Catcher in the Rye is a story of an alienated boy whose life is driven by expectations of society and the path in life his parents have chosen for him. The major theme ... particularly to discover who he is. In order to do so he needs to wait until he can come of age and in turn discover that he is the Catcher in the Rye. Meanwhile, while he's still exploring this world full of phonies, he tries to deal with personal affairs. Having failed out of three "prep" schools his parents sent ... lives like everybody else then they wouldn't have a verse to contribute and they wouldn't be remembered as...

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Catcher in the Rye - Phoniness and the quest for innocence Holden Caulfield is an adolescent boy who is preoccupied in preserving the innocence of children. He does not want to lose that innocence because ... when he is dealing with children, because they are uncorrupted. He wants to preserve the children's innocence, particularly his younger sister's, Phoebe. That is why he wants to be a catcher in the rye, so that he can prevent children from falling abruptly off the cliff of adulthood. He wants to catch those who are innocent before they grow up into corruption and ... ...

• Word Count: 1033
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

English Symbolism of Holden Caulfield In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses many symbols to describe or characterize Holden Caulfield. For example, Holden uses the word "phony" many times to describe other people, when in reality he himself is a phony. ... call Mrs. Marrow or talk to the girls at the bar is because he is missing something in his life. For example, from the essay "The Structure of The Catcher in the Rye" by Brian Way, "Holden's excitement (from just arriving in New York City) is the excitement of the fantasist: he is embarking on a dream which is both univer...

• Word Count: 793
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Stalinger, there are many examples that symbolize and illustrate phoniness in our society. These examples show realistic events and scenarios of phoniness that play out in our day to ... ...

• Word Count: 308
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

In the book Catcher in the Rye the main character is Holden Caulfield. He is a teen- age boy who goes through some major changes. His life is taken over by isolation and depression. This is all caused ... ...

• Word Count: 811
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• Grade Level: High School

From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word "phony" to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who are"phony", ... ...

• Word Count: 583
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• Grade Level: High School

"The Catcher in the Rye," is a story told in first person by a seventeen-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield. The story basically consists of what Holden does between his expulsion from high school and when ... ...

• Word Count: 341
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... , and that his erratic behavior would prove harmful to her. He makes the decision to stay to comfort Phoebe and to keep her from falling over the cliff by the rye field before her time. Phoebe is the light countering Holden's overwhelming dark depression. Her name is a species of bird known for flicking its tail and hopping about. Phoebe is skinny ... . As the moon orbits the earth, Phoebe is always in Holden's thoughts, affecting his decisions for the better, subconsciously holding him back from blindly stumbling off the cliff of the rye field. From the etymology of "luce" to "light" to ...

• Word Count: 646
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• Grade Level: High School

... himself as a phony. Holden doesn't like phonies, but the irony is that he himself is one - like the speaker of the song. Also shared in the song and in Catcher in the Rye is the outsider motif. Holden feels that he is an outsider observing a world that he cannot decide to accept or reject. The singer repeatedly refers to himself being "on ... ...

• Word Count: 546
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• Grade Level: High School

In many instances Holden is simultaneously contradicting himself. He is both a hypocrite and a moralist. A part of him is condemns society for its corruptness yet he plays a part in the same materialistic crookedness. For example at the end of Chapter 15 he meets two nuns and all he focuses on are how displeasing they"re suitcases are. "I hate it when somebody has cheap suitcases. It sounds terrible to say it, but I can even get to hate somebody just looking at them, if they have cheap suitcases." (109) Holden is bothered by the fact that the nuns aren't wealthy and don't have enough money to ...

• Word Count: 313
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Holden is not an unpopular person. He decides to isolate himself by declaring that everyone besides himself is a "phony". He wants to be close to someone, but he does not know how to communicate with people. Even though he thinks most people are "phonies" or "slobs," he still looks for and finds something good about everyone. He wants people to look past society and be their true selves, and he wants to do that also, but he does not want to be in complete isolation. He feels that the cause of phoniness is being in group situations and feeling like you need to be good enough for everyone else. ...

• Word Count: 639
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School