It is proven that the environment that one grows up in can alter the person forever. J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher In The Rye is based in the 1940s. The novel is narrated by Holden Caulfield and follows his journey after failing his school Pencey Prep. The novel centers around Holden, and his transition from […]
In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger portrays Holden as a manic-depressive. He alternates between grandiosity and slight consciousness of his growing depression and the despair it causes, Holden slowly deteriorates throughout the course of the novel. Holden has several techniques to cope with his depression. He smokes, drinks, talks to Allie, uses the […]
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Get startedIn today’s society, people want to protect their future and are more focused on what’s to come rather than what’s happening now. Many people believe that the future is important, but what about childhood? Robert Frost once said Nothing gold can stay. Giving the impression that innocence doesn’t last forever and that it goes away […]
Lexton LewisLisa PhelpsEnglish 112-0925 April 2018The Catcher in the Rye: CensorshipTo start off, the Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, is about a boy named Holden Caulfield, who begins the book at a school named Pencey Prep School, in Pennsylvania. At the books beginning, the school is several days away from Christmas break, […]
An immature child’s experiences allow his transformation into a responsible man. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, revisits his transition from his young self. Holden, a junior at Pencey Prep, has just been expelled for failing four courses. Holden’s inability to deal with the chasm between childhood and […]
There are many challenges of growing up as a teenager where mistakes are learned and futures are made. It take courage to grow up and become who you really are (E.E Cummings). Holden Caulfield undertakes the coming-of-age journey as a young adult in the novel The Catcher in the Rye. Life has challenges that everyone […]
Everyone knows that as you get older you have more responsibilities, but nobody notices these responsibilities until it is time to face them. Responsibilities become difficult and more frequent as we reach adulthood. Everyone has to go through the process of becoming an adult whether they like it or not. Each personr’s process of maturing […]
The ending of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is convincing, following logically from the nature of the characters and from the preceding action. Holden Caulfield felt happy as he watched his sister Phoebe Caulfield ride on the Central Park carousel. Holden confessed, I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy (Salinger […]
Teenage years; a quest for self identity, a sense of self. In trying to find themselves, itr’s not uncommon to find a teenager experimenting with smoking, drugs, and sex. Teenagers use vulgar language, and are more rebellious than they were in their earlier years. In A Catcher in the Rye, a 16 year old boy […]
The worst worry for a child is losing a favorite toy or forgetting to bring lunch. A childr’s innocence is a fundamental piece of their adolescence. It suggests they are not completely mindful of the worldr’s inconveniences. J.D. Salingerr’s The Catcher in the Rye portrays Holden Caulfield, a struggling 16 year old and narrator of […]
In the book The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, a young boy named Holden Caulfield is trying to find who he really is on the streets of New York City. Holden is a self-inflicted loneliness, judgmental, and obsessive 16-year-old who was kicked out of Prency Prep due to him not caring about anything. […]
In Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, there are variations of symbols that are used to describe Holden Caulfieldr’s agony which interconnects with children. Children for Holden is like a piece of happiness because of their innocence. One way this is unambiguous is by children in the novel. Holden positions himself as a protector […]
Bad decisions, phoniness, and depression all relate back to the fact that children are getting stripped of their innocence and pushed into adulthood. The concept of losing innocence is one that J.D. Salingerr’s Catcher in the Rye really digs into. One of the reasons that The Catcher in the Rye is such a classic is […]
Holden gets expelled from Pencey Prep in the beginning of the novel. He got expelled for failing 4 out of 5 classes. Pencey Prep is the 4th school he has been expelled from for bad grades. Holden blames it on the phonies at Pencey. In the story he talks about how many phonies are at […]
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, Holdenr’s adolescence shows through as a time of trials and tribulations. During these times, Holden struggles to find not only pleasure in his current endeavor but a future worth living for. He has gone through more than a young man should have at his age, […]
Through the years of ancient civilization and culture, two things were always evident and emphasized to the common people; life is hard and death is the inevitable consequence of life. This was the primary focus of different religions of the ancient world to provide a way of life that not only accept the hard truth […]
J.D. Salingerr’s The Catcher in the Rye has been a hotly debated novel for nearly seventy years. The story features perhaps one of the most memorable central characters in American literature, Holden Caulfield. Holden is a sixteen-year-old boy who had recently been expelled from Pencey Prep, a prestigious academy for boys in fictional Agerstown Pennsylvania. […]
In order to persevere the innocents of children can difficult and most of the time you just need to allow the children to grow up and face the real world. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield is always talking about young children and their innocents. […]
Coping is a very hard mechanism to get through during your lifetime. Imagine losing your brother at a very young age; that is something not many people can get over easily. Growing up can be very difficult after going through a very traumatic experience at a very young age. The protagonist in The Catcher in […]
George Milton in John Steinbeckr’s Of Mice and Men and Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salingerr’s Catcher in the Rye both experience a sense of loneliness and isolation; George has a companion throughout the novel, and Holden is alienated from society and his environment, however, both characters share a similar desire–companionship and human connections. George spends […]
Growing up is the hardest thing in our life. It can be the most cheerful time that may become the time which you will expect, however it can be the most depressed time which you wish time can go faster at that moment. The main character of Peter Pan and The Catcher in the Rye, […]
