Catcher In The Rye Theme Essay
Themes in Catcher in the Rye
In 1951, JD Salinger published a novel titled The Catcher in the Rye. Between the years of 1945 and 1951, Salinger had changed his concept of the misfit hero from a pathetically misunderstood protagonist who seemed doomed to a less than average life, to a protagonist who has learned to surpass the morons and show them compassion through somewhat condescending gestures. The latter is the present day Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden presents himself as a mature young man, but the theme of phoniness and preservation of innocence against the fake world of adults run strong throughout Salinger’s novel.
Peter Seng writes in his essay “The Fallen Idol: The Immature World of Holden …show more content…
He thinks that Stradlater is too obsessed with girls and sex, but as soon as he gets to New York, Holden attempts to “make time” with first a stripper, then a hotel call girl, and then he finally calls in a prostitute to try and do the dead. …show more content…
Holden visits the Natural History Museum where he used to go as a child. When he goes in, he notes how the displays of the fake Eskimos and stuffed deer and birds never change, the only thing that changes is the person looking through the cases. This shows the theme of innocence even as a young man, or stopped time. This is also shown with the ducks staying in the pond even though it’s winter and they should be migrating. Lastly, childhood and stopped time are shown in Holden’s deceased brother Allie’s baseball glove that Holden keeps. The glove is a representation of what Holden and Allie used to do together before Allie died when they were young kids. Seng describes Salinger’s depiction of Holden’s childlike qualities as “a latter day Peter Pan … a little boy who never grows up but continues to indulge his juvenile fantasies” (Finch, 40, print). The idea of a teenager with an innocent view of the world seems sort of phony and far-fetched in its own way, further supporting the ongoing theme of phoniness in Salinger’s
In 1951, JD Salinger published a novel titled The Catcher in the Rye. Between the years of 1945 and 1951, Salinger had changed his concept of the misfit hero from a pathetically misunderstood protagonist who seemed doomed to a less than average life, to a protagonist who has learned to surpass the morons and show them compassion through somewhat condescending gestures. The latter is the present day Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden presents himself as a mature young man, but the theme of phoniness and preservation of innocence against the fake world of adults run strong throughout Salinger’s novel.
Peter Seng writes in his essay “The Fallen Idol: The Immature World of Holden …show more content…
He thinks that Stradlater is too obsessed with girls and sex, but as soon as he gets to New York, Holden attempts to “make time” with first a stripper, then a hotel call girl, and then he finally calls in a prostitute to try and do the dead. …show more content…
Holden visits the Natural History Museum where he used to go as a child. When he goes in, he notes how the displays of the fake Eskimos and stuffed deer and birds never change, the only thing that changes is the person looking through the cases. This shows the theme of innocence even as a young man, or stopped time. This is also shown with the ducks staying in the pond even though it’s winter and they should be migrating. Lastly, childhood and stopped time are shown in Holden’s deceased brother Allie’s baseball glove that Holden keeps. The glove is a representation of what Holden and Allie used to do together before Allie died when they were young kids. Seng describes Salinger’s depiction of Holden’s childlike qualities as “a latter day Peter Pan … a little boy who never grows up but continues to indulge his juvenile fantasies” (Finch, 40, print). The idea of a teenager with an innocent view of the world seems sort of phony and far-fetched in its own way, further supporting the ongoing theme of phoniness in Salinger’s