Holden Caulfield In The Catcher In The Rye

Not many fictional leads have a social or behavioral disorder. Typically, the only popular book that comes to mind that includes a main character with ADHD is Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but that’s only because Percy tells you upfront that he has been diagnosed with the disorder. However, he’s not the only one. While the book never informs the reader of his diagnosis, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye clearly shows the symptoms of ADHD, including being distracted, talkative, impulsive, and having a tendency to stray off topic. ADHD

One main thing Holden is interested in and he makes this clear would be sex. He harassed Luce constantly about questions to do with sex, and was aroused by the sexual behavior displayed at Edmont Hotel. Another example of how Holden gets guilty easily and feels nervous would be when he was alone with a prostitute and got flustered with her sitting on his lap. Holden was quick to

A key element of The Catcher in the Rye is the distortions in Holden Caulfield’s mind. Throughout most of the novel, Holden is constantly changing and ignoring the truth. It makes the reader question if Caulfield even knows what the truth is. Holden will say he feels bad about lying and then lie again, “I was sorry I’d said it, but it was too late. “It isn’t very

In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character and narrator Holden Caulfeild walks many different paths of life. He jumps around different aspects of his life throughout the book, showing the reader many different sides to himself. This theme is presented through the author’s technique in crafting the characterization and symbolism. J.D. Salinger develops a puzzle of a personality for Holden throughout the book, to show the complexity and multitude of sides to Holden’s character.

He hides under a visage of a cool ‘bad boy’ trope, seeing the world through a heavy filter- to him, anyone who's anyone is a phony, a liar, or just plain bad, despite him judging many things he later goes on to do himself. Over the course of the book we come to see Holden has built an opinion of the world that shields him from the pains and complexities of life. The author displays Holden’s traits quite prominently, especially through his use of language; he writes as Holden speaks- vulgar, rambling, and easily derailed, jumping from idea to idea infinitely

Are 50’s teens able to survive the hurtful but unavoidable transition of becoming a grown up as they struggle with the changes that come along with it?

“The catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger is a novel narrated by a young teenage boy named Holden Caulfield. Holden insinuates that the location he was writing takes place in a mental institute where he is undergoing treatment for his breakdowns. The story begins in Pennsylvania at Pency Prep, the school he had been expelled from. He then recounts his adventures in New York City. Holden’s nature is viewed as anomalous due to his judgmental and critical personality. He enjoys philosophizing people and ridiculing their “Phoniness.” Consequently, he’s impulsive and fails to see the reality of the adult world. Holden shares personality “|

Holden is a cruel and manipulative teen who lies without thinking twice. Holden even lied to people even though there was no problem telling the truth. People like Holden are incredibly difficult to sympathize with. Especially if this person lies straight to your

Where do the ducks go during the Winter when the water is frozen? In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the character, Holden Caulfield, has an underlying mental condition. He failed out of four schools; he saw his friend commit suicide; and his younger brother died of cancer. These life-changing experiences paved the way for Holden’s insecure and unstable life. By his narration, Holden hints at his disorder throughout the book without fully explaining his condition. Holden’s many insecurities, his teetering on the edge of childhood and adulthood, and his irrational ideas help the reader realize that Holden has a mental problem.

     Although Holden is extremely cynical and struggles with relationships, he is not all bad. Inside he is moral and generous. He was very charitable when he gave a considerable donation of twenty dollars to the nuns. Holden has a strange way of loving people.

Holden also has several redeeming qualities that keep him from being the rouge that many censors and critics wanted to label him in the fifties. As mentioned previously, Holden feels deeply for others and spends much of his time trying to understand them. For example, he admits to being a virgin and attributes this to the concern he has for the girls he is with; "he feels he would be taking advantage of their weakness if he had relations with them. " (Lettis, 6) "They tell me to stop, so I stop. I always wish I hadn't, after I take them home, but I take them home anyway." (Salinger, 121) He is also brutally honest, a quality children possess and adults seem to lose as they age. Holden dislikes things he

Holden is deathly afraid of conforming, growing up, and having to assimilate into the phony adult world. As a result he comes off as hypocritical as he is the most prominent phony in the novel. He constantly lies, refuses to connect with others and overlooks his own pain, letting it deeply impact his life. Holden is a compulsive liar; he does not have one honest conversation with anyone except his sister and Jane for the duration of the novel. When he is on the train with Mrs. Morrow, for instance, he claims his name is Rudolf Schmidt and preaches about what an amazing guy her son is, even though he is “the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school.” (61) This shows that Holden falls victim to the same social conventions as everyone else. He says exactly what Mrs. Morrow wants to hear, despite the fact that he

The characters Holden Caulfield, from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, and Will Hunting, from Good Will Hunting, have very similar personalities; however, they live in completely different worlds. The Catcher in the Rye is narrated by Holden Caulfield. He is a seventeen year old from New York City, and in the book, he comes to terms with his past. The story is told from a psychiatric institution. The movie Good Will Hunting is about a very intelligent twenty year old, Will Hunting, who is a janitor at a school in south Boston. The major conflict with the both of them is within their own mind. Part of them wants to connect with other people on an adult level, while part of them wants to reject the world. The main difference between them has to do with socio-economics, and how different their childhoods were. A main similarity between the two is that they push things away, because they are afraid of getting attached to anything. Another similarity is that they are both very intelligent young men, but are not necessarily good in school. Even though Holden and Will grew up in almost opposite conditions, they have many similarities when it comes to their personalities.

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, introduces us to Holden Caulfield is one of my favorite characters because of his immaturity and confusion, or lack of understanding of his own mind. He tends to change opinion, say strong remarks, and act very childish throughout the book. Because he hasn’t grown up. He hates most of the things he comes across during the novel. His challenge is understanding the reason things are the way they have to be and why he has to act a certain why. He doesn't understand the conventions of society so he

Holden is a profoundly negative person, he is constantly judging other people, calling them ‘phonies’ and criticising them. For instance when he says “I was surrounded by phonies.” of his time at Elkton Hills. (CITR, 14) Throughout the novel, Holden repeatedly behaves immature and makes irresponsible and destructive decisions, even if he knows it is the wrong thing to