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.”…
The museum specifically represents the pause in time because the collections had remained the same as Holden remembered. Symbolically the museum is a place of knowledge and he talked fondly about Phoebe and her greater understanding of the world and how smart she is. He connects with her in that sense and he wants to show her that she can stay the same. Holden also relates the ducks in the pond to his childhood and every time he goes by the pond he blabs about the ducks and he is quite…
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).…
The passage talks on behalf of Holden on how his own death can impact the lives of people he knows or doesn’t know. After that, he focuses getting home to his little sister while trying to get his mind off pneumonia…
Readers may assume that Holden is somewhat mature, given the adult topics he chooses to talk about in his book. However, as only some readers find, Holden is not ready for adulthood and wishes he could hold on to his childhood forever. When Holden is recalling his past experiences at the Museum of Natural History, he gives us an insight as to why he treasures the museum so much. “Nobody’d move.…
As he visits, he remembers why it gave him a sense of gratification: everything in the museum remained the same. Unlike everything around him, the artifacts were frozen in time meaning that nothing has changed since the last time he visited. Accordingly, this relates to Holden’s desire to cling to his childhood and how he refuses to change and leave his adolescent years behind. His ability to remember each description of how the artifacts reveal his nostalgia and the innocence and simplicity present in those times. When Holden claims, “Certain things they should stay the way they are.…
S. N. Behrman discusses how Holden Caulfield’s difficulties with the people around him are comical although that is not his intent. Behrman classifies Holden’s interactions with others as a result of his innocent mindset. He brings into focus that Holden becomes attached to things that make him feel safe, such as the red cap, Allie’s mitt, and the record he bought for Phoebe. This parallels how Holden refuses to let go of his childhood innocence even though he is quickly approaching adulthood. Behrman also highlights Holden’s trip to the Museum of Natural History and his soliloquy about how the museum never changes, but the visitor does.…
He walks around the museum, recognizing specific exhibits that are in the same place every time he visits, and recollects certain memories of when he was young. Looking back at the past, Holden realizes, “Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone”(158). In his mind, Holden denies the upcoming future of maturation and continuously wishes that he could preserve time. This demonstrates his feelings and relates it to the still exhibits in the museum and how some things should just “stay the way they are”.…
Lucy Sondheim Ms. Spragens English 2 HP 12 October, 2015 Innocence, Death and Communication Growing up is strenuous and similar to Holden, people often have the desire to stay youthful eternally. Getting older can change someone from being pure to sinful. Holden repeatedly expresses that he yearns for people to preserve their innocence. He stated, “Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.”…
Historical lens analysis: The book was published after World War II. Soldiers coming back from the war had psychological issues. I think that Holden was a character based on the feelings of the war. He had lots of angst and anger towards societal pressures. The significance of this text is to serve as a lesson.…
Often mentioning how much he dislikes change, Holden favors the ease that came with being a child. An example of the aforementioned is when he reveals how much he used to enjoy visiting the Museum of Natural History. The exhibits in the museum were simplistic and never went through any extreme changes. Holden comments “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move… Nobody’d be different.…
With a current society today, Holden would also feel a better connection with people. This means, instead of interacting with dead objects like the museum displays that were “so nice and peaceful,” he is able to relate to other people of his age (Salinger 264). From his time period until today, not much has changed about teenagers, even though times have changed -- teens still want to be celebrities, get piercings and tattoos, do drugs, believe that guys should ask out girls, have mental problems and disabilities, etc. He is able to communicate with people that are common to him, and lessen his alienation from…
Question 1 In The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, there is the first person narrative given my Holden Caulfield. We will discuss what his narration reveals about the Holden and his character as well as whether we can trust his narrative. Salinger also uses the settings in which the Holden finds himself, and the symbolism of the ducks and fish in the lagoon to illustrate Holden’s feelings of loss and isolation. The setting I have chosen to consider in terms of his isolation which is often caused by a fear of change, The symbolism was explored in terms of how Salinger uses the symbolism to highlight Holden’s grief at the loss of his younger brother Allie.…
From the perspective of many other authors, they too feel like Holden goes on the preposterous quest to save the innocence of the…
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.…