Holden Caulfield Character Analysis

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Society's ever changing view of the typical norm really places people close to the point of becoming social outcasts. Should one not find how to adapt to society and its standards, one will never really be at ease. Holden Caulfield in “The Catcher In The Rye” by J.D. Salinger is a perfect example of this. Holden has been kicked out of multiple schools and his excuse being that people at particular schools are phonies and it annoyed him to no end. But what Holden fails to realize is that he yearns to truly belong. Afraid of being rejected, he rejects everyone before they can reject him. Holden on his trip through New York allows us to discover many things about him but we are also allowed an interpretation of what his character himself is truly like. Though it is never truly stated directly he directly criticizes others when in fact he should also be looking at himself. One can begin to tell that he is lost trying to find himself in the event with the pond and the ducks. “Hey listen,” I said. “You…show more content…
He has positive influence from his interactions with his old history teacher Mr.Spencer, and Phoebe his sister whom he truly feels he can have a heart felt conversation. Sure highly favoring isolation mean that you don’t form bonds or are afraid of forming bonds but he has them whether or not he wants them. Family is a bond given to since birth that is complex yes, but is also relatively stable and well though he doesn’t necessarily mention much about his parents, it be interpreted that they do care for him. We can also tell how Holden truly feels in the following quote about his place in society. “we are too much on opposite sides of the pole” (14)being on the other side of life. Right away we can tell Holden feels distant from the world early on being that he can’t separate his form of isolation as it has become one of his main defenses against the outside

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