One Last Breath

Adulthood Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist, in J. D. Salinger contemporary novel “the Catcher in the Rye” has a much more deeper character than what he reveals. Holden is a seventeen-year-old boy who writes down his past journey in New York City when he was sixteen. The readers get a commentary on his thoughts and dialogue throughout his time in New York. The audience therefore has unique insight on Holden’s personality, relationships, and actions. Beginning with an of Holden’s…

escape from by preserving his and other people’s childhoods. Holden’s actions and thoughts through most of the novel are driven by his desperate need to protect his own innocence and the innocence of others which he believes is eroded by adulthood. One of the main causes of Holden’s commitment to preserving innocence is the trauma which he received during his own childhood. In beginning of the book Holden briefly informs the reader about his childhood; he describes his childhood as not being…

school which he has dubbed full of phonies, for flunking all classes except one-English. He has already flunked out of several other schools, and is to be sent home when Christmas Break starts, but he has not yet informed his parents. He decides to visit his teacher, Mr. Spencer, but gets uncomfortable and hurries to leave after Mr.…

has adversities. Initially, maturing from childhood to adulthood is part of evolving in life; additionally, leaving behind one’s childhood to become an adult is conflicted. Subsequently, new fragments of life transpire as one cultivates in life. Ultimately, when growing up, one has to take more responsibility for their actions. The theme of growing up in life is interwoven throughout all three texts. Firstly, the theme in all three texts explains that maturing from childhood to adulthood can be…

Holden Caulfield is the main character and the narrator in the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”. Holden tells his life story and is currently going through psychiatric care. At the beginning of his story, Holden is a student at Pencey Prep School (Private School). He is expelled for failing the majority of his classes except English. Holden visits his old teacher Mr. Spencer before he leaves Pencey. Mr. Spencer gave Holden advice but the irresponsible sixteen-year-old ignored the advice that he…

its unusual attraction to Holden, which fits his personality perfectly because both are very unusual. The red hunting hat also objects to people as a goofy-looking hat, as people view Holden as a weird “kid.” Because the cap is also a hunting cap, one could speculate what Holden is hunting, which is most likely his innocence or…

To Be a Jock or Not to Be a jock, That Is the Question Are you a jock or a puke? In 2011, a man by the name Robert Lipsyte, had his article called “Jock Culture” first featured in a special sports issue of the New York Times. Lipstye was born in 1938, and grew up in the Bronx and lived a daunted childhood with constant bullying by his peers. Lipsyte would’ve described himself as a “puke” in his adolescent days. He is an intelligent man due from his previous educations such as, earning his…

In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger frequently highlights Holden’s attempts to protect himself from the harshness of reality by alienating himself from emotional connections with those he cares about. Holden distances himself from others by implying that he is superior from the phoniness around him, as well as intentionally avoiding confrontation with others. These actions have lead to an unstable and erratic life, such as his repeated expulsions and his situation in the rest home. He has also…

to "name one thing"(Salinger 182) that he likes. His answer is Allie. Phoebe insists that "if somebody's dead" (Salinger 184), they do not count. Even Phoebe, a child is able to face the reality of Allie's death. Allie tells Phoebe that "[he] knows he's dead, but you don't just stop liking them, … especially if they were a thousand times nicer than the people you know that're alive and all" (Salinger 184). Holden is unable to form close emotional friendships because he believes that no one is as…

J.D. Salinger includes vulgar language frequently throughout his novel. This is one complaint and issue that The Catcher in the Rye receives numerous amounts of times. Throughout the whole book, the main character, Holden, uses profanity quite often. For example, Holden uses language such as "damn", "crap", "ass", and "hell". These words are not entirely the most vulgar words, but Holden is very repetitive with them which makes them lose their meaning. The book also uses the work “f***”…