Holden Caulfield is the main character and narrator of Catcher in the Rye. The story is given after the fact in a stream of consciousness, as Holden is in a rest home. Holden alienates himself to provide a sense of protection from the “real” world he must start living in. He describes adulthood as superficial, hypercritical, and shallow. He believes that he is above the adult world, as all adults are phonies. Holden believes that phoniness is what is wrong in the world and is his excuse for alienating
J.D. Salinger and Sylvia Plath craft the protagonists of The Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar, Holden Caulfield and Esther Greenwood respectively, to each battle mental illness and society's expectations in their relative social spheres in order to find their own identities, but with varied outcomes. For Holden it results in a slow and steady mental breakdown that worsens as he continues to observe elements of a society he cannot and will not fit into. Esther has a slightly different experience
deception/candid and being open to the world - Coming of age story – transition from childhood to adulthood In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is identified as a character that deeply wishes to preserve his youthful innocence and purity (idea) of the past *Endures hardships along the way Holden Caulfield – ineffectively copes with this transition - intentional isolation (alienates/ means to purify himself from the phonies of the world/his way of not facing the
character, Holden Caulfield’s alienation, he uses language that signifies depression. Holden’s repeated usage of language of depression reveals his alienation from people and his loneliness and longing for them throughout his interactions with others. This is evidenced through the appearance of language of depression when Holden experiences emotional distress or a death wish associated with his distance from society. Holden’s emotional distress is a consistent
navigating the oftentimes murky waters of human sexuality, emotions, and sense of belonging. Throughout J.D. Salinger’s coming-of-age tale, themes of alienation and isolation are displayed prevalently. Salinger writes Holden’s character as one who is isolated from his peers; he is withdrawn into his own mind. Holden’s isolation from society and alienation from intimacy and human interaction is what ultimately drives him to a tragic, mental breakdown. Holden’s isolation is evident because he purposely
teenagers’ unstable mindsets through the Catcher in the Rye, especially through his protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, J.D Salinger uses Holden to convey the immature curiosity and painfulness of growing up of typical teenagers. In the Catcher in the Rye, Salinger depicts the immature mentality of typical teenagers through Holden’s childish curiosity. In Chapter 12, when Holden takes a taxi, he asks the taxi driver, “Do you happen to know where they (ducks) go in the wintertime
Literature (A) 8 September 2014 A Spinning Wheel of Adulthood As a micro planner, J.D. Salinger opens his novel Catcher in the Rye, with an unclear direction of how this book is going to end. Through an internal journey of Holden Caulfield exploring the adulthood as he encounters the obstacles in his life, the little boy determined to protect the precious innocence of children and guide them to their right path. The novel features micro writing style to open the paragraph and set
to help form major themes throughout the novel. The story focuses on a sixteen year old boy, Holden Caulfield, who has just been expelled from his third school. Holden decides to leave his school, Pency Prep early and stays in New York for three days to pass the time. There he begins to see recurring symbols that all together develope from items into symbols reflecting Holden’s self and mindset. As Holden spends his three days in New York three major item help symbolize his struggling through his
represents Holden’s major conflict in the book. Holden wants to connect with other people on a more mature and adult level but at the same time he wants to reject the phoniness of the adult world. Holden’s major conflict in the novel and his hostile outlook on life stems from the tragedies he has experienced in his life along with other events. The death of Holden’s beloved brother Allie, along with the depraved nurturing of his parents results in Holden becoming physiologically damaged. As well as
Throughout the novel of the Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s abortive attempt to conserve his feeble and incompetent sense of individuality leads to his loneliness which is the primary source of a concrete manifestation of his self-division from the gross demographic of diverse groups of people. The archetypal characters in Catcher in the Rye demonstrate Holden’s struggle to preserve his own innocence and that of those around him. However, through his experiences with these archetypal characters