Holden Bowler

belittled during typical everyday encounters. In the case of teenager Holden Caulfield, this phobia of exclusion is the norm. Holden’s suspicions often end up disconnecting him further from the support of others. The Catcher in the Rye by: J.D. Salinger is about the social and internal struggles faced by Holden Caulfield. It all begins shortly after Holden is kicked out of Pencey Prep, a school in which he feels lonesome and outcasted. Holden has difficulty conforming to societal norms and, as a…

that reveals something significant about themselves. In the Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield cherishes his red hunting hat. The reader’s first encounter the red hunting hat in chapter three where Holden describes how he got it in his hometown of New York City after losing his fencing foils. Salinger never clearly wrote in the story why Holden holds dear to it. However, there were several references in his novel about this particular hat which puts a…

Holden Caulfield faces various forms of victimization throughout the novel, but his isolation from the world plays a vast role against him. The victimization forms him to protect the innocence of all children around the world. Throughout this novel there are many versatile examples of victimization towards Holden and how he turns it around to help protect the innocence of children. For example, when he tells Phoebe he is a catcher in the rye, when he sees the swearing words on the walls of the…

Author J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye features Holden Caulfield, a young man who struggles through getting kicked out of multiple private boys schools, society’s expectations, and depression. The lense this book is being analyzed under is psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalytic theory is the concept of the unconscious part of the human brain contains biological motivators and conditioning from past experiences. The specific part of psychoanalytic theory that is being used is the idea of…

thoughts about sex and love. In the film Ordinary People, another young boy is caught in a similar situation and shares his opinions about sex and love as well. Holden Caulfield and Conrad Jarrett both go through troubling experiences, but Conrad approaches them in a healthier manner compared to Holden. Therefore, he is likely to feel better. Holden handles his brother’s death in a toxic way, and does not succeed in moving on. One way he handles the situation is by calling Faith Cavendish, a…

who is more accepting of himself and his true limit of his knowledge of the world. Although it is evident that Holden tries to grow up extremely quickly, the novel can be seen as a coming of age story through his experiences at Mr. Spencer’s house, school, the city, and his house. Holden first begins his coming of age journey at his teacher, Mr. Spencer’s house. It is evident that Holden begins the story as…

Every adult has experienced maturation that ended their childhood; for some people it’s early on, while for others it’s later in their life. For Holden Caulfield, maturation and coming of age occurs when he is 16 and he flunks out of his school. Holden Caulfield, protagonist of the story, “The Catcher In The Rye”, written by JD Salinger, experiences maturation and a transition from youth to adolescence. “The Catcher In The Rye” is a story centred around a teenage boy’s perception of the world…

with acting in a way that shows their personality but at the same time doesn’t make adults see them as immature. Like many adolescents, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye hasn’t yet become an adult due to the black-and-white way he sees the world, among other character traits. At times he appears to be making an effort to mature, but rarely succeeds. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is obsessed with condemning “phonies” despite the fact that…

remains the same. In J.D Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel wants to desperately hold on to the innocence in children. Because Holden is often faced with the harsh realities of adulthood and the world, he is compelled to preserve innocence. These feelings come from the loss of his younger brother Allie who died of leukemia at the age of eleven when Holden was thirteen. The moment Allie died, Holden lost his innocence and has not been able to come to…

Corruption of Society Through the thoughts, actions, and experiences of Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger is able to portray the corruption of society that is present in the world. Throughout the novel Holden attempts to sway innocent children away from the dangers that society presents, and to keep them contained in their endless happiness. Holden is severely distraught from reality, his retelling of events which make up the story come from when he is in a mental institute. During the time of…