Holden Caulfield Character Analysis Essay

Holden Caulfield character deconstruction D2 In his stunning novel, The Catcher in the Rye, author J.D Salinger reveals the character of Holden Caulfield as a serious, depressing, and sensitive teenager who has just gotten expelled from a school called Pencey Prep. He does not want his parents to know, so he does not go home for many days. Also, as Holden is growing up into an adult he starts seeing the hypocrisy and ugliness of the world. The author shows Holden’s true personality throughout the story by what he does, what he says, and what others say about him. Holden’s actions are important in showing who he really is. In the beginning of the book, Holden punches and attacks his school roommate, Stradlater for not telling him about his date with Jane, which is a girl who Holden had strong feelings for. This action shows us that Holden releases his anger aggressively. Also when Holden is out having breakfast he sees two nuns who are moving to Manhattan to start a school. Holden decides to give them ten dollars, which was almost all he had. This action shows that Holden is not as bad as he seems and can sometimes be generous. …show more content…
Just like in the situation when Holden went to his parent’s home to see his sister. He is sneaking back out and says, “ I figured if they caught me, they caught me. I almost wished they did, in a way,” this shows that Holden is tired of running and hiding from his parents. In other words, holden wishes he can go home, in a way. Also, at the end of the book Holden is watching his sister going around a carrousel and says, “I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth. I don’t know why. It was just that she looked so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around in her coat and all.” This example shows how strong Holden’s love and proudness is for his sister