Holden is the protagonist in the novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1945). Holden is a character who tries to seek for dignity, but he has some flaws holding him back. Holden is passive and unwilling to examine himself and seek his own dignity. Three reasons for his tragic flaw are: his craziness, his immaturity, and his phoniness and madman stuff.…
The author’s main purpose was to introduce the persona of the character Holden Caulfield from his perspective. He reveals his dominant trait by refusing to mention his early childhood that involves personal details about his parents. Instead, he focuses on his experience in Pencey Prep and discusses its impact on him.…
One controversial topic from The Catcher in the Rye is whether Holden Caulfield is the hero or anti-hero of the story. While he is the protagonist, I believe that he is the anti-hero because of his actions and examples he sets for others. His overall behavior is poor and it is not advised to follow in his footsteps: dropping out of school, underage drinking and tobacco use, starting fights, etc. While most people approve of his mindset and “bravery” to go against society, he was actually just hypocritical the entire time. For example, when Stradlater went of a date with Jane, Holden’s old friend, he became envious of Stradlater. But although he was angry with Stradlater (which he had no right to be) he acted nice towards him, when he truly…
Holden Caulfield--a character from Catcher in the Rye--can only be described as a sympathetic character. Although Holden acts in a way sometimes that will make you feel unsympathetic towards him, we know he has mental problems causing him to end up in a hospital. Holden tends to lose his temper occasionally giving him the feel of an unsympathetic character; when you find out his condition it makes you feel otherwise.…
Holden Caulfield writes his story from a home to that he has been sent for medical care. He refuses to speak concerning his formative years, mentioning solely that his brother D. B. may be a Hollywood author. He hints that he's bitter as a result of D. B. has sold resolute Hollywood, forsaking a career in serious literature for the wealth and fame of the films. He then begins to inform the story of his breakdown, starting along with his departure from Pencey school assignment, a known faculty he attended in Agerstown, Pennsylvania.…
This essay will determine the differences between two popular books, The catcher in the rye: by J.D Salanger and Great expectations: by Charles Dickens. Great expectations was first published in serial form in 1861 and is written in standard English with many colloquial and archaic words. As with catcher in the rye, it was first published in 1951 and is written in American English and also has many colloquial words and is also written as if the main character is speaking (first person narrative) directly to you.…
Trivial and interesting are the personality traits that come to mind when thinking of the character, Holden Caulfield. The title of the book by JD Salinger reveals much about the personality of Caulfield. Holden Caulfield, the main character of The Catcher in the Rye, is explained in great detail with the title. The life experiences of Caulfield have shaped him in each and every way. Holden Caulfield’s personality is revealed to be protecting, childish, and at the same time very confused.…
The world of childhood is sheltered from the corrupt adult world and maturation is a sometimes difficult pathway between the two. The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, is a fictional novel seen through the eyes of sixteen year old Holden Caulfield after he is expelled from Pencey Prep. Holden leaves Pencey two days early to explore New York City before he has to return home. On his excursion, he meets prostitutes, nuns, his old girlfriend, and his sister Phoebe, while traveling around the city contemplating life and his future. Through the varying behaviors of Holden Caulfield, his maturity is shown to be stuck in a limbo between his imminent departure from the childhood world and his fear to move into the world of adults. Holden finds sexual activity intriguing in some situations, but also perverse and immoral. When Holden comes home,…
In The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caulfield experiences myriad personal difficulties originating from the tragic event of his brother's death from cancer. Subsequently, his perspective towards the whole world has deteriorated into a pessimistic attitude, derived from his own personal sense of inferiority. As a result, Holden feels isolated and alone. In his desire to feel connected to someone, he travels home to visit his sister, Phoebe, hoping to receive emotional support. Instead, Phoebe criticizes his pessimistic attitude towards life, much to his own surprise. However, the criticism that Holden receives from his sister motivates him to improve his perspective towards life, by having become more optimistic, and leading to rapid and significant maturity within his personal development.…
