The Catcher in the Rye

A few months down the road I will be achieving a milestone by graduating high school and having a taste of independence. Like Holden Caulfield, I too am close to entering adulthood, but the difference between him and I is our attitude towards change. In the novel, Holden's former teacher tells him that, 'the mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one" (page 188). Through a discussion of various…

The characters in a novel play critical roles in influencing the protagonist and the accompanying themes. J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye follows Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year old boy and his realizations juxtaposing with the world around him. Holden is very nonchalant and has been kicked out numerous schools. This leads him to take a chance and transpire a voyage to New York. These events have allowed Holden to meet a variety of characters that affect his life in various ways and…

scary, confusing journey for most children, whom may not have people to encourage and provide a sense of security for them. J.D Salinger has greatly expressed the struggles of growing up “alone”, in his astonishing coming of age novel “The Catcher and the Rye”. Salinger utilizes the red hunting hat, the duck in the lagoon and The Museum of Natural History as symbols throughout the novel to show the worries of growing up with the story of Holden Caulfield. Holden, when he is depressed and/or…

In the novel The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the narrator, Holden Caulfield, goes on an adventurous pilgrimage from his preparatory school in Pennsylvania to New York City, explaining many of his important thoughts and emotions along the way. Throughout his misguided trek through the big city, Holden continually has something wrong with himself and his mental state continues to deteriorate. Although the traits of unhappiness and pessimism embed in him, the readers come to appreciate…

Imagine staying young forever and not being able to grow into an adult. This novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, by J.D. Salinger is about a certain teeager named Holden Caulfield, who struggles accepting the growth of life and wished kids would never grow into the adult “phony” hood. “Boy, i felt miserable. I felt so depressed, you can’t even imagine.”, Holden was going through a lot of problems which most teenagers can relate to. This story makes you feel like you’re in the life of Holden…

At the beginning, Holden is shown as innocence for most of the book which is related to his struggle with growing up. But as the story progresses, Holden must learn maturity for himself and learn to move on eventually though there are going to be circumstances that may come with a price. In this case, he can’t accept the death of Allie, which is shown as a death of innocence that had no good reason to die. In the beginning of the book when Allie, “got leukemia and died…on July 18, 1946” when…

This quote was interesting because it revealed a more childish and curious side to Holden’s typical angsty character. Salinger uses the ducks in the pack as a metaphor to represent change, something Holden fears, due to them migrating during different seasons. Holden question of where will the ducks go, is actually a question for his future after running away from Pencey. This resonates with since I share the same question of “What will happen to me in the future” due to college being just…

Holden really wouldn’t go away with Sally because he only likes her for her looks. Sally is not the kind of girl Holden would want to take. His ideal girl to go to Vermont would be Jane because he truly loves how Jane plays the game strategically and she is a very natural person. As Holden says he “probably wouldn’t’ve taken her even if she’d wanted to go with [him]. She wouldn’t have been anybody to go with” (174). Holden also says that she is a “royal pain in the ass” (173). Plus afterward he…

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, scholars tend to agree that Holden Caulfield feels inferior towards others, which lowers his self-esteem, so in order to gain confidence with himself, he feels the need to be superior. Finally, in the article, Anna Freud and J.D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield by Robert Coles, Coles introduces a new way of how Holden Caulfield is superior. Coles and Freud discuss different ways Holden Caulfield influences our youth and how that makes him superior…

Teen Depression IS Relevant During the 1950’s, 6% of teenagers experienced depression. Today 20% of teens will experience depression before adulthood. That’s 1 in every 5 teens versus in the 1950’s where the rate was 1 in every 17 teens. The Catcher in the Rye is completely relevant to today's teens, if not more relevant than in was when it was written. The amount of teenagers that experience depression has tripled since the 1950’s, therefore this book is relevant to the teens today who…