William Holden

Symbols can mean many different things depending on how you look at them. In J.D Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden Caulfield uses many different symbols to show his thoughts and feelings on life, change, being unique and growing up. He has a very negative view on life and the symbols help to show that. Some of the symbols he uses are the ducks in Central Park, his red hunting hat, and his dream job of becoming a “Catcher in the Rye”. The first symbol in the novel “The Catcher…

The main character in the book The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is Holden Caulfield, a troubled boy who gets kicked out of his prestigious boarding school. Holden often contemplates the topic of suicide, his own and other people’s. Throughout the book we learn many other things about Holden such as he does not like fake people, is hypocritical at times, uses bad language and smokes. In The Catcher in the Rye Holden discusses the topic of suicide three times and before every mention of…

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger follows the ups and downs of teenager Holden Caulfield. Salinger uses the symbol of the ducks to relate to the point where Holden is in his life. The ducks symbolize Holden navigating his way through life and adapting to new things. In his weekend in New York, he learns that he has to grow up, and accept his weaknesses. Salinger uses this particular symbol to create a deeper meaning an understanding of what Holden's life was really like. The…

place in the world. Holden Caulfield sees a world full of phonies and does not understand where he fits in. During Holden’s childhood, his parents loved him, but did not support him emotionally. On the outside, the family seems like any normal family. But on the inside, Mr. Caulfield lives at work and Mrs. Caulfield only exists as a mother in the physical sense. She does not share her emotions with her children. The parents rarely express their love and protection towards Holden. Because of the…

In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden is a potentially psychotic teenage boy who has been expelled from four schools. Holden does not care about anything except for his siblings. Holden’s sadness starts with the death of his brother, Allie, due to Leukemia. Holden feels that a part of him is missing which sparks extreme depression inside of him. Holden is even more at risk for a meltdown when he goes to boarding to school, which separates him from his sister, Phoebe–and…

effectively demonstrates significant ideas. Using the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, notions of alienation and belonging in a conservative society, the awareness of aging and transition into adulthood and the different forms of grief and depression are expressed. Alienation through isolation is a recurring ideology in Catcher in the Rye. Within the span of four days, the sense of belonging in a traditional and guarded era is present as Holden begins an adventurous journey after expulsion from…

Catcher in the Rye, Holden, the main character, has an odyssey in New York City after getting kicked out of his school Pencey Prep. Throughout his journey Holden encounters a variety of different women, adults, and children. With these confrontations readers see a totally different side of Holden every single time he meets someone new. By the end of the book it is obvious Holden has a particular way of talking to everybody he meets in New York City. In the Catcher in the Rye Holden is polite to…

The Catcher In The Rye is a story centered around Holden Caulfield and his story after being kicked out of Pencey prep. Holden is in his fourth school after being expelled three previous times. On his way home, he encounters many old acquaintances and meets new people, good and bad. He ends his narrative in the mental hospital and tells the reader that he plans to enroll in school again in the fall and maybe even apply himself this time. Themes are the most important literary element to this…

character, Holden Caulfield. These acts are simply those of a normal American teenage, wether parents and teachers want to realize that or not. For the reader to fully understand the novel he or she must look past these acts by Holden Caulfield. Salinger’s diction, repetition, and use of imagery throughout…

the society is affected by the faults, which become embedded permanently in his/her character. In the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caufield is both among the insightful and the ignorant: he sees and understands the faults, but cannot find out how he is supposed to live. In an attempt to resist the social faults and change the society, Holden ultimately destructs himself. Through multiple one-sided stereotypical characters and Holden’s own character…