With such a vivid description of this densely populated, and optimistic city on the east coast during a time of growth and construction itself after the Great Depression of the 1930's, this element leaves a reader to focus in on the lead character here. Plus, elements such as his age and his "red hunting hat" demonstrate that he will direly hold on to that sense of self. However, his demand to defend and preserve that sense of self is hat excludes him from the world, prevents him from interacting, and therefore makes him feel both left out and victimized.
Readers can see that Holden Caulfield's alienation is the cause of most of his pain. He is his own restraint and self-absorbed sense is what blinds him. At times, he has an inflated sense of superiority, but more often than not he feels unwanted and unwelcome.
On the other hand, the title quote in this book demonstrates his compassion and that he is concerned for the well-being of others. He tells Phoebe, a girl that he has known for quite a while, that he would like to see himself as a "catcher in the rye" so he can catch the children before they ran too close to the edge. By wanting to watch over and secure the safety of innocence of children while they play, this shows quite a bit of depth to his character.
Caulfield also demonstrates the humane ability to connect...
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye was first published in 1951. The novel deals with the issues of identity, belonging, connection and alienation. This paper will review five articles written on the novel. "Holden's Irony in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye" This article by Lisa Privitera was published in Explicator in 2008. The article postulates that the irony of Holden Cauldfield is that the harder he
Because Salinger allows him to stay in that world, we can cling to Holden as a pleasant memory. The Catcher in the Rye is told from Holden's perspective and this aspect of the novel allows it to remain innocent and suspended in time, so to speak. Holden is like Peter Pan in that he does not wantr to grow up but he is facing the glorious future that includes his
Introduction One of the great American novels, J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is a spot-on depiction of disaffected, disillusioned youth attempting to come to grips with the sad reality that growing up means selling out. Holden doesn’t want to sell out; on the contrary, he wants to be the “catcher in the rye”—the one who allows children to live forever in their innocence and maintain their state of grace
'How else can men be when they live for their brothers?'" (Rand 151) Not only is there no separation between self and others but also living for others without thinking for one's self or tolerating disagreement, living in a kind of frozen state of agreement, is considered normal. Instead, Equality 7-2521 finally "discovers my will, my freedom. And the greatest of these is freedom. I owe nothing to my
Catcher in the Rye, a novel by J.D. Salinger, is the story of Holden Caulfield, a cynical sixteen-year-old with prematurely gray hair that appears older than his age. Holden is caught at the awkward age between adolescence and adulthood. Set in the 1940s, the story begins with Holden recovering from a breakdown stemming from his expulsion from Pencey Prep School. Holden has already flunked out of three other schools. This
Sylvia Plath explores ambiguity from the perspective of a woman living in a man's world in The Bell Jar. Esther receives different messages about who she is and who she wants to be. Society tells her to be the good wife and mother but she never adapts well to this notion. She feels ambivalence toward most of the women she meets and ultimately feels pulled in different directions when it
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