Many adolescents often suffer from a lack of direction. Not knowing what they are doing or where they are headed, faced with the many obstacles of both life and adult society as they struggle to find direction in the world. Many long for acceptance and love that they do not receive. This description perfectly suits the situation befalling Holden Caulfield, the controversial protagonist and main character of J. D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. In the novel, after being expelled from his fourth school, Pencey Prep, Holden goes on a journey of self discovery through New York. He becomes increasingly unstable in a world in which he feels he does not belong, with the company of people he deems "phonies". Holden, not unlike a typical teenager, is also on his own quest in order to find himself, yet he resorts to ignoring his problems as a way of dealing with them. Holden tells his story from the confines of a psychiatric hospital, having been there to recover from a neurotic breakdown caused by his outlandish and often over the top actions. Holden Caulfield’s unachievable dreams, delusional fantasies, and erratic behaviour all lead to the breakdown of his character throughout the course of the novel Catcher in the Rye.…
Holden Caulfield, the novel’s protagonist, is a pivotal character in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden is characterized as an innocent, apathetic, naive teen who is seeking knowledge of life and the meaning of becoming an adult. Holden’s struggle with seeing the genuine nature of people is something that acts as a barrier for him throughout the novel. Holden is troubled and burdened throughout the story, which causes him to have a warped view on an array of subjects. Holden passes strict judgement on everyone, as he struggles to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Holden appears to be stunned when he sees how different the life of an adult is comparison to that of children. His views on topics such as, life, his future, and sex. Holden approaches each of these subjects with strict views, and feels dejected when he realizes there are more multiple perspectives to these topics.…
He sees adults and friends who succumb to these norms, and he outwardly looks down upon them and call them phonies of society. As an author, J.D. Salinger created Holden Caulfield as a character to challenge the expected norms of this time period, and as a whole, the novel addresses the challenge of accepting societal norms and diverging from norms to create a different lifestyle. For Holden, although many other reasons attribute to his refusal to accept society, he mainly believes that the 1950’s American Dream culture valuing marriage, family and education is not one that he wishes to be associated with. It is also crucial to note that by the end of the novel, Holden ends up in a mental institution, the location from which he narrates Catcher in the Rye. This element of the novel is crucial to our understanding of Holden as a character; he seems to have rejected the values and views of the post-war era so intensely, he is literally unable to function and has been…
In the book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, has strange tendencies that could be diagnosed as a mental disorder or multiple disorders. Thinking like a psychiatrist, this book has plenty to dissect. Reading a classic, such as Catcher, can really draw the reader into the story and make them feel like they are a part of that world. Holden Caulfield’s world has a lot going on.…
“She’s super annoying.” “He is literally the dumbest person I know.” “She’s a fake.” The problem with most of these high-school judgments regarding other people is that they lack evidence, and rely on others’ preconceived notions, that may not be accurate. I admit, even I may judge a person solely based on what I hear from my friends or just because I do not like him, without any actual concrete proof of his actions. But not Holden. Even though Holden is judgmental and critical, often calling people phony or unintelligent, he “never lets anything stand by itself.” Holden doesn’t care if he’s criticizing his best friend or worst enemy, as long as he has the appropriate evidence to back it up. That is the key to his authority. Holden is able…
J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is about a young Holden Caulfield’s growth into maturity. Caulfield begins the novel as an inexperienced boarding school student attending Pencey Prep, a private boarding school located in Pennsylvania, who is struggling academically and socially. After getting kicked out of yet another boarding school, Caulfield travels to New York City before going home. After staying in New York for the time period between when he got kicked out and when he can return home Caulfield learns the struggles of living in the adult world. As he experiences New York, it opens his eyes to the painfulness of growing up and he wants to escape it. A major theme in this story is keeping innocence, which is portrayed through Caulfield’s theory about the catcher in the rye, his need to protect his sister, and the red hunting hat.…
