What makes nihilistic Holden Caulfield happy? In the grand scheme of life‚ happiness can often be a rare occurrence. Holden Caulfield‚ the main character of the novel Catcher in the Rye‚ by J.D. Salinger‚ knows this all too well. The sixteen-year-old teenager is selectively content. Despite his supposed affluence and attendance in distinguished schools‚ Holden never seems to radiate happiness. Instead‚ he broods in cynical thoughts‚ only recognizing the flaws in people. Judgmental and nihilistic
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“I have been able to sniff out a phony.” (BrainyQuote) said actress Jennifer Coolidge‚ and perhaps she’s never read The Catcher in the Rye. However‚ she certainly sounds like Holden Caulfield who uses the word “phony” in the book an upwards of 40 times‚ all of which used in a negative connotation. Throughout the novel‚ J.D. Salinger develops this theme of phoniness in the adult world through changing personas to fit situations‚ artificial emotions‚ and commenting on movies and fame. We see Holden
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Doing things like writing the same report daily Phony conversations (So‚ the weather‚ coffee etc.) Lunch conversations‚ seeing someone in the hall Monotonous tasks like printing reports the power structure ‘teamwork’ emphasis‚ no room to be individual‚ forced to conform to ideals defined by the boss cubicles‚ all the same he would hate the phone calls‚ where the people have to pretend to be nice and helpful‚ yelled at if not pretend everything is ok He would hate how each day is ‘the same’ Other
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chapters of‚ Catcher In The Rye‚ we can conclude that Holden is a very immature character through his actions and the expression of his thoughts. We can see immaturity in him because he usually lies and calls other people phonies when he himself is a phony as well. Through the use of diction and detail‚ Salinger is able to delineate and hint at the immature personality in Holden. Salinger is able to portray Holden as an immature character by using diction in the book Catcher In The Rye. “Goddam” is
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Critique This book‚ in my opinion‚ was a good book. It’s a book of reality; things that a seventeen year old really goes through. This book shocked me in a few ways. Catcher in the Rye has very inappropriate behavior‚ horrible language use‚ and not the best example for others to look up to. I liked the book and think others should read it. I think many can learn from his mistakes and where it leads him. It doesn’t curse as much as I thought but swears about every other line. I can very well
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The Dangers of Isolation in The Catcher in the Rye It is normal to want to get away from all of the problems of the world‚ but it is not normal to want to be completely isolated from people. Holden wanted to have no human contact what so ever‚ and that is not normal. Throughout the book Holden expresses a rebellious attitude toward the world‚ and this rebellious attitude comes from his infatuation with being alone. He isolates himself from the world because he has not yet found himself and is
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The “Catcher in the rye” is a relatively controversial novel by J.D Salinger. It is infamous as the writing style and content was‚ and still is‚ considered perverse and obscene. Though seemingly shallow and sophomoric‚ the novel has many covert and overt themes that resonate much within adolescents. Some examples of these themes include: Sex and sexuality‚ coping with death‚ adapting to changing societal expectations (Tolchin)‚ the effects on affluenza‚ as well as apathy and empathy. One extremely
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everyday and people die everyday and along the course of life people change. People are born innocent but as they grow up their innocence is lost. In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield struggles with the fact that everyone has to grow up. He feels that the adult life is corrupt and wishes to be the "Catcher in the Rye" to "save" them from being corrupted by the adult morals of the world. A baby is born without a care in the world‚ it has everything provided for it and it’s born
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The Catcher in the Rye‚ a classical novel‚ embodies the effects of sibling rivalry‚ but instead of present-day‚ the novel portrays this in the 1950s. Holden Caulfield‚ the protagonist‚ was repelled by his brother‚ D.B.‚ because Holden thought that his brother was a fake‚ who worked in Hollywood‚ and ended up hating the peers in his school that were thought to be popular. Holden‚ in despise‚ referred to D.B.‚ “Now he’s out in Hollywood‚ D.B.‚ being a prostitute. If there’s one thing I hate‚ it’s the
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impression usually isn’t an accurate depiction of the person’s true personality. But to Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye‚ first impressions are concrete in his mind. Because he is so judgmental‚ he doesn’t have any friends and eventually goes insane seeing as human nature is to communicate and interact and he doesn’t have anyone to interact with. J.D. Salinger argued in the catcher in the rye that being judgmental isn’t beneficial to ones well-being or success in life and this is seen as Holden
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