What is the theme of The Catcher in the Rye? Explain and support this theme. Answer: People will struggle through life, and will need someone to save them. This theme is revealed through the title, The Catcher in the Rye, which alludes to the poem discussed in the story, and the wish of Holden to save youth from being dropped into the real world of corruption, to be there to “catch them.” The actual interpretation of the poem guides the reader to the truth of inappropriate or difficult subjects
I. Setting/Mood/Atmosphere Catcher in the Rye is set in the 1950s. Although it is unspecified the exact location of where Holden is, the reader knows that he is telling the story from an asylum somewhere in the New York/ New England area. Overall, the story he tells only spans three days, Saturday afternoon to Monday afternoon. Ultimately, the mood is determined by the language that Holden Caulfield uses. In Catcher in the Rye, he is very angsty, and shows that very obviously in his diction. Holden
Jackie B. Fahey Mr. Lukas English 10 H 5 October 2015 The Catcher in the Rye: Literary Analysis "What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be." (Salinger 173). The Catcher in the Rye is more than just a title of J.D Salinger’s book. The catcher in the rye is a symbol, as well as a metaphor, which represents Holden’s major
Symbolism in “Catcher in the Rye” Symbolism: the use of symbols to express or represent ideas or qualities in literature, art, etc (“Symbolism”). The many symbols in The Catcher in the Rye provides the reader with an immense amount of knowledge. This novel is about a sarcastic teenage boy, named Holden, who internally struggles with himself. During this period in his life, Holden finds himself attending multiple different boarding schools in the New York area. After flunking out of Pencey Prep, he
There are many books that recount stories of children in the process of the transition from being an adolescent to an adult. “Lucy” by Jamaica Kincaid and “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger are both books that feature the theme of coming of age. The protagonists of the novels, Holden and Lucy, experience some unfamiliar encounters and changes in their life which subsequently leads them to “grow up”. Due to the differences of their family background, character and experiences, Lucy matures to
The Catcher In The Rye In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye Holden Caulfield portrays how he is a phony by judging others for rude insensitive things, yet doing those things himself. Holden Caulfield is a very hypocritical person and does not even realize it. Throughout the whole book he shows these signs and changes only a little bit. Holden seems to be a good guy but tricks all of the readers when he shares more about himself in the novel. Holden really is a phony, but hides it very well
at such a slow and constant pace that it is easy to look up and realize that one has arrived a place that he or she had never meant to go. J.D. Salinger emphasizes this point in both his bestselling novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and his short story, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” Catcher follows around Holden Caulfield, a teenager in New York, as he explores the city for a weekend, and comes to grips with adulthood. “Bananafish” tells of a young man by the name of Seymour Glass, a World War 2 veteran
In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger it is the only time that a baseball mitt and the song Playing God by Paramore have anything in common. These two things directly relate to Holden in not only a physical sense, but mental as well. To begin, in the novel when Holden is kicked out of his school he does something that no average seventeen year old would do, he runs away to New York. This can be connected to the Song in the section, “Well, maybe you should tie me up so I don't go where you
their time discussing these ideas. Oddly enough, the most common time in one’s life to ponder these topics is during the teen years. These teenage years seem to become the mind’s blossoming stage. The young person’s philosophies tend to be constructed from family issues, ignorance, and fear. Teens typically cannot handle all of the responsibility and real-world experience without help. The developing adolescent mind becomes the consciousness of an isolationist, due to teenage incapability. Depression
anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (Salinger 277). Through this quote, JD Salinger, the brilliant author behind The Catcher in the Rye, gives us a deep perspective about his novel by showing the true feelings behind the complex character who is Holden Caulfield. Salinger was born on January 1, 1919 in New York City and became a world renowned author after the creation of his first novel, The Catcher in the Rye. In 1942, Salinger was drafted into the army after the invasion of Pearl Harbor