Catcher In The Rye Character Analysis

In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a rather unique character. He has several complications with other characters that he runs into, and does not seem that he is able to relate to anyone. However, Holden has a younger sister named Phoebe, and he seems to connect with her in a way that he does not with anyone else. She is only ten years old, so she and Holden both have a childlike mind. On the other hand, Phoebe seems to have a positive outlook on life while Holden sees most things in a negative light. Another contrast between them is that Phoebe puts in effort at school, and Holden is clearly not concerned his performance at school.

    Holden Caulfield, the main character in J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher In The Rye, feels that he needs to protect people around him, because he failed to protect his brother Allie from death. Holden feels that he has to care for those close to him. He watches over Jane, Phoebe, and even Mrs. Murrow when he meets her on the train. Holden tries to shield these people from distress. He does not want to fail anyone else.

Holden announces that “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around” (Salinger 213). He starts crying on the bench when he understands that Phoebe is growing up and he cannot be her Catcher in the Rye to protect her innocence because that would most likely cause more harm than good. That realization makes him ecstatic because he no longer feels as if he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders as he is able to see that all children will eventually fall out of innocence into adulthood. On the other hand, Holden feels his own loss of innocence as he shares an innocent moment with Phoebe who remains clueless to the harsh reality of life but he is now able to accept that loss and the change to come. Ultimately, Holden does not feel as if he has to continue alienating himself from society because he feels the obligation to be part of it as well. During this moment, the rain mirrors his tears of joy which are helping to wash away the mistakes of the past and bringing growth for renewal and this acceptance to moving forward allows him to seek the necessary help. A third way that Holden grows and obtains maturity in The Catcher in the Rye is when he no longer denies

The relationship between Holden and Phoebe forms a major theme that the novel aims to deliver. The fact that he is having this conversation with Phoebe, a child who is anything but simple and innocent, reveals the oversimplification of his worldview. Holden himself realizes this to a degree when he acknowledges that his idea is “crazy”, yet he cannot come up with anything more pragmatic; he has trouble seeing the world in any other way. His “catcher in the rye” fantasy reflects his innocence, his belief in pure, uncorrupted youth, and his desire to protect that spirit. On the other hand, it represents his extreme disconnection from reality and his naïve view of the world. Phoebe exposes to Holden a living embodiment of childhood. And it is a scene with her where she exposes to Holden the illogical nature of his supervisory actions, indicating that his desire to preserve her innocence will only halt her own inevitable development. Phoebe is the Greek word for “protector of children” (Bloom 2009, p185). Within the novel she is Holden’s protector. She comforts him, provides him with financial security, and protects him from getting in trouble with their mother. Reiff describes this reversal of roles between Holden and Phoebe as “Now, instead of saving the world by protecting the children, Holden wants to reject the world and shut himself off from evil by becoming a ‘deaf-mute’ in the West. It is Phoebe who rescues him from this total withdrawal” (Reiff 2008, p71). Phoebe forces Holden to view her as a human—living and progressing— rather than as a forever preserved child, and it is this humanization that causes Holden to accept her eventual progression into

The coming of age phase in a young person’s life is a transitional phase which prompts the idea of individualism, decision making, acceptance, moral challenges, disappointment, and individual needs. These years are essential for the overall learning and growing-up part of someone’s life. Coming of age characteristics transpired in the novel The Catcher in the Rye and The Absolutely True Diary of a part-time Indian pertain to, but do not exclude, the acceptance of the complexities and “grayness” of the world, confrontation with the adult world, and the individual needs and desires vs. external pressures/expectations/norms. In both novels, young boys are faced with tough choices that will later help them in the overall transition from

The lost of innocence can totally change the way people view the world. A person who illustrates this can be found in J.D. Salinger’s novel, the Catcher in the Rye. The story happened during the 1950s, in a small town in Pennsylvania called Agerstown. A teenage boy named Holden, who witnesses the death of his older brother Allie when he was only 13 years old. Then consequently, he blames himself all his life for the death of Allie. As time went by he starts to search for a sense of innocence that was lost in the beginning of the novel. Throughout the course of the novel, the author conveys that Holden is continually stuck in between childhood and adulthood. The author uses Holden’s struggle to convey that in reality often times people who

It is often said that the people one surrounds themselves with can reflect things about themselves, such as their beliefs and ideals. One’s friends and acquaintances can reveal subconscious attractions to people that fulfill their ideals or agree with the things they say, but these relationships can also help one discover their personal philosophies by reinforcing opposing views. Indeed, in J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the way Holden reacts to and interacts with secondary characters reveal his established philosophies and the values he holds most dear to him.

In Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden, had many opportunities to learn life lessons but every time his faulty thinking caused him to focus on the problem and not the solution. Whenever Holden looks at situations he negatively overgeneralizes them with a bad attitude rather than learning from it.

Holden Caulfield is a character who has been through rejection and wishes to protect others innocence. He is a teen boy who is the main character in Catcher in The Rye by J.D.Salinger. He has an older brother named DB, a younger sister named Phoebe, and a younger, deceased, brother named Allie. Holden retells his story on him, trying to be the catcher in the rye. Holden has been kicked out of different colleges. He has been rejected by different girls. Holden goes through his life story. He talks about being kicked out of Pencey, his friend Jane, his “acquaintance” Stradlater, and how, when, and where Allie died. Society is to blame for Holden Caulfield's decline in mental stability. Society does not help Holden. Instead, they ignore his

Holden looks fairly mature and, as stated in the novel, can usually get drinks due to his height and gray hair. However, Phoebe is and looks like a child. She represents childhood innocence. Holden looks older than he is and is becoming an adult. He struggles with this as he misses being a child, but he also seems to enjoy some of the benefits of his independence as an “adult.” These similarities and differences are not only external, but internal as well.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger that occurs around the 1950s. The story’s protagonist and narrator is Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old white male, who journeys to various places as he mourns over the death of his little brother, Allie. As a white male in a capitalist society, he has tremendous amounts of privileges that allow him to get. However, as the novel progresses, Holden describes his society as a place where honored human qualities are suppressed and capitalist ideals are embraced. Throughout the novel, we see that capitalism, “the social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned”, destroys the overall society for Holden and his generation (Rand).

Holden Caulfield is a seventeen year old living in a “phony” world, who describes the “madman stuff” that transpired from the earlier year. He is the protagonist and narrator of the story, The Catcher in the Rye, where he mentions he was being hospitalized in a sanitarium in that present year. Holden has a different view on the world, where he portrays it as a “phony” and corrupt place. He fears that his sister, Phoebe, will fall into this world and lose the innocence that he wishes he still obtained. Holden mentions to her that he aspires to be “a catcher in the rye.” His dream is to catch the children before they fall to adulthood, lose their innocence, and be tainted by greed. Although Holden has contrasting views, many observations he made

The Catcher in the Rye is written by J.D Salinger and is a coming-of-age novel. This book portrays Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old protagonist, who gets expelled from his fourth school. After this incident, Holden goes on a journey in New York before heading home to face the consequences from his parents. Throughout his odyssey, for investigating the meaning of life, Holden is accommodated by three people- Dick Slagle, James Castle, and his younger sister, Phoebe. These three characters left in imprint on him.

Holden Caulfield and Phoebe Caulfield are siblings in the novel The Catcher in the Rye. Being siblings, they have many similarities as well as differences. Holden is the main character in the novel, and the narrator of the story. Holden is writing from a mental hospital about his experience, “around last Christmas just before I got run down.” (Salinger, 1) He writes about his journey from Pencey Prep School, in Agerstown, Pennsylvania, to his home in New York City. Along the way he encounters many different important people to the story, one of the most important characters he encounters along the way is his sister Phoebe who teaches Holden what it means to be mature.

“The Catcher in the Rye” is a novel written by J. D. Salinger in 1951. It is a great book for teenagers to read, as it allows teenagers to realize their emotional complexity due to puberty, as well as how to deal with the adult world. In “The Catcher in the Rye”, readers observe Holden’s emotional development into an adult through his analysis of his surroundings as well as the expression of his thoughts, feelings, and actions. By reading this book, I have learnt about myself because I could relate to some of Holden’s situations. Just like Holden, I have experienced depression and emotional shifts, which were very painful. However, this book taught me how these problems are common, and how each person can overcome these problems one day in