Holden Caulfield Character Analysis Essay

I read the book and watched the John Lennon assassination video and the million dollar question is Mark David Chapman Holden Caulfield? I have to say no he isn’t. I will explain why I came to this conclusion. On the day of the killing, he carried two things with him when he shot and killed John Lennon at the Dakota apartments in Manhattan. He had a handgun and a copy of The Catcher in the Rye book.

Adolescence, this is a time where you figure out who you truly are. This soul searching leads to self realization. Holden Caulfield from The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger, has trouble accepting himself. Throughout his days he would put on a cap just to be someone else. It is his get away place, a place of isolation. A way for him to seclude from the world and become someone he isn’t. This is relatable to numerous teens. Though Holden could be described using numerous adjectives, Holden's character can be perfectly described as ignorant, a liar, and a slacker. He is ignorant because he does not learn from his mistakes. He is a compulsive liar. Finally, he is a slacker because he avoids work. Holden is just like countless people out there who do not apply themselves. You see, Holden could be smart. He could be successful. He just doesn’t have the motivation or ambition to do so.

J.D. Salinger, the author of the Catcher in the Rye, was a skilled writer. Salinger wrote about a wide variety of characters throughout this novel, many of these characters had a complex personality. Holden Caulfield is the main character in the Catcher in the rye. Holden is a unique character and he shares very little traits with the other people he encounters throughout the novel besides his younger sister, Phoebe. Holden and Phoebe Caulfield have two very different personalities but they share some distinct similarities. Holden is a gloomy, pessimistic, and unstable teenager. Phoebe, on the other hand, is a lively, optimistic, and innocent child. Throughout the novel Holden spends his time trying to act mature while Phoebe is living out the childhood he never had. Phoebe and Holden have very different personalities and outlooks on life. While the two have such opposing traits, they have a similar background and upbringing.

Holden Caulfield, of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a teenager struggling to transition into adulthood, which is indirectly affected by his relationships with his family and the people around him. The story is told in any way Holden wants and he chooses what the audience can see making him an unreliable narrator. Some of the aspects that largely affects Holden’s relationship are his superiority and the way he was raised. However much of the drawn conclusions can only be inferred from what Holden chooses to reveal.

There are quite a few characters who influence Holden Caulfield, whether it be positively or negatively. Three minor characters have had a profound influence on Holden- Mr. Spencer, Sunny, and Mr. Antonelli. The actions of each of these individual characters has had an impact on Holden in some way, shape, or form. The following quote, stated by Holden Caulfield himself, show a complete turnaround in his personality and demeanor- ‘"The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything."’ The quote describes Holden’s vain attempt to protect all of the innocence in the world. Mr. Spencer, Sunny, and Mr. Antonelli, although relatively minor characters in the grand scheme of the novel, did have a major impact on Holden’s view of the world and of himself. These three characters can best be described as foil characters, which is a minor character whose actions parallel the main character’s, therefore illuminating the main character.

The process of growing up is reflected through having innocence, trying to hold on to that innocence, and losing that innocence. In Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield's mental breakdown is attributed to his hold on innocence and fight against adulthood, which is displayed first through his fixation on his red hat, then the ducks, and finally the museum of natural history.

Although Holden Caulfield’s decline is not as great as Gatsby’s, he still suffers because of a dream that cannot possibly fulfilled. The loss of innocence that all young people experience as they grow up is one of the greatest challenges they must face, as it forces them to venture outside of their comfort zone and discover their true identity. Everyone forms their own unique approach to dealing with the loss of innocence, but Holden responds to it by wishing that time would pause for him so that he need not be forced to

“I’d say to him,’Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Allie, don't let me disappear. Please, Allie.’ And then when I'd reach the other side of the street without disappearing, I'd thank him”. (Salinger 258). In Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, the main protagonist, experiences many deaths throughout his journey. One of these deaths being Allie Caulfield, Holden’s long lost brother. Allie dies of leukemia in the year of 1946, at the age of eleven. As Holden progresses throughout the book, the reader comes to understand that Allie’s death begins to degrade Holden, to the point where he wants to remain in his childhood years.

The only person that Holden really likes and can depend on is his little sister, Phoebe. He trusts her, and she is like a mother figure to him until he grows up at the end of the book. Holden doesn’t have any real friends at school because he is sarcastic and immature, so Phoebe is also his only friend. Holden is alone in the world besides his ten-year-old sister, and that also shows in his issues. Holden is immature and childish because he is afraid of growing up.

Holden Caulfield is a 16- year-old junior who doesn’t want to grow up. When introduced at first, Holden appears to be a normals boy. He behaves like a normal teenager and thinks of girls often, especially his friend Jane. However, it soons becomes clear that he isn’t a normal teenager. Even though Holden has just a few friends, Stradlater and Ackley, it is clear that he isn’t able to

What we discover are Holden’s tumultuous desires to throw himself into adulthood, and his equally unstable reactions to his subsequent denial of entry. Coupled with, his obvious obsession with the innocence of childhood, the severity of his internal conflict becomes increasingly more clear. “The most glaring indicator of Holden’s current transition is his acting against emotion. It is very clear that Holden is lonely. Yet every time he reaches out for companionship he quickly switches to using rude and self-destructive behavior to isolate himself again.”

Holden deeply admires his little sister, Phoebe. She is warm hearted, kind, intelligent, and a person Holden would love to be. He admires her childness as well. A huge part of it is the innocence kids have when they are young. Evidence: “She had her mouth way open. It’s funny. You take adults, they look lousy when they’re asleep and they have their mouths way open, but kids don’t. Kids look all right”(159). Phoebe’s childlike actions are clearly acceptable since she is only a kid. This is what Holden enjoys and feels depressed about. He likes the feeling of getting away with things that kids can, and doesn’t want to lose this. Towards the end of the book, we see how Holden has changed a bit. He uses an example to show the lessons kids need to learn when growing up: “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to let him do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them”(211). Holden uses this example that has us see another side of holden, how kids need to learn from their mistakes. He has trouble throughout the book learning from his actions, and this helps him become a stronger individual. Throughout the book, Holden has been known for lying, and how it just happens. At this time of his life, he’s with his sister at the zoo, happy as can be and shows a side of him that’s honest. “Did you mean it what you said?

Holden Caulfield: Holden is a 16 year-old boy who moves from school to school after being expelled from each school. Throughout the story, he mourns over the death of his brother Allie. Holden has a basic teenager personality. He is sarcastic and very judgmental. He calls people “phony” because they try to pretend to be someone they are not.

My Patient, Holden Caulfield has a family of six including his parents and himself. He has a ten year old sister Phoebe, older brother D.B. a screenwriter at Hollywood, and a younger brother known as Allie who had died of leukemia around eleven years old. Holden had attended at four schools including Pencey prep and was later expelled for failing most of his classes except for english. “This is about the fourth school I've gone to. " I shook my head..."Boy!"(Salinger 9).

Salinger describes Holden as someone who tries to find his place in society. With the foot on the threshold of adulthood, we see Holden struggling to relinquish his connection to the innocence of childhood. He mainly feels all the adults are phony and finds children, like his sister Phoebe, innocent. That is why Phoebe is one of the only people Holden can connect with and he has a dual nature. As a young boy growing up, he tries to make connections with people, but he cannot, mainly because his standards are too high.