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Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye

            Holden Caulfield is a troubled teenager trying to find his place in life and suffering, making the transition from childhood to adulthood. Holden's appearance is what a usual teenager looks like around his age, but a bit more mature in some features. He says he has a crew cut in chapter one "I wear a crew cut quite frequently and I never have to comb it much." (J.D. Salinger 9) The next features describe a more mature teenager as he says that he is around six feet two inches which is pretty tall for a teen and that he is graying on one side of his head. "It's really ironical, because I'm six foot two and a half and I have gray hair. I really do. The one side of my head--the right side--is full of millions of gray hairs." (J.D. Salinger 13) Holden also does say he is quiet skinny in chapter 15 and he has 2 bad habits which are smoking and drinking. "Then I tested to see if my breath stank from so many cigarettes and the Scotch and sodas I drank at Ernie's."(J.D. Salinger 120).
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             Holden's Intellectual aspect is very poor I don't think he's able to grasp reality and not only his actions but his intellectual ability is still at a kid stage as well. He has had to leave four schools and flunked out of Pencey prep school. "They really will. This is about the fourth school I've gone to." (J.D. Salinger 13) I find that Holden lacks the intellectual ability to progress thoughts and to realize what he is doing with his reality. This stops him from being able to hold friendships with people for instance when he meets up with Sally and everything is going great and he completely ruins the time they spent together with the ignorant things he says. "C"mon, let's get outs here," I said. "You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth" (J.D. Salinger 173). Holden never thinks before he talks which is a very childish thing to do and he regrets it later. This shows that he is not a very intellectual person.


Essays Related to Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye

1. The Catcher In The Rye- Analysis

... sitting around complaining about their lives, (where the major problem is that the author can't think of a plot to concentrate on so he writes a story such as "The Catcher in the Rye") compared favorably to The Catcher in the Rye? Because it is a book that speaks for the disgruntled, the frustrated, and the adolescent. In Caulfield's insanity, there is a inspiring theme. By being the pissed off, nasty, and a "cynical insane bastard"; Holden Caulfield suggests that it is ok to be ... a creep. Your criticisms of the world are not invalid and nothing you say or think is ... ...

  • Word Count: 1374
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Catcher In The Rye

... 's novels. Finally, Salinger paints a clear picture of the phoniness in life, where artists sacrifice their art for fame, and mothers cry fake tears in movies. Holden Caulfield is totally disgusted at the phonies in the world. Through Holden, Salinger is trying to make the reader see the need for honesty and integrity in the modern world. The mood in "The Catcher in the Rye", is dark, bleak, gloomy, and depressing. Holden is troubled, seaching, frustrated, and alienated youth; since he is ... the narrator of the story, his personal mood colors everything in the novel. There is even a sen...

  • Word Count: 1487
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

3. The Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye The Catcher Conspiracy The movie Conspiracy Theory starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts was much like the book Catcher in the Rye. In the film Mel Gibson Plays Jerry Fletcher a working hours cab driver in New York City. Julia Roberts plays Alice Sutton who is a dedicated Justice Department attorney working in New York. In the book Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger. The main Character is Holden Caulfield through the entire novel. In several ways Caulfield and Fletcher measure up to each other. Jerry ... Fletcher and Holden Caulfield have some relationship with ea...

  • Word Count: 1237
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

4. The Madness of Holden Caulfield

Holden Caulfield's madness plays a very significant role in J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old boy, sees the world in a unique and different view, which encompasses passing judgment to just about everybody in the "phony" world he lives in which conveys his irrational behavior and madness. Holden is the epitome of different, which is seen through his display of his view on human nature and how people act. His main concern ... ; people get put into these facilities. Holden also really cares for his sister, Phoebe Caulfield, who is younger than Holden. Ho...

  • Word Count: 817
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. The Catcher In The Rye

... "I know more damn perverts than anybody you've ever met, and they"re always being perverty when I"m around". In conclusion, the central character is an abnormal youth because of his overall actions and feelings towards girls and sex. In retrospect, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger may be the standard teenager however his unruly behavior for sixteen proves otherwise. This is evident for many reason, one of ... which being Caulfield's bizarre conduct when he phones a complete stranger at an insane time of night hoping that she would come ... ...

  • Word Count: 839
  • Approx Pages: 3
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6. catcher in the rye context

... and writing techniques throughout the novel. In order to fully understand the novel the historical aspects must be taken into close consideration. "The Catcher in the Rye" is set in America in the 1950's a decade of common teenage rebellion that was evident in many aspects such as clothing music and attitudes towards authority. Holden Caulfield in being isolated and ostracized as a result of his refusal to accept the moral standards and the selfish mentality's of the people he interacts ... with , can be more thoroughly understood by the reader when the historical time period and its so...

  • Word Count: 1661
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. A Catcher in the Rye

... , more phonies. "Somebody had written "Fuck you" on the wall. It drive me damn near crazy....I kept wanting to kill whoever"d written it." (201) Holden Caulfield the protector of the youth. Holden always saw himself catching these children who were playing on cliff above a field of rye. That's what he told his sister he wanted to do. Holden Caulfield the catcher in the rye. Holden Caulfield is sane in a sane world because although he complains a lot what ... person hasn't complained at some point in their life? It is a common this to do. So ... ...

  • Word Count: 901
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Catcher in the Rye

... Ernest Hemingway, which helped to launch his writing career. Salinger's most famous work, The Catcher in the Rye, ironically is autobiographical in nature. A major similarity between Salinger and his character is their " inability to cope with situations they do not completely control" (French 121). Also, "Holden Caulfield moves from prep school to prep school, is threatened with military school, and knows ... an older Columbia student, among other similarities." (sparknotes). Today, Salinger lives a recluse life in the hills of New Hampshire to dodge public attention. Since The Catcher...

  • Word Count: 2498
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Growth Of Holden Caulfield

... change from childhood into maturity. Since change is inevitable, Holden learns to deal with it and accepts his responsibilities. By the end, the books leaves most reader wondering whether or not Holden Caulfield finally succeeds in his dream of becoming a "catcher in the rye". Although Holden still has much growing up to do,he has learned the indispensable of where the ducks go to winter. The pond could become a minor metaphor because it is ... "partly frozen and partly not frozen" (139). It is in transition between two states, just as Holden is in transition between childhood and adult...

  • Word Count: 1843
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

10. Catcher in the Rye - A buildungsroman?

In J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is faced with many obstacles. The most difficult obstacle Holden must overcome is his journey from childhood into adulthood. Through Holden visiting the Museum of Natural History, wondering where the ducks from the frozen pond went, and watching his younger sister Phoebe on the carousel, he transforms into a man. Upon Holden Caulfield's return home from Pencey Prep, he stops by the Museum of Natural History. Holden had loved the museum since childhood ... Parker put it "And he couldn"t find any other solution except good old Phoebe on th...

  • Word Count: 663
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

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