... in the Catcher in the Rye In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, is characterized as an immature, opinionated, underachieving individual with severe emotional problems. Holden is faced with numerous difficult situations including dropping out of several boarding schools, the death of his brother, and a deep rooted sexual dysfunction. Three people in his life force him to face his difficulties; Carl Luce, Holden's sister Phoebe, and Mr. Antolini. The ... "this fall I think you are riding for - it's a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The ma...

• Word Count: 912
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In "The Catcher in the Rye," by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield is never looked at as an athlete but as an outsider, someone who jumps from school to school. Although sports and games help him tremendously to get over the death of his brother Allie, they are never a dominant part of Holden's life. At first glance it may seem like the motif of sports and games primarily illustrates connecting to ... are playing checkers and, "Then all of a sudden, this tear plopped down on the checkerboard" (Salinger 78) the two are brought back from their ideal life and back to reality. This quote really expre...

• Word Count: 1120
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Lack of Communication The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger is about a boy name Holden Caulfield and his struggle to communicate. This novel shows Holden's life as he jumps from school to school and the difficulties in between. Throughout the novel we witness Holden's struggle to communicate with others, which also leads to his depression. It is Holden's inability to communicate with others that adds to his problems in life ... Jane a buzz and see if she was home for vacation yet. So I went in a phone booth and called her up. The only trouble was her mother answered the phone so I had to ha...

• Word Count: 570
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Holden Caulfield's roommate, Stradlater, is an overall conceited character. He is described as vein, ungrateful, attractive (yet messy), and a Narcissist. The way the author and Holden describe him, makes the reader almost dislike Stradlater. The way he talks and acts in his conceited manner makes his appearance less pleasurable. Nobody really looks toward Stradlater in a friendly way except for "the girls" such as Jane Gallagher. Nobody even knows for sure how the girls feel about Stradlater because their opinions of him all come from himself. Nobody ever hears what people besides Holden and ...

• Word Count: 761
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... rather than supporting him. Holden can't find a place for himself in the world so he makes up an imaginary one. His fantasy is based on a quote from a poem that he hears a little boy singing. He thinks the words are, "If a body catch a body comin" through the rye." He sees himself in a world with no adults and he as the only "big" person. His job is to stand at ... the end of this great field of rye at the edge of a cliff keeping little children from falling ... also trying to stop everyone else from going on without him. Ironically, Phoebe later informs him of the real words of the po...

• Word Count: 704
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... . "(Salinger, 12) and Holden thought "Game, [his] a** If you [got] on the side where all the hot-shots [were], then it [was] a game, all right But if you [got] on the other side, where there [weren't] any hot-shots, then what [was] game about it? Nothing. "(Salinger, 12-13). This quote reveals early on that Holden is fostering feelings of alienation and victimization from ... the complications of his school and of the world. Holden cannot deal with how the world really is. Throughout the novel, he displays a fondness of an unrealistic and simplistic view of the world. He has this "utopia...

• Word Count: 982
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School