How Does Holden Caulfield Change

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.

There is no character that stands out against the society’s ideals and best represent for teenagers like Holden Caulfield. Like some teens, Holden does not do well in school and eventually gets kick out from one of the most prestigious schools in Agerstown, Pennsylvania: Pencey Prep. He gets so feed up with the school that he decides to leave earlier and travels to New York to have some lone times. During this period, the interactions that he has with the people he meets change his behavior and mind set, especially with Phoebe. In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, Holden indeed is still a relatable character through his actions, feelings, and concerns to his family members, especially Phoebe.

He may still be a young boy but he is very independent and basically lives on his own for the entirety of the book, but his negative outlook transforms independence into isolation. He is incredibly lonely but also pushes people away when he has a chance to get close to them. Such as his date with Sally Hayes which was going very well until he pushed her away with his harsh words, “You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth” (Ch. 17 pg. 173). Just because Sally wouldn’t run away with him and be independent with him he pushed her away. Holden may think he wants to be free and independent but his negative outlook just feeds his loneliness and

The majority of these fights occur between