One Last Breath

souls before they go off the cliff to maturation. Holden forms a preconscious state when he believes Jean Gallagher is the same girl that he grew up with, falling in love with her past self, not being conscious of the fact that people change over time. One can observe Holden’s preconscious state: “Jane Gallagher. Jesus. I couldn 't get her off my mind[...]” (Salinger 33). Another prime example of Holden’s unconscious mindset is trying to connect and sympathize for James Castle. Holden tries to…

are also people who are mature, who lack innocence and are hypocrites. Whenever he is around phonies, it kills him. For instance, "One of the biggest reasons [he] left Elkton Hills was because [he] was surrounded by phonies." (17). He hates them so much he does not want to be like them; he alienates himself from them. Schoolmates from Pencey Prep also makes him angry. One of the boys from his dorm, Robert Ackley ‘’was sort of a nasty guy [he] wasn’t too crazy about him’’ and with a “terrible…

brother, Allie’s death. He feels lonely, depressed and isolated from his parents who keep sending him away to different schools which Holden keeps flunking out of. Holden is falling into darkness over the death of Allie and feeling like there is no one he can talk to now that Allie is gone. The theme of loneliness and depression in Catcher in the Rye is depicted in the songs: “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia and “Beautiful” by Payable on Death. To begin with, “Don’t You Worry…

Rye, is a seventeen-year-old who acts childish. The many actions he in an attempt to become is similar to an irresponsible adult’s attempts to become a more mature one. In his many experiences towards adulthood he smokes cigarettes, and although it’s unhealthy it’s one of the only ways he can seem like an adult. However, there is one drawback, and it’s that Holden wants to do childish things. His image of adults throughout the book is that they’re a bunch of phonies and liars, but he doesn't…

Throughout the course of the novel, it is apparent that Caulfield is struggling from some type of “internal clash” (Gaynor 88) that causes him to feel the amount of resentment toward society that he does. Many critics argue that Salinger’s depiction of the painful transition through adolescence in The Catcher in the Rye closely resembles his own life journey. Wan Roselezam Wan Yahya and Ruzbeh Babaee, two professors at University Putra Malaysia, discuss this connection in their 2014 critical…

with Dante, he draws to a conclusion that he is gay. Dante Quintana - Dante is the second main character. He also starts out at 15 and ends at 17 years old. Due to his outgoing personality, he became one of Ari’s first friends. He enjoys reading, writing, drawing, and exploring new things. He is the one that introduces Ari to poetry and art. He is also very passionate about…

that allow him to understand his place in society, despite continuing to reject the idea of adulthood. While the adolescents around Holden Caulfield aim to present themselves as older, Holden seeks solace in the innocence and sincerity of childhood. One of the most prominent figures…

Authorial/ Contextual Notes The Catcher in the Rye’s author, J.D. Salinger, grew up in New York city during the 1920s, and attended surrounding boarding schools in the area. Salinger drew upon his time growing up in New York to develop the characters, plot, and theme of his main novel, The Catcher in the Rye. J.D Salinger reflected upon his time in the Upper West side elite boarding schools, and used his experiences to develop the groundbreaking novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger, similar…

innocence following a tragic event Salinger's purpose for including Holden’s dream job is to show Holden’s false sense of reality as well as how his past experiences lead him to his conclusion on innocence. Holden feels as though children are the only ones left with their innocence and he must do everything in his power to protect them. During this…

Holden’s Struggle with Mental Illness J.D. Salinger is the author of the controversial novel The Catcher in the Rye. The story depicts the short span of Holden Caulfield’s few days in winter after being kicked out of Pencey Prep, a prestigious school Holden was attending. His journey is off to a rough start after Holden still has not completely accepted the death of his younger brother, so he tries forming new relationships with people and rekindle old friendships. After numerous failures,…