Preview

The Catcher in the Rye Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
673 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Catcher in the Rye Essay
What is the significance of the title/poem The Catcher in the Rye?
The world of adulthood or as the protagonist declares the world of phoniness is the place without a single gram of innocence. In The Catcher in the Rye”, by J.D Salinger, readers can perceive different significance about the title of the book, because of life experiences, culture, among others. J.D Salinger used the title of the novel to transmit the most important quality of Holden’s helpful persona toward kids by using an allusion to a Robert Burn’s poem, which reveals crucial information about the meaning of the title. The title The Catcher in the Rye is a symbol of the protagonist’s desire and dream to sustain the innocence of all kid.

There are many reasons why people in a society perceive different meaning of the significance of the novel The Catcher in the Rye. First one is the malicious interpretation of the book. Society acquires the unpleasant interpretation of this great book because of its obscene language, sexuality, and because it wasn’t appropriate for youth. Schools, libraries, and even families of teenager prohibited the kids reading this book because of those aspects. For example, “In my mind, I’m probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw”(34). Society in that era was strict about their kids’ future and learning; however, some people do not understand why the title of the book was The Catcher in the Rye. They related Holden as a delinquent but his rebellious personality is a little fragment of what he really is. The real Holden is the one the titles says he is The Catcher in the Rye the one who wanted to saved the kid’s innocence, a hero of youth.

In chapter sixteen when the kid sang the Robert Burn’s poem “If a body catch a body comin’ through the rye, “gives the first clue of where the title came from and some knowledge about it’s significance. The child inspired Holden to become the catcher in the rye. Holden was confused about the real meaning of the poem, so Phoebe

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    In the book Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s dark childhood shapes the meaning of the book as a whole by the events in his childhood preventing him from growing and seeing change or becoming an adult as losing all your innocence, yet he sees he can’t stop this from happening, that you eventually have to become an adult and just carry on your…

    • 1781 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Phoebe Caulfield Catcher

    • 2282 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye reveals a teenager’s dramatic struggle against death and growing up. The book is composed of stories after the protagonist Holden Caulfield’s expulsion from a private school. He leaves school early to explore New York before returning home, interacting with teachers, prostitutes, nuns, an ex-girlfriend and his sister along the way. We characterize Holden as an innocent child that possesses an ideal fantasy of becoming a catcher in the rye, protecting an unsophisticated world of love, passion and justice. It seems Holden, a “guardian” towards childhood and innocence is the hero or “catcher” without any questions. Throughout the entire book, however,…

    • 2282 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden says he wants to be the ‘catcher in the rye’, based on his misinterpretation of the words to the poem. Why is this significant? (Consider both how he views his role in society and also his misinterpretation of the line)…

    • 2653 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    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…

    • 1991 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden wants to “the Catcher in the rye”, preventing others from being mature. But his concepts come from the misheard lyrics from “Comin’ Thro the Rye”, where a girl loses her innocence, where “a body meets a body” and having sex in the fields. In his daily life, this demonstrates his lack of ability to understand what others are trying to say and misunderstands them. As a result, it makes him harder to communicate with others and therefore pushing him further from the community.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Holden Caulfield Phony

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger is a reflection of his own life being shown through a teenage boy, Holden Caulfield. Like Salinger in the novel Holden jumps from prep school to prep school not finishing each time, however excels in English classes. Holden’s life in the novel shook the nation with controversy and curiosity. Illustrated in the text it conveys extreme depression, sexual tension, love, and lewd language. Holden attempts to see the “phony” world through a new light, however fails due to the type of person he is, his troubled background, sexual confusion, family issues, and fallacious world we all live in.…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The fantasy of “The Catcher In The Rye” is extremely important. Holden does not have a particularly easy life, but he just makes it a lot harder on himself than it has to be. He wants to stay young, but also has the conflict of trying to be seen as an adult. He can not have both, but that is what he wishes. He wishes that he could be a ladies…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The title, The Catcher in the Rye, directly indicates the reoccurring theme of the novel, to protect the innocence of the younger generations. The novel is structured on Holden’s desire to protect all the innocent children in the world from growing up because with age comes experiences that lead to corruption and the loss of innocence.…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is introduced to the readers as a troubled young who desperately wants to protect his youthful innocence. Because Holden constantly faces harsh realities of adulthood and world, he is even more compelled to protect innocence. He wants to protect not only his, but also those around him. Holden feels that childhood is something to be saved and kept, instead of learning the truth of adulthood since the adult world is an impure place that corrupt kids and ruin their perfect perception of the world.…

