J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye Essay Example
J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye
Holden’s Idealism:
• One of Holden’s biggest problems is his idealism. What he demands and expects of the world is unreasonable; he expects near perfection from everyone and everything and, as this is impossible, is always disappointed with the world and those around him.
• Holden rarely ever points out someone’s strengths (except their physical appearance, if they’re attractive) but can always find minor flaws and weaknesses.
• Puts far too much emphasis on people’s flaws, to an exaggerated level, says he “hates” them because of it.
• He groups nearly all forms of behaviour that bother him into “phoniness”, anything that deviates from his ideals or that seems predictable, such as selfishness, vanity, etc.
• What he fails to accept is that these are simply basic human personality traits, human nature (this is why his ideals are impossible), and that even he often behaves in a manner that he would describe as “phony”.
• Holden’s love of children, particularly Phoebe, is demonstrative of his naïve, perfectionist ideals. Holden likes children because he cannot find any “phoniness” in them. Children are not yet “tainted” with this supposed “phoniness” that inevitably becomes a part of one’s personality as they grow and that is what Holden is really rebelling against: adulthood. Holden is not ready to accept that he will have to sacrifice some of his ideals in order to survive in the adult world.
• We witness Holden trying to preserve a child’s innocence when he reacts so strongly to the words “Fuck you” written on the wall in Phoebe’s school and erases it (Salinger 201).
• However, Holden demonstrates a fair amount of kindness and compassion, such as when he says “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” (Salinger 214). He is admitting that, despite everything, he feels bad for them. This demonstrates a startling level of compassion and caring, as well as forgiveness.
• His encounter
Holden’s Idealism:
• One of Holden’s biggest problems is his idealism. What he demands and expects of the world is unreasonable; he expects near perfection from everyone and everything and, as this is impossible, is always disappointed with the world and those around him.
• Holden rarely ever points out someone’s strengths (except their physical appearance, if they’re attractive) but can always find minor flaws and weaknesses.
• Puts far too much emphasis on people’s flaws, to an exaggerated level, says he “hates” them because of it.
• He groups nearly all forms of behaviour that bother him into “phoniness”, anything that deviates from his ideals or that seems predictable, such as selfishness, vanity, etc.
• What he fails to accept is that these are simply basic human personality traits, human nature (this is why his ideals are impossible), and that even he often behaves in a manner that he would describe as “phony”.
• Holden’s love of children, particularly Phoebe, is demonstrative of his naïve, perfectionist ideals. Holden likes children because he cannot find any “phoniness” in them. Children are not yet “tainted” with this supposed “phoniness” that inevitably becomes a part of one’s personality as they grow and that is what Holden is really rebelling against: adulthood. Holden is not ready to accept that he will have to sacrifice some of his ideals in order to survive in the adult world.
• We witness Holden trying to preserve a child’s innocence when he reacts so strongly to the words “Fuck you” written on the wall in Phoebe’s school and erases it (Salinger 201).
• However, Holden demonstrates a fair amount of kindness and compassion, such as when he says “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” (Salinger 214). He is admitting that, despite everything, he feels bad for them. This demonstrates a startling level of compassion and caring, as well as forgiveness.
• His encounter