Not only has the novel been banned on many occasions, but the writing style itself is also unique. As Holden writes the novel, almost like a journal, he takes down every thought that comes to mind. It is because of this that his telling is filled with random thoughts, as he is frequently sidetracked or distracted. So, being inside the main character's head, you truly get to know everything about him- all the good and the bad.…
“What lasts is what is written. We look to literature to find the essence of an age.” This is a statement by Peter Brodie. It is basically stating that we can see how the past was by what is written. I do agree with this statement, for years now literature has been able to give us clues from the past.…
The book The catcher in the RYE is a story from the point of view of Holden Caulfield witch is a teenager who is writing the story from some sort of “mental hospital” because he “got t.b” (Salinger 3). Through out the story, Holden, explains the various problems he had growing up in the 1940s and 50s such as, coping with his brothers death and having to put up with a bully/ roommate he knows as Stradlater who is dating the girl he likes. During the story, Holden is forced to hop from school to school because he just doesn’t put in any effort. When Holden goes back to see a teacher that taught at his first school, who says, “Do you feel absolutely no concern for your future, boy”(Salinger 6). After that, Holden goes to a new school where he…
J.D. Salinger wanted to make a statement about the vulnerability of innocence as well as highlight the struggles a teenager faces when confronted with his future. He does this by creating a character currently dealing with a quarter life crisis; Holden has no clue what he’s going to do with his life, is severely depressed and is in constant conflict with growing up and adulthood. Holden Caulfield is confronted with an unfair challenge; like most modern youths, at the tender age of 16 he faces the the impossible choice of what he’ll do in life. First of all, it is cruel and immoral for him to be dealt with this issue as he is still stuck in a child-like mindset and even references how people his age are “practically children” (Salinger 147).…
Throughout the novel, J.D. Salinger shows us that Holden fears growing up and has a mental breakdown as he transitions to adulthood. He doesn’t want other children to experience the "phoniness" of the world and become corrupted by society. While he was talking with Phoebe, Holden says that he wants to be a catcher in the rye, to save the children from falling off the cliff. What Holden means by ‘Being a catcher in the rye’ is that he wants to protect children’s innocence from entering the world of adults.…
The Catcher in the Rye portrays Holden Caulfield’s struggle to accommodate to the adult world. Caulfield is overtly ashamed of his inadequacy and resorts to deception to alter the way people think about him in addition to how he feels about himself. He attempts to mask his ineptitude at school and intimacy to create an ideal persona. Although Caulfield’s deception malignantly inflicts others as well as himself, it simultaneously enables Caulfield to exploit others and rebel against social pressures and his own…
To teach or not to teach Teenager, a word that was first incorporated into an everyday American’s vocabulary in the 1920s, due to the fact that there was not a word describing the adolescence ages of 13 to 19. While you do not have the responsibilities of being an adult, you also do not have the freedoms of being a child anymore. It was also brought into existence because this time period in an individual's life is when they are thought of as very rebellious. Teens want to drink, smoke, and even try to change the world, even if they are not even twenty. In Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, is a teenager struggling through life and wanting more.…
“In my mind, I’m probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw,” (Holden). Sex, drugs, prostitute, death, loneliness, depression, anger, and isolation are all rousing words that has circulated in and out of every person’s life. All these words can easily relate to something specifically in common, Holden. A fictional character manifested into a book, in which Holden shows a darker side to humanity. This in turn appears to have a strong effect on the people in Holden’s life.…
The novel The Catcher In The Rye was written in the 1950’s,however is still be relevant for teenagers today. Holden’s character represent the cliche 1950’s and the modern teenage such as his is rebellious utilizing swear words and also slang terms such as “phony” instead of fake. Holden is kicked out of school, and failed practically each and every of his classes which are against society in modern time and Holden time. This rebellious behavior is still prevalent today in modern culture. For example,body piercings ,face tattoos these things bring Holden's rebelliousness character back to life.…
Holden relates to people now in many ways, Catcher in the Rye still represents the voice of people modern day. Holden is independent throughout the book, he doesn't want help from anyone especially not his parents like most teens. Most can relate to Holden's loss of a family member and the struggle to overcome and mourn. Like a lot of people, Holden is always judging others and still cares about how people perceive him. Holden is always in private schools and he rarely sees his family.…
A small boy takes his first step, falling as he tries. There is no one watching. No one to help him up. With tears streaming down his plush cheeks, he continues on crawling. As he grows, he never truly learns how to walk, but he holds onto his surroundings to hold him up.…
The Catcher in the Rye is a story about a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield and has many themes. Some of them include insanity, phoniness, childhood, and sex. Throughout the story Holden criticizes people and labels them “phonies”. Ironically, in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden acts phony in many ways which one can see through his thoughts, words and actions. Because of this Holden cannot have functioning relationships with others, and it take a toll on him.…
Throughout the book Holden brings up things related to his implied and traumatizing encounters with sexual abuse and his brothers death; he also elaborates on how much he despises when people talk about him being kicked out of school. As the book goes on it becomes more apparent to the reader how much these things affect Holden throughout his daily life. Holden is a very vague and ill-defined character that has no path in life and proceeds to be the more invisible minority. Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger illustrates the struggles of mental illness through the character of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year old boy who is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression due to his many implied sexual encounters,…
The author Salinger, makes Holden Caulfield this obnoxious, bad mouthing, cynic teenager. “...I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies.” (Salinger p 13). In the novel Catcher in the Rye, Holden goes through many obstacles and is trying to find himself. But during his exploration,we realize that Holden is growing up and is becoming a man.…
Salinger shows his attentiveness toward the rhythms of speech by using italics quite frequently in order to let the reader know when a character is placing emphasis on a word, or even on just a syllable, in dialogue. The emphasis of a single syllable shows a realism to the dialogue of The Catcher in the Rye rarely seen not only in the works of Salinger?s time, but also before and after it. Salinger?s emphasis on the rhythm of speech is mirrored in his emphasis on the rhythm of thought, which, in turn, emphasizes the importance of both. Salinger uses paragraph breaks not only to change from one subject to another, but also to accentuate certain thoughts. In another demonstration of his literary brilliance, Salinger shows that he knows the human mind by using shorter paragraphs for more important matters.…