Holden fears the possibility that he may spend the rest of his life as an outsider looking in. Although Holden attempts to change his social position, his mindset is out of place, preventing him from relating to how a normal individual would feel. Therefore, Holden struggles immensely in terms of making lasting connections with others, mainly because he cannot see eye to eye with them. “He focuses on the danger and potential death instead of love and a personal relationship” (Edwards).…
Adolescents all have their own ways of transitioning into adults. In one way or another, we all lose our childhood innocence, whether we like it or not. Many people wonder what this stage in life may be called. ‘’Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The certain age at which this transition takes place changes in society, as does the nature of the change.”…
Within our humanistic culture, people tend to pursue many things, and in doing so believe that they will find meaning. These pursuits include business success, wealth, relationships and entertainment. People have testified that while they achieved their goals of wealth, relationships and pleasure, there was still a deep void inside, a feeling of emptiness that nothing seemed to fill. Shawn Sutherlands, Seeing Red, lays open an overeducated, underemployed character, Ethan Reid, who is struggling to reconcile expectations with reality. Similarly, J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, illustrates a teenager, Holden Caulfield and his dramatic struggle against growing up and facing his own reality.…
As humans we constantly find ourselves facing the fact that we are growing older and accepting the responsibilities that come with age. Sometimes we see teenagers, young kids and even some adults fall into a place where they are emotionally stuck in the past. In the catcher in the rye, Holden Caulfield is a character that portrays an irrational fear of growing up through displays of angst such as; Childlike behaviour, rebellion and sheltering/protecting others (young children). His fear and dread are normal reactions to adulthood and the phoniness he has come to understand it entails. In the novel the Holden tries to act mature but in his attempts he reveals the dept of his immaturity.…
The lower class in the United States experiences a dissatisfaction within society due to their inability to achieve the standards set by the upper class as portrayed by American Authors, yielding an immense hatred for those above them in social ranking. American Authors feed off of angry emotions within American life and harness it to fuel their novels and increase general interest in the charecters. By painting a picture of the snobbish social elite who look down on those who do not fit their specific mold of perfection, authors use their novels to explain the hatred of the upper class. One of the most obvious example of this is in the novel The Catcher in the Rye. The narrator, Holden, comes from a wealthy family, attends swanky boarding…
When I knew that I was gonna come to the United States for the very first time, I had a mishmash of emotions. Excitement was of course present, since I've fancied myself living the American dream. You know, the kind of life you see on TV. So, whenever I come back fresh from the States, wind blows like there's no tomorrow. All I say is how great life is in America.…
Gender identity is learned from about the ages of eighteen months to two years old, which usually by age two children have an understanding that they are part of a certain gender group and they can accurately identify other individuals of their group. When children become the ages of five to seven, they are convinced that they are permanently members of their gender also kids will recognize their gender as well as other, but they will often make assumptions on the way a person looks. They go by the way a person dresses for example, children will assume the person is a female if they are walking around wearing a dress with heels and make up on or is wearing pants with a shirt that’s fitted but revealing with long hair whether its tied back or loose. People who walk around wearing loose pants, a loose shirt that is not fitted, and tennis shoe with short hair is assumed to be a male. Children will not go by the physical attribution such as,…
ICM met with Ms. Holden at her residence in an effort to her assist her with her employment goal and to monitor her service plan progress. Upon arrival to Ms. Holden’s home, Ms. Holden informed ICM that she was unable to secure childcare for her daughter; she stated that she had no child care options besides brining her daughter with her to the interview. ICM offered to monitor Ms. Holden’s daughter during the interview and explained that it is not appropriate to bring children to job interviews. ICM utilized the opportunity to check in with Ms. Holden and see if she made contact with CCIS (Child Care Information Services) in an effort to have her subsided childcare reinstated.…
In this analysis of Catcher in the Rye, Timothy Aubry states that Catcher in the Rye depicts an idealistic sense of individuality that many American authors write about. Aubry compares Holden to Huck Finn because they are both innocent while still being manipulative to others. Both of the characters seek independence and they resist the authority of adults; another thing the characters have in common is their extreme loneliness. Additionally, Aubry states that much of the popularity behind Catcher in the Rye is it’s relevance to postwar America. During this time, many Americans saw the need to protect the freedom of the United States.…
The Epitomization of American Identity Through American Literature The present is shaped by those who took action in the past. There exists in early American literature and history, a struggle for the realization of equality. Which opposed the accepted immoral standpoint of discrimination and exclusion. Held by the majority of public during most of the literatures publication.…
Thesis: After experiencing the harshness of the adult world, Holden embarks on a journey to become the Catcher In the Rye and preserve children's’ innocence. He goes through a numerous amount of different trials that end in failure; which leads to him realizing that innocence is not something that can be obtained forever. Body Paragraph 1 Holden develops a dream job that entails of him trying to preserve children’s innocence. His idea for his job came about after experiencing loosing his own innocence following a tragic event Salinger's purpose for including Holden’s dream job is to show Holden’s false sense of reality as well as how his past experiences lead him to his conclusion on innocence. Holden feels as though children are the only ones left with their innocence and he must do everything in his power to protect them.…
Holden on the other hand cannot come to terms with his own person and the world of adulthood that makes him quite unhappy and view the world of adulthood as cruel and chooses not to engage in friendships with people of his age, ending up alienated. The two protagonists are from different age groups. Daniel just stays at home and has an apartment, but is jobless suggesting that he is past schooling and probably above 20 years. Holden on the other hand is just a high school student at the age of 17, which is among the ages that maturity enters hence a lot of differences are noted. Between the two protagonists, one is aware of his condition, while one just thinks there is nothing wrong except the people around him are all wrong.…
The Impact of Discrimination and Alienation on Society Discrimination and alienation are two major contributing factors to whether or not a society is able to work together and be one. In the novels Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, discrimination and alienation play a key role in the failure of their societies. Of Mice and Men tells the story of George and Lennie, two men who work on a ranch together. Numerous characters throughout the novel experience discrimination and suffer because of it. Holden is the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye whom self-alienates himself from society.…
In J.D Salinger’s, Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caufield is unwilling to resist change and is opposed of watching innocent children lose their innocence. This expresses the theme, the painfulness of growing up and phoniness of the adult world. Holden hates the phony adult world, so he wants to save every child from stepping into it. Therefore, Holden expresses his feelings to Phoebe that he wants to be the Catcher in the Rye. Holden says, “I keep picturing all these little kids….…
Observing a person’s actions may not always reveal who they truly are as a person; the only possible way is to take a trip through their mind. Although this is not humanly possible, J.D. Salinger makes it possible through the techniques he uses in his novel: The Catcher in The Rye. Different styles of writing are incorporated to reveal who Holden Caulfield really is; from first person narration to the thoughts running through his mind to the limited word choices, Salinger’s structure and stylistic choices in The Catcher in the Rye highlight Holden’s personality traits. Salinger’s use of first person narration throughout the novel provides readers with a glimpse into the thoughts of Holden, revealing who he is as a person.…