Last Judgment

In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the author uses symbolic images that the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, encounters. Holden in the novel goes through several life obstacles and tries to find acceptance to adulthood. Throughout the novel, Holden often acts the opposite of society and wishes for the present day to have more of the nostalgia he had in the past. The Catcher in the Rye illustrates how Holden tries to find stability and acceptance in a broken society full of phonies…

The familiarity of Holden’s apartment allows Holden to feel an uncommon sensation of ease and relaxation. When Holden first arrives at his apartment, he immediately feels different: “Our foyer has a funny smell that doesn’t smell like anyplace else. It isn’t cauliflower and it isn’t perfume – I don’t know that the hell it is – but you always know when you’re home” (158). Holden’s ability to “know” when he is home thoroughly demonstrates how Holden is able to feel relaxed in his household. Holden…

From early on in the book Holden exemplifies to the reader that he does not take pleasure in the activities everyone else enjoys. He plans on not prioritizing unimportant events like sports games. When Pencey Prep was playing in the last football game of the season Holden watches over the field and says he could hear the crowd roaring “because practically the whole school except me was there” (1). When the students are doing one thing Holden chooses to be alone and finds something…

mental institution, tells the story of a weekend spent in New York when he was sixteen after he was kicked out of his fourth school for failing four out of his five classes. Holden is a very opinionated boy who has been related to by teenagers over the last 60 years. Throughout the book, he begins to understand that childhood innocence cannot be protected forever and everybody must learn to grow up at some point in his or her lives. Holden is unique in many ways, unfortunately, his many…

Soon after Amir betrays Hassan, the realization of what he did as a child causes him to feel guilt into adulthood. The life-altering betrayal Amir commits in his adolescence follows him into his adult life, even as he starts anew in America. In his haste of attempting to start a new life, the guilt clouding his conscious idles him into finding his redemption. As a child, Amir ponders the scant dreams and allegories that he and Hassan share with each other. Amir remembers one of Hassan’s dreams…

Throughout the song “Help!” by the Beatles, the singer is directly calling for assistance to get back up for the hardships in life that have brought him down. Related to the protagonist from Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden is also in need of help. The lyrics: “Help me get my feet back on the ground Won't you please, please help me”, demonstrates the singers signal for assistance, since he is pleading for guidance. Holden’s main hardships throughout the course of the book were fearing…

Theme is the subject, or topic, of a piece of writing, consisting of the main idea of the story. Authors will usually make the theme of text clear and consistent throughout the story. In the book “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, there are a couple of different themes throughout the book. The two main themes in this novel are the feeling of exclusion and dealing with the reality of having to grow up, both in relation to depression. The feeling of exclusion is that Holden is feeling…

A Comparison of the Narrators of The Catcher in the Rye and “A & P” Both The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and “A & P” by John Updike use careful choices of language and details that aid in the characterization of their narrators. Salinger’s narrator, Holden, is a seventeen year old boy who is telling presumably a therapist the events that occurred after he was expelled from Pencey Prep. He tells the story in a first person “stream of consciousness” style and often goes off on…

Number One The main idea of the story is basically Holden Caulfield's motivation throughout the story. Holden goes to New York City and spends most of his time looking for something, but he never tells the reader exactly what he is looking for, I don’t even think he knows exactly what it is he is looking for. He seems to be looking for friendship or just genuine communication, but he is looking for it in the wrong place. Nobody else is concerned with friendship or honesty, besides his little…

J.D. Salinger’s character, Holden Caulfield, in the controversial novel, Catcher in the Rye, struggles with alienation, drugs, and alcohol due to his tragic past. Growing up, Holden lived a pretty normal life, until his brother’s tragic death. His brother, Allie, even though he was younger than Holden, was Holden’s inspiration in life. When Holden discovered that Allie was dead, he slept in the garage, and at one point during that night, Holden managed to break all of the windows in his garage…