    • 836 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden gradually displays the downfall of his mental welfare by consistently worrying about protecting children’s innocence. At first glance, Holden appears to have a sumptuous life; he has his money, two parents, siblings, friends, love interests. As Holden continues to reveal his journey, his true emotions and experiences are exposed. Holden lives in depression after experiencing the death of his younger brother Allie. Because Holden never receives the help he needs mentally from his brother’s tragic death, he carries a huge burden throughout his life. Holden admits “I’m in bad shape. I’m in lousy shape.” Allie’s sickness shows Holden the devastating progression of Allie’s loss of childhood innocence. This triggers Holden’s craving to save childhood innocence. Throughout Holden’s reminiscence, he explains his penchant to become a catcher in the rye. A catcher in the rye attempts to prevent children from losing their childhood innocence. Holden believes “Certain…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Holden Caulfield Symbolism

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, the author, J.D. Salinger, takes the reader through Holden Caulfield’s struggles with adolescence as he makes his way through New York City in the 1940’s. Salinger shows how Holden attempts to go on an unrealistic quest to save children from a sudden loss of innocence. Holden’s wake-up call comes in the form of his little sister, Phoebe, who unintentionally illustrates to her big brother that reaching for the gold ring isn’t always a scary thing, but a part of life that everyone must go through. The author uses symbolism to create Holden’s idea of becoming “The Catcher in the Rye,” a way of preventing others from the abrupt loss of innocence. Holden’s idea is challenged by his interactions,…

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield, a cynical and paradoxical teenager not ready to embrace adulthood goes on a journey to explore the phoniness of the adult world. J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye published in 1951 reflects on Holden as a child as well as an adult. His neglection of adulthood and his blindness on the innocence of youth presents a great challenge in his life. The bulk of the novel displays Holden, a 16 year old teenager who just flunked out of Pencey Prep fleeing to his hometown, New York City in hope of staying at a hotel for a few days before revealing his expulsion to his parents. Throughout his stay, Holden has unusual encounters with past colleagues, his former neighbor, his sister Phoebe, and his old teachers. From these encounters, Holden acquires different perspectives on life and adulthood.…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine what it feels like to be a teenager. Is a teenager considerate and open minded? The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger talks about a teenager named Holden Caulfield who tells his story about a school named Pency Prep in Pennsylvania, away from his sister and parents. Throughout most of this book, Holden explains his inner thoughts regarding everyone he knows, and most of them are judgmental. Holden is considered to be a typical American teenager in this novel. First of all, teenagers like to express their thoughts. In Sylvia Plath’s article “Sylvia Plath at Seventeen”, she begins saying,“As of today I have decided to keep a diary again―just a place where I can write my thoughts and opinions when I have a moment. Somehow I…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger introduces a conflicted and lonesome character named Holden. Being protected is just as important to Holden as being protective over children; the title of the book is a constant reminder of Holden’s ultimate goal: being the catcher in the rye (23). The title first becomes present in the novel when Holden overhears a kid singing “Comin’ Thro’ the Rye” (62). At the moment, Holden becomes at peace, but he later becomes bothered by a dream of seeing children playing in a rye field at the edge of a cliff that they couldn't see because the rye was so tall, so he imagined himself as “the catcher,” the man who would catch the children before they fell over and lost their innocence. The cliff represents childhood,…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Towards the end of the novel, Holden has a conversation with his sister, and she asked him what he liked. He said he liked her and Allie but she said that he can't like Allie because Allie is dead. He then proceeds to tell his sister that his dream to be a catcher in the rye. He wants to save the children from transitioning into the inevitable adulthood.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays