Throughout the story of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has lost the sight of his own sovereignty. He experiences loss of sovereignty when he has to leave his school because he had failed 4 of his classes. Holden explains that he isn’t down at the football game because, “I wasn’t supposed to come back after Christmas vacation on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all.” (2) He has lost the right and choice to participate in Pencey Prep anymore. This is just like one of the many other schools that he had gotten kicked out of. There’s a more valuable lesson that is to be taught to Holden in the long run of all of these outcomes. Percy describes this by explaining, “The stratagem of avoiding the educator’s
…show more content…
Holden had announced that, “Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep.” (1) He made it a point to start off with him leaving another school. He had lost the right to make his own decision once he walked into that school because they show you how you should be not who you really are. Similarly in The Loss of the Creature, Percy refers to what Kierkegaard had said once which was, “As Kierkegaard said, once a person is seen as a specimen of a race or a species, at that very moment he ceases to be an individual. Then there are no more individuals but only specimens.” (9) In one's mind you are not an individual but are categorized into a group. That person had made their own opinion about you. Of course people are going to have their own expectations of who or what we should be, like the teachers at Pencey Prep have in mind for their students, but that shouldn't stop us from being who we really want to be. Of course we are gonna let people down here and there but that shouldn't stop us from being who we really are. Holden has definitely let down his parents …show more content…
Holden was too depressed to find it all throughout the book. He did find parts of his throughout the book but not all of it. He may have found it in others like his sister when she was on the carousel, “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 blue coat and all.” (114) He finds happiness through his sister which makes him think he has control over his life again. One of Percy’s characters that he used in his story has felt something so strong that he also couldn’t fully get a hold of it, “...that the great thing yawning at his feet somehow eludes him.” (2) The thing that is in front of this person is so beautiful that he cannot fully grasp onto it. What was told in the book about Holden is that he may never find his sovereignty but when he goes to therapy, it is likely that he will regain his own sovereignty. That is probably one of the things that Holden worked on during his
Holden had announced that, “Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep.” (1) He made it a point to start off with him leaving another school. He had lost the right to make his own decision once he walked into that school because they show you how you should be not who you really are. Similarly in The Loss of the Creature, Percy refers to what Kierkegaard had said once which was, “As Kierkegaard said, once a person is seen as a specimen of a race or a species, at that very moment he ceases to be an individual. Then there are no more individuals but only specimens.” (9) In one's mind you are not an individual but are categorized into a group. That person had made their own opinion about you. Of course people are going to have their own expectations of who or what we should be, like the teachers at Pencey Prep have in mind for their students, but that shouldn't stop us from being who we really want to be. Of course we are gonna let people down here and there but that shouldn't stop us from being who we really are. Holden has definitely let down his parents …show more content…
Holden was too depressed to find it all throughout the book. He did find parts of his throughout the book but not all of it. He may have found it in others like his sister when she was on the carousel, “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 blue coat and all.” (114) He finds happiness through his sister which makes him think he has control over his life again. One of Percy’s characters that he used in his story has felt something so strong that he also couldn’t fully get a hold of it, “...that the great thing yawning at his feet somehow eludes him.” (2) The thing that is in front of this person is so beautiful that he cannot fully grasp onto it. What was told in the book about Holden is that he may never find his sovereignty but when he goes to therapy, it is likely that he will regain his own sovereignty. That is probably one of the things that Holden worked on during his