Preview

Holden Caulfield Character Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
761 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Holden Caulfield Character Analysis
In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger writes about a troubled teen named Holden Caulfield who undergoes failing school and travels through New York City at night. Salinger depicts Holden as someone with uncontrollable anger, many anxieties, extreme loneliness, powerful love, and numerous fears. All of this molds Holden into a complex person with an unusual personality and unique traits that make him different and unable to accept most of the people around him. In addition, there seems to be a deep connection between many of the things that he did and his own personality traits. The most prominent traits of Holden Caulfield, displayed through his speech, actions, and thoughts, are that he is judgmental, lonely, and depressed.
Throughout the
…show more content…
The strongest proof of this is when Holden himself admits that he is depressed. Also, in one part of the story, Holden was crazy for girl company, but hearing that she went to the movies, de didn’t feel that way anymore. Additionally, he told Sally that they should run away together and live a new life, showing that he is dissatisfied with society and wishes for a better place. Holden also thinks about moving west where he can become a “deaf-mute,” indicating that he wants to be isolated from society. Furthermore, he also finds the mummies, which in a way, are deaf-mute, comforting. This all shows the depression within Holden. Through his actions, thoughts, and words, we see the major traits of Holden Caulfield. He is judgmental, picking out the faults of almost everyone he knows. Second, he is lonely, always seeking the company of others, and always no getting it. To add on, he is not satisfied with the company that he has since he keeps on looking for other company. Lastly, he is a depressed character, who finds no interest in everyday life, perhaps a cause of why he failed school. Despite all these negative aspects, Holden Caulfield is an interesting character who resembles many of the negative, but realistic, aspect of our

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield is a typical anti-hero from the 20th century who features as the main character from the novel, Catcher In The Rye by J.D Salinger. The young teenage boy says that he wants to be the one who stands at the bottom of the cliff and catch the children that are playing in the Rye that may run off the edge accidently. This is a dream, not reality however it indicates that Holden is desperate to preserve childhood. Holden is an anti-hero because he lacks heroic qualities. In the novel, he often refers to himself as a yellow character. He wants to hit someone but he won’t because he is too much of a coward and he knows this. Holden talks negatively about most people, often referring to them as “phonies.” Phonies are people whose surface behavior distort or disguise their inner feelings. Holden can be a phony himself and believes if he puts society down, then he can’t be disappointed. He does however, cherish family, more so his siblings rather than his parents. He is very lonely and tends to push people away. Holden has been suspended from four schools. He underachieves, has a habit of being able to lie easily and has a fragile, mental state that ends up leading to a breakdown where he ends up in an asylum.…

    • 1048 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield is a phony. Even though the story is being told from his point of view we can conclude that he is fake. Not only is he an impulsive liar but he is a great hypocrite. He has no remorse about any of his actions towards people, and everything and everyone he meets is a phony in his eyes. Holden Caulfield can never say anything truly good about anyone, he always has something to bring them down. Even little things upsets him, like when Mr. Spencer, Holden’s old teacher at Pencey Prep, “started going into this nodding routine”, he said “You never saw anyone nod as much in your life as Old…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 948 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield, in The Catcher in the Rye, is much like the typical teenager of today. Throughout the novel, Holden goes through problems that many modern teenagers can relate to. Holden is a lonely teenager who struggles to find direction in life. His actions are very similar to those of teenagers today. Some important characteristics Holden shares with modern teenagers are his longing to be free and independent, his struggle between childhood and adulthood, and the fact that he is lost and does not know what he wants to do in life. Also, like many teenagers today, he has to deal with things such as sex, violence, and alcohol.…

    • 660 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Holden Caulfield Analysis

