When one's desired image for life does not align with reality, it causes one to be depressed. Such is the case with Holden Caulfield, the main character in JD Salinger's 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye. Holden is a lonely adolescent who is reluctant to accept the changes that come with life. As Holden starts to realize that change is inevitable, he becomes more and more unhappy with the world around him. Holden's battle between his dreams and reality causes him to feel despondent about his future. It is Holden's fear of children losing their innocence, loneliness, and unwillingness to accept change that cause him to be depressed. .
Holden is a teenager who fears the idea of children losing their innocence and growing into adulthood. On Holden's journey through New York City, he encounters several situations that illuminate his hatred for what adults turn out to be, which contributes to Holden's fear of children becoming corrupt. As Holden sleeps in Mr. Antolini's house, he is suddenly awakened by his teacher's attempt to molest him. Holden states, "I felt something rubbing on my head, some guy's hand" (Salinger 191). As Holden attempts to leave, he expresses his feelings by stating, "I was shaking like a madman" (Salinger 193). Holden's fearful reaction to Mr. Antolini's attempt to seduce him exemplifies one of Holden's many unpleasant experiences with adults, which is the reason Holden fears the idea of children growing up and losing their innocence. Furthermore, Holden feels that adulthood represents conformity and he views conformity as phony or fake. According to Eberhard Alsen:.
The novel's central conflict is between Holden and the adult world. It is due to Holden's unwillingness to become a part of this world because most adults he knows are phonies, that is, people who claim to be something they're not (Alsen 13). .
Such is the case when Holden enters the night club; he immediately feels the phoniness in the room and suggests his hatred for conformity by stating, "It's one of those places that were supposed to be very sophisticated and all, and the phonies are coming out of the window " (Salinger 141).
So what is Catcher in the Rye really about??? ... So what is The Catcher in the Rye actually about? ... "The Catcher in the Rye" is a story of an emotionally disturbed young sixteen year old boy named Holden Caulfield. ... I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. ... Because it is a book that speaks for the disgruntled, the frustrated, and the adolescent. ...
Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is frequently being banned from high schools. To the reader who is at the transition from childhood to adulthood, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, becomes the reader's hero. ... It may be obvious why so many high schools are banning Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. ... The theme of materialism in The Catcher in the Rye allows teenagers to witness how comatose their demand for materialistic objects is, a necessary apprehension for adolescents who are making the passage into adulthood. ... I'd just be the c...
Catcher in the Rye The American Dream for family will greatly vary between people, as it should. ... In the Catcher in the Rye Holden and His "Phony" Family the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, interacts with many people throughout J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, but probably none have as much impact on him as certain members of his immediate family. ... Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden describes and interacts with various members of his family. ... However, his consistent and repetitive accounts at least give the reader some idea of how an adolescent boy, facing th...
The Catcher In the Rye is a story of a troubled young man that goes about his everyday life while caught up in the web of his pessimistic views on life. As the story unfolds, Holden Caulfield faces the anxieties of growing up and dealing with adolescent fears, dealing with farfetched. ... Holden has two dreams in the story. ... The other dreams he talks about is that he wants to be "the catcher in the rye", meaning while the kids play in the rye, he'll stand off a cliff and save them from falling off which symbolically means reaching adulthood. ... An adolescent ...
The essence of the story The Catcher in the Rye follows the forty-eight hour experience of sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield, told through first person narration. ... Understanding Holden's notion of innocence and the role it plays throughout the novel helps to put in tune the underlying message found in Holden's description of the catcher in the rye. ... I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all."" (Pg. 173) The principle of the catcher in the rye is a means for Holden to devote his life to the protection of innocence. ... While his vision of the catcher in the rye was a hop...
Catcher in the Rye Holden and His "Phony" Family The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, interacts with many people throughout J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, but probably none have as much impact on him as certain members of his immediate family. ... Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden describes and interacts with various members of his family. ... Holden is the storyteller in Salinger's novel. ... However, his consistent and repetitive accounts at least give the reader some idea of how an adolescent boy, facing the common experiences...
Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. ... The Catcher in the Rye is neither extreme. ... Key words: adolescence, adult world, trouble, growing pain, reasons, healthily. 1.Introduction 1.1 The definition and characteristics of growing pains In this paper, I mainly discuss the growing pains of Holden of the Catcher in the Rye .So the first thing I'd like to define what growing pains are. ... Holden, the protagonist and narrator of the catcher in the rye is in the adolescence. ... Growing pains of adolescences. 1.2 The present situation of the studies of the Catcher in the Rye an...
Catcher In The Rye The book Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger is one of his finest books in which he describes the characters so intensely. ... J.D Salinger uses an interesting vernacular for Holden. ... Holden also greatly stands as a critic of society. ... That was especially phony to Holden. ... Secondly, he is an adolescent, caught between the worlds of childhood and adulthood. ...
The Catcher in the Rye In J.D. Salinger's 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's excessive thoughts on death are not typical of most adolescents. ... 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." ... Like most adolescents, feelings about people and relationships are often on his mind. ...
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. ... One of the most important passages in the novel comes when Holden tells Phoebe that he would like to be the catcher in the rye. ... The world is more knowledgeable today about depression in adolescents. ... Salinger's book Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a troubled, depressed teen looking for a world that is not phony; eventually four scenes in the novel finally lead him to a breakdown. In the end, Holden discovers that being a catcher in the rye is an impossible job and that he cannot he even save Phoebe. ...