Anything but a Failure in Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Holden’s struggle with school is a universal experience for teenagers. Students struggle to maintain great grades and stay connected with social aspect as well. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden gets kicked out of 4 schools and at his most recent school Pencey, he failed 4 out of 5 classes Holden does not have many more options for schools and as a result is struggling. Many teenagers can relate with Holden because 20% of high school students never graduate and over 1.2 million teens drop out of high school per year just like Holden. More studies show that 49% of students reported feeling a great deal of stress on a daily basis. When students have no more motivation it causes their grades to dramatically drop and the stress to pile on. Holden

Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I

Spencer told him that. Holden’s explanation of why he is passing one class only is typical as a teenager. Salinger’s message in this quote is dedicated to teachers. Salinger wants to send a message out there to teachers that teenagers are more pressured when they receive lectures from their teachers rather than a word of advice. Teenagers suffer because of school constantly. Teenagers have a hard time processing and learning new things everyday. Teenagers are more stressed out when they have to take tests that determines the grade they get. Holden’s struggles in school demonstrates the kind of problems real teenagers are facing.

In the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is an immature teenager. Holden gets kicked out of his school, Pencey Prep, for failing four out of five of his classes. He says, “They kicked me out. I

Several adolescents in today's world are wanting to grow up to become independently at a young age and decide on their own to leave school. In J.D. Salinger novel “The Catcher in the Rye” he introduces the life of Holden Caulfield a seventeen year old boy who experiences difficult times in his life. Holden was a young boy that was kicked out from several schools. When he was going to high school they school was going to kick him out because he was failing four classes and passing one which was English, but before they kicked him out he decided to leave and quit school. In today's world, there are still several young people that are experiencing and making their own decisions for what they have been through in life.

JD. Salinger’s 1951 book, The Catcher in the Rye, shows us how society treated their confused and changing teenagers during their transition into adulthood. The book’s main character Holden Caulfield is being pressured into growing up even though he doesn’t feel ready, to lead an adult life. He is still struggling socially and mourning for his deceased brother whose death turned Holden upside down and into a negative, hopeless person from a young age, which causes him to be distracted, indifferent and to flunk every school he goes to.

Holden constantly talks about his brother Allie, who had leukemia and passed away while they were still at a young age. Asking him how he felt during those grievous time he says, "I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed

In J. D Salinger 's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden, goes through many hardships in his journey to self-knowledge. In the beginning, Holden has to deal with being kicked out of school and not having any place to call home. He is also struggling with the unfortunate tragedy of the death of his beloved younger brother Allie. At the same time, Holden is trying to deal with growing up and accepting the adult world. Throughout the novel Salinger addresses the conflicts faced by a young man struggling with the trials and tribulations of growing up while also confronting personal loss and loneliness along the way.

He is not intensely preoccupied with academic achievement like many more modern teenagers, having failed out of several prestigious preparatory schools, but he is clearly intelligent and tends to dwell on“heavy” topics like death and loss of innocence. His cynicism and sensitivity, in addition to the trauma he experiences from losing his brother Allie, suggest that he has depression or another untreated mental illness, an interpretation which is common among readers and supported by Holden’s visit with a psychotherapist at the end of the novel. Despite the risks he faces through having an untreated mental illness, shown when he is warned that he is “riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall” through self-destructive behavior, the conformist culture and social niceties of the 1950s prevented him from being able to discuss his thoughts for a large portion of the novel. (186) This culture, specifically the “phony” prep schools, is clearly toxic for Holden and likely contributed heavily towards his negative mental state, and therefore the negative image he often has of

            Holden is quite skilled at citing exactly what is wrong with other people.  However he never acknowledges his own faults.  He was sure the entire world was out of step with him.  As Alan Stewart explains, ?Holden seemed to divide the world into two groups.  He was in one group, along with a few other people such as his little sister, Phoebe, and

Holden experiences extreme difficulty accepting his current realities and one of the main factors causing this is the lasting negative impact his brother Allies death had on his life. Firstly, when Holden decides to leave his school, he tells readers , “I don’t care if it’s a sad goodbye or a bad goodbye, but when I leave a place, I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t, you feel even worse” (Salinger, 4). Holden’s need for closure is evident in this quote. When Allie died, it was very unexpected and he was not prepared to let him go, resulting in his denial that his brother is actually

Holden Caulfield is a very, very troubled young boy in a grown up filled world. In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher In The Rye, 16 year old Holden Caulfield is stuck in a rut. He has been expelled from numerous schools, including his current one, Pencey Prep. Holden has been a troubled kid since the death of his older brother, Allie. Allie has played a big role in Holden’s life, and was completely traumatized by his death. Along with those family struggles relating to Allie’s death, Holden has a hard time accepting his adulthood. He wrestles with mental illness and growing up with all of those “phonies”. Even more so, he struggles with the idea of the person he is going to grow into. The environment of The

Holden never going to Allie’s funeral gives us insight into why Holden is still holding onto Allie. After Allie’s death, Holden still went through experiences that caused his BPD, neglect and separation. During the time following Allie’s death, Holden’s family was in great grieving, making Holden feel isolated and not getting the attention he needed to fully grow mentally as a child (“National Allegiance on Mental Health”). Holden also expresses twice, that his mother is still grieving over Allie’s death by stating his mother, “still isn’t over my brother Allie yet” (Salinger 155). Holden is also never close to anyone. He meets with his family a limited amount of time throughout the year, and is kicked out of schools, giving him no permanent guidance in his life. Holden constantly describes his expulsion as, getting “the ax” (107). He shows a continuous changing in guardians, because of his attachment to both Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini, both old school teachers from schools he flunked out of. He also dealt with the separation from D.B. his other brother, who moved to Hollywood, Holden seems to be very inspired by him throughout the novel, but is mad that he left (1).

A disparate situation is presented to readers in The Catcher in the Rye. Early in the novel, Holden expresses the reason for his difficulties in school as his being: “always surrounded by phonies.”(Salinger 13) Holden is correct; he is completely incapable of relating to his peers. However he takes no time to consider potential solutions to his problem. During his conversation with Mr. Spencer, Holden communicates that he deals with his troubles by simply quitting; putting minimal effort into academics and socialization. Since Holden never addresses his emotions directly, he fails to realize

If Holden is trying to apply himself and does well in school, there is no reason for Holden is fail out of school or get kicked out. This is a very important moment in The Catcher in the Rye, which makes it a little sad that it happens so close to the end of the book. The reader does not get to experience this new Holden which is trying to have a bright future in which he actually applies himself in school, which has never happened before. Holden’s experiences in the mental facility, really help holden learn the priorities of life and to not fear the normal teenage experiences, which consists of changes.