I'm Crazy

“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.” - J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye. The Catcher in The Rye is a novel about a 17 year old boy living in a “phony” world who ventures throughout the streets of New York to possibly find purity. J.D. Salinger’s reason for writing such a controversial novel was to appeal to the teenage mind. Holden is sexually confused and struggles expressing his…

‘The catcher in the rye’, written by ‘J. D. Salinger’ narrates the psychological and physical troubles of Holden Caulfield, a mentally unstable, teenage boy seeking approval in an ever-changing world. Throughout the novel, the author uses a variety of stylistic and language techniques are used to intrigue the audience into reading the text, which include the use of imagery, symbolism and metaphors. It is the different themes and techniques like this that are used throughout the text to pull the…

There has been a rise of mental health cases every year, and most of them occur during a teen’s life. Teens stress and struggle through their mental health problems, increasing the need for help from others. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger explores the life of a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield, after he flunks out of the fourth elite boarding school he has attended. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles with depression and loneliness, and is unable to find help for…

In Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a symbol of the younger generation who rejects America’s culture of conformity unlike his parents. The older generation of parents tried to defeat the spread of communism by conforming while the teenagers felt a disconnect to society. Caulfield uses the word “phoniness” to display his affection towards conformity. Caulfield would love to experience a human connection similar to his but does not find such thing. The youth during this time…

In the books, The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald these authors write about two characters who have deep phoniness tendencies throughout their lives in the real world. The character in The Catcher In the Rye While Gatsby unquestionably is a big phony, Holden is the biggest phony because he lies just to isolate himself from other people, for no reason at all, and so adults would take him seriously. Although Holden is a big phony, Gatsby fabricates…

The Existential Trials and Tribulations of Holden Caulfield Comparatively, Holden Caulfield is easily one of the most iconic literary figures of one of the most controversial and enduring novels of our time. Obviously for good reason, Catcher in the Rye evokes every reader to question what is the point of the novel and therefore by extension why was this point made. To fathom this you have to delve deeper into the question “For what is Holden Caulfield's eternal struggle?” Namely, a…

In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is evolving throughout the novel by gradually reaching a point where he can no longer cope with the truth of reality, causing him to mentally break down into a state of instability. For example, Holden is out on a date with Sally when he suddenly asks her “‘Here’s my idea. How would you like to get the hell out of here? … Honest to God, we could have a terrific time! Wuddaya say? C’mon! Wuddaya say? Will you do it with me? Please!’”…

The Catcher in The Rye has over 65 million sales and sells about 250,000 copies per year. This book portrays the life of JD Salinger (the book’s author) in Holden Caulfield (The main character). This book has been read by almost everyone in the United States and for a good reason. The Catcher In the Rye’s main character Holden is able to relate with any reader. There is no definite explanation for the book, JD Salinger left it up to the readers to decide what the book meant to them. Each…

As the novel opens, Holden stands alone on a hill that separates him from the rest of his peers. His stance is ironically similar to his view of the world; _______________________. Thus, when Mr. Spencer tells him that life is a game he states “if you get on the side where all the hot shots are then it’s a game” (Salinger 8). He believes the world to be a mere collection of all of the so called phonies that he despises, so he "holds" back to avoid becoming a part of the ugliness that surrounds…

Many people have difficulties transitioning from childhood to adulthood. In J.D.Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a perfect example of these people who have a hard time transitioning to adulthood. While he fears change, and disdains adults, he is also too physically and mentally grown up to stay in childhood. Thus Holden is trapped and lingers between childhood and adulthood. Holden fears change both in him and around him that is associated with growing up. To start, Holden is afraid…