The Catcher in the Rye Essay Example For Students

The Catcher in the Rye Essay In J.D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye, the first person narration is critical in helping the reader to know and understand the main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden, in his narration, relates a flashback of a significant period of his life, three days and nights on his own in New York City. Through his narration, Holden discloses to the reader his innermost thoughts and feelings. He thus provides the reader not only with information of what occurred, but also how he felt about what happened. Holdens thoughts and ideas reveal many of his character traits. One late Saturday night, four days before the beginning of school vacation, Holden is alone, bored and restless, wondering what to do. He decides to leave Pencey, his school, at once and travels to New York by train. He decides that, once in New York, he will stay in a cheap motel until Wednesday, when he is to return home. His plan shows the reader how very impetuous he is and how he acts on a whim. He is unrealistic, thinking that he has a foolproof plan, even though the extent of his plans are to take a room in a hotel.., and just take it easy till Wednesday.Holdens excessive thoughts on death are not typical of most adolescents. His near obsession with death might come from having experienced two deaths in his early life. He constantly dwells on Allie, his brothers, death. From Holdens thoughts, it is obvious that he loves and misses Allie. In order to hold on to his brother and to minimize the pain of his loss, Hold en brings Allies baseball mitt along with him where ever he goes. The mitt has additional meaning and significance for Holden because Allie had written poetry, which Holden reads, on the baseball mitt. Holdens preoccupation with death can be seen in his contemplation of a dead classmate, James Castle. It tells the reader something about Holden that he lends his turtleneck sweater to this classmate, with whom he is not at all close. Holdens feelings about people reveal more of his positive traits. He constantly calls people phonies, even his brother, D.B., who has sold out to Hollywood. Although insulting, his seemingly negative feelings show that Holden is a thinking and analyzing, outspoken individual who values honesty and sincerity. He is unimpressed with people who try to look good in others eyes. Therefore, since it is obvious that Holden is bright, the reason for his flunking out of school would seem to be from a lack of interest. Holden has strong feelings of love towards ch ildren as evidenced through his caring for Phoebe, his little sister. He is protective of her, erasing bad words from the walls in her school and in a museum, in order that she not learn from the graffiti. His fondness for children can be inferred when he tells her that, at some time in the future, he wants to be the only grown-up with all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Hell stand on the edge of a cliff and catch anybody who starts to fall off the edge of the cliff. He got this image from his misinterpretation of a line from the Robert Burns poem, if a body catch a body comin through the rye.When situations are described, in person or in a book, they are influenced by the one who describes them, and by his or her perceptions and experiences. Through Holdens expressions of his thoughts and feelings, the reader sees a youth, sensitive to his surroundings, who chooses to deal with life in unique ways. Holden is candid, spontaneous, analytical, th oughtful, and sensitive, as evidenced by his narration. Like most adolescents, feelings about people and relationships are often on his mind. Unfortunately, in Holdens case, he seems to expect the worst, believing that the result of getting close to people is pain. Pain when others reject you or pain when they leave you, such as when a friend walks off or a beloved brother dies. It would not have been possible to feel Holdens feelings or understand his thoughts .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 , .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 .postImageUrl , .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 , .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996:hover , .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996:visited , .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996:active { border:0!important; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996:active , .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996 .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u03ea17047beb11827b4481a7e7eb4996:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Inspector Calls Essay We will write a custom essay on The Catcher in the Rye specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The Catcher In The Rye Essay Example For Students The Catcher In The Rye Essay The character oh Holden has many conflicts with society. He suffers these conflicts because of his own low self-esteem. He doesnt like and has conflict with people similar to him. He has such high standards for people. He bases these expectations on his brother Allies example. To him Allie is such an awesome person. Allie was honest, artistic (poetic), valuable, intelligent, and just a good kid. God, he was a nice kid, though. Holden is especially disappointed with the following characters-D. B. , for his materialism, Stradlater, for his exploitation of women, and Mr. Antolinis motives. Holden values art as an expression of ones vision and not as a vehicle to make money. Holden has a conflict with his older brother D. B. To Holden, D. B is a sellout. He gave up writing for himself to pandering others for money. Holden feels that D. B. is materialistic. He lives in Hollywood, drives a nice car and is enjoying money. Holden is so judgmental of him when he really has no right to be so. Holden wanted to protect innocent creatures. Holden couldnt use people and felt a need to protect them. For instance, he looked out for Jane and couldnt use Sunny. He even wonders about where ducks go for winter. He desired to protect. We will write a custom essay on The Catcher In The Rye specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now He has a conflict with Stradlaters character. Stradlater is exploitive of women. He used them and Holden hated that. Friendship should be unselfish. It should not be made for ones own benefit. Holden at first likes Mr. Antolini because he felt Antolini cared and was a good person. For instance, the incident when Mr. Antolini put the blanket on the dead body. Holden liked him. After that couch incident, Mr. Antolini disgusts him. Holden ponders whether that incident was an affectionate gesture but due to the fact that he is terrified by society because of past experiences is convinced it is an act of perversion or sexual gratification. Those were some of the conflicts Holden had-with his brother D. B. , with Stradlater, and with Mr. Antolini. By the end of the book, Holden suffers from a mental breakdown. Holden is so insecure with society due to life experiences. Added stress and sleep deprivation drives him to an institute. While in the institute, his brother D. B. visits him. He even misses Stradlater. This shows he is becoming more open to other peoples agendas and personalities. It seems he is on his way to mental stability and health.