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages

    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.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden defiant take on life makes him rebel against society, his family mainly his father, school and sometimes himself; another way that Caulfield rebels against society is the way he loves to lie all the time. Holden rebels against his father by not following what his father believes what is better for him, which is to try at school.“I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them” As he puts it, he leaves…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Catcher in the Rye is a fictional novel written by J.D Salinger. The protagonist in the novel is Holden Caulfield. Throughout the novel Holden begins to exhibit signs of depression. His depression is driven by the death of his younger brother. In everyday life normal people experience breakdowns, they cannot handle what is being thrown at them. Holden Caulfield attended a prep school known as Pencey, where people are not used to this kind of behavior. Holden exhibits many signs of psychological weakness. He often puts himself at risk and is in a very fragile emotional state which leads him to making impulsive decisions. Holden's behavior favors his stay in a “rest home.”…

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Is Holden a Byronic Hero?

    • 2872 Words
    • 12 Pages

    No doubt, Holden has a troubled past. One way to understand Holden's uncommon combination of characteristics is to look at the traumatic events in his childhood, most importantly the death of his brother, Allie. How Holden reacts to his brother's death, by smashing all of the windows in the garage that night, shows that this event has had the most impact of any on his life. One thing that is worth noting is that Holden thinks very highly of Allie, We don't doubt that Allie was a great kid, but according to Holden, he's the most intelligent, nicest, sweetest, most endearing kid with the best sense of humor you'll ever meet. Holden’s pain over Allie's death perhaps changes the way he dealt with life. He has lost direction. It can also be the reason why Holden started doing so poorly at school. He fails out of four schools and manifests complete apathy toward his future. Since he can’t stay in one school for long, he has not been able to develop close bonding with any classmate, resulting in him having very limited number of peers. He pretty much did not have anyone to talk to, which shapes him into a very narrow-minded person. His lack of social interactions causes negative influence to his life whether he realized it or not.…

    • 2872 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Holden does in fact have many unique and grotesque qualities. In fact, Holden has Schizophrenia. Because of this, Holden has trouble expressing his emotions externally, relating with others, and perceiving reality. Throughout the entire novel, Holden interacts with a number of individuals, but these interactions are not sincere, meaningful, or significant. This is due to Holden’s inability to realize, understand, and accept where others are coming from.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfeild is the main character of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Holden is portrayed as a very troubled and alienated young boy. He alienates himself to protect himself from the hurt of losing his brother Allie, the pain of growing up, and the phoniness of the adult world. Holden grieves the loss of his beloved little brother by thinking of everyone else as not good enough. He wants to fit into this new world he’s coming into as he’s growing up, but he can’t find a place for himself.…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden acts hypocritical by hating fake people and loving unique characters because he doesn't have a strong sense of self knowledge so he acts phony himself because he has not found his identity. Holden accuses almost everyone of being a phony, especially adults who he finds impossible to understand, which makes him even more terrified to become one himself. Holden attempts to hold onto his childhood while battling grief, depression, and his reoccurring failures in school making him able to see everyone else's flaws, but not his own flaws. Holden spends a large amount of time judging others while ignoring his own problems because he does not want to take…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Essay On Holden Caulfield

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Holden is a character that neglected children can understand. He’s depressed and can’t accept the reality of life because he is emotionally disconnected from society. He doesn’t know what it like is to have affections so he tries to be like Allie because he envies all of the attention he receives; Allie is the façade that Holden wants to become since his family has always neglected him, in which creates the absence of affection.…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, we see one type of person in Holden Caulfield. By the end of the book, we see a whole new person. How is it that one person can change as much in a short time period? They change by the experiences they go through. Holden went through a lot of experiences in a short period of time especially, and also in his past history.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Holden Caulfield, the narrator and protagonist from the J.D. Salinger novel, The Catcher in the Rye, comes from a privileged background with a father who is a well-to-do attorney in New York City. His family sends him to the best schools, provides him with the nicest things, and spends beautiful summers relaxing in a vacation home in Maine.…

    • 58 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Catcher in the Rye

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Inside J.D. Salingers classic novel, Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a social outcast and is isolated in his own world. He has a way of pushing people away with his quirky personality and constant need to not just feel but be different from the average person.…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays