doing so; thus it not only becomes his sole source of strength, but it also morphs...

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• Catcher in the Rye Research Paper

  ....Jean Dee Nell In his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger tells the story of Holden Caulfield, a troubled and confused sixteen year old boy. During his three day journey through New York City, Holden attempts to put events from his past aside so that he can try and live a normal life by trying to be an adult. Holden wants to live on his own like an adult. He wants to be independent and support himself. In telling this story, Salinger wants us to understand that it is important to be the person you are and not try to be something you are not. When Holden plays the role of an adult, rather than lives the life of a sixteen year old, things go wrong. One example of this in the story is when Holden arranges to get a prostitute from Maurice the elevator man at the hotel. This is out of character for Holden, who is normally a shy person and one who normally treats women respectfully. Sixteen year old teenagers do not normally hire prostitutes. Things go wrong for Holden when Maurice and Sunny claim Holden owed them five dollars more. When Holden refused to pay, Maurice punched Holden in the stomach and took the money. This shows a good example of how things go wrong if Holden tries to act someone he is not. Holden drinks even though only adults are allowed to drink. Holden explains that due to his height and his gray hair, he is often able to order alcohol. This is another example of how Holden tries to act like an adult but in this case...

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• Catcher in the Rye Essay

  ...An Unhappy Epiphany In contemporary society, loss of innocence is obvious during the transition of childhood to adolescence. Today’s view on losing this kind innocence is actually deemed to be what would the “cool” thing to do; thus, many people around the same age as Holden Caulfield, conform to this norm and try to act as if their own innocence is lost. Throughout Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, examples of the loss of innocence are shown in various scenes where Holden Caulfield, the main character, is with a symbol of innocence. For example, Holden is seen in a Natural history Museum, and no matter how much time has passed, the inside never changes. This symbol represents that no matter what has happened in Holden’s life, he is able to return to this museum, where as if a freeze-frame picture of his own childhood comes back to life. J.D. Salinger develops the corruption of the young by introducing several scenes in Catcher in the Rye where Holden’s previous views of innocence are challenged by the adultery and corruption that he experiences in real world situations. An idea that can be interpreted from the fear of losing innocence that Holden feels is actually Holden just being afraid of getting older, even more so that he finds adulthood repulsive. I said no, there wouldn't be marvelous places to go to after I went to college and all. “Open your ears. It'd be entirely different. We'd have to go...

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• Catcher in the Rye Essay

  ...Holden Caulfield: Not Your Typical Teenage Boy Does a typical teenager try to sleep with prostitutes or get expelled from three private boarding schools? In J.D. Salinger’s classic novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, seventeen year-old Holden Caulfield, does not represent all teenagers. In fact, his opinions, thoughts, and actions show signs of serious immaturity and indicate that he is both isolated and mentally compromised. Holden has witnessed and experienced horrific tragedy at a very young age when his classmate, James Castle, commits suicide and his brother Allie dies of leukemia. In response to his conflicted feelings regarding growing up and about many of the events happening in his life, Holden has trouble controlling his actions and emotions. He smokes frequently, drinks scotch and soda at bars, and consents to have a prostitute sent to his room from the pimp, Maurice. His reactions, compared to the behavioral expectations within his society, are highly uncommon and show extreme immaturity to that of typical teenagers. As the novel opens, it appears as if Holden is just like every other teenager who attends an East coast boarding school; however, within the first third of the novel this proves not to be the case as Holden’s emotional instability is revealed by the fact that his beautiful brother was taken from his family too early for anybody in this world. Holden characterizes Allie’s image as the most “terrifically...

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• catcher in the rye Essay

  ...The novels The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger and Ordinary People by Judith Guest are very comparable in a way; the two novels demonstrate the daily obstacles that teenagers have to overcome. In The Catcher in the Rye it is shown to us that Holden Caulfield is trying to overcome depression and in Ordinary People it is shown to us that Conrad Jarrett gets accepted by his family members and peers again and finds happiness after his depression. The loss of a sibling can have a big impact and similar effects on two different people’s lives, such as Holden Caulfield and Conrad Jarrett. Their thoughts and actions that they make are much influenced by their peers, parents or guardians, and female relationship in their lives. To begin with, in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield does not have good relationship with his peers and instead he mainly criticizes them by thinking everyone around him is “phony”. For instance, since Holden is a “protector of innocence” he wanted to protect Jane, who is a girl that he once liked from Stradlater trying to do sexual intercourse, resulting into a fight. “… [a]ll I know is I got up from the bed, like I was going down to the can or something, and then I tried to sock him, with all my might” (Salinger 43). This proves that through alienation Holden cannot get his feelings out quick enough which causes action to happen. Not only Holden uses...

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