In J.D. Salingerr’s, The Catcher in the Rye, Childhood and adolescence are depicted by times of innocence and wonder. Throughout Salingerr’s novel, the main character, Holden, struggles with the concept of growing up in life. While Holden, wanting to act more like an adult such as his friends, Holden always finds a way to stay […]
Throughout the novel Holden goes through a series of changes which, in turn, shapes the novel. As the adolescent he is, he makes choices that lead him to experiences in both a wonderous and innocent sense, as well as a more turbulent and terroristic sense. At the start of the novel The Catcher in the […]
Tone is an important part of J.D. Salingerr’s ability to connect to the reader through Holdenr’s voice, while still introducing the reader to more serious topics. Tone can be defined as the attitude the author or speaker has towards his subject. In this novel Holdenr’s tone of narration and J.D. Salingerr’s undertones differ greatly. Holden […]
In the book, Catcher in the Rye, wrote by J.D. Salinger has used the term phony to address people, objects, and situations that are brutal. Holdenr’s way of saying phony is when someone acts fake. He thinks that when people try to portray someone who their not are phonies to him. Holden is suggesting that […]
The world has become more unsafe, this is shown by the many examples of violence experienced around us. Humans are hurting each other like animals without any remorse. To make matters worse these actions are committed by adults upon other adults. In The Catcher in the Rye,a novel written by J.D. Salinger,is a book about […]
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger the protagonist Holden Caulfield is a 16 year old boy who despises adults and never want him or other children to become one. Holden lost his younger brother Allie who died of leukemia at the age of 13. He is very upset because his […]
The catcher in the rye means to save children from losing their innocence. That is what Holden believed that catcher in the rye meant. The main character who is confused and disillusioned searches for truth and rails against the phoniness of the adult world. He felt that adult behavior was phony. Holden would fantasize of […]
The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger about a typical adolescent struggling to accept the ugliness of the society and transitioning into an adult. Throughout the years, there has been many books and novels written about this theme but this particular book was able to capture the struggles and spirit of […]
Would you choose to have a physically unstable person in a psychiatric hospital or walking around freely on the streets? In the novel, The Catcher In The Rye written by J.D. Salinger based on a sixteen year old boy named Holden. In the book he is mentally and physically unstable, which means he should be […]
When reading a book or watching a movie, relevance is key in helping a viewer understand the context of the material. In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, a maturing boy, Holden Caulfield, struggles to find his place when he, and his world, is constantly changing. Holden’s story is still relevant today because it deals with sibling relationships, struggling to grow up, and the pressure of society.
When reading Holden’s journey it is clear that he has a hard time transitioning from a child to an adult which is a problem that is still relevant today. Holden makes a brief visit to New York City where he visits a shop and when leaving he notices a young boy singing to himself on the sidewalk. As Holden is observing the child he explains, “The kid was swell… and the whole time he kept singing and humming. I got up closer so I could hear what he was singing… Cars zoomed by, brakes screeched all over the place, his parents paid no attention to him, and kept on walking next to the curb and singing… It made me feel better. It made me feel not so depressed anymore” (Salinger 128-129). This encounter exemplifies Holden admiring a child for his innocence and happiness. He is almost jealous of the child for his innocence and the fact that he still has his childhood. Many children today struggle with the conflict as to whether one is ready to grow up and become an adult and understanding the transition from childhood to the responsibility of becoming an adult. This has been a question for many many years and is still very relevant today.
In the novel, an additional way that Holden continuously struggles is with navigating the pressure of society. Holden has multiple intimate encounters with girls that involve sex. However, while he feels the pressure of society telling him to be a man and do it, he never can. After leaving Pencey and traveling alone to New York City, Holden encounters a prostitute, Sunny, who he pays to come to his hotel room and have sex. Once she arrives in his room he changes his mind and decides he does not want to have sex. In Holden’s words, “‘Don’t you feel like talking for a while?’ I asked her. It was a childish thing to say, but I was feeling so damn peculiar… ‘what the heck ya wanna talk about’ she said” (Salinger 106). This shows that while society is telling Holden he is ready to be an adult, he is holding onto his childhood. He is struggling to decide if he is ready to leave childhood behind and begin to grow up in a significant way. Many individuals struggle to resist the pressures of society. Social cues are hard to ignore, particularly if one is unsure of what to do and, if someone like Holden is struggling to fit in, the cues can be much more tempting.
A final example of how Catcher in the Rye is still relevant today is through Holden’s relationship with his sister Phoebe, which comes to light toward the end of the book. Phoebe is a kind and forgiving 10-year-old girl, but when Holden is kicked out of Pencey, he works hard to repair the relationships that he appears to have broken. Even though Phoebe is upset with her brother, Holden only wants the best for her when he insists, “You have to go back to school” (Salinger 228). This quote demonstrates that
although he makes choices that may ruin his life, he will not allow Phoebe to do the same. Holden and Phoebe’s bouts are very relatable and usual in sibling relationships and a struggle siblings in the present can understand and relate to.
To conclude, Holden’s journey through life is still relevant today because he deals with letting go of childhood, sibling bonds, and having to block out pressure from society. Especially during a pandemic, when one would miss pivotal moments in a life that shapes a person, it is important to remember our society and life’s natural ups and downs help grow a person into who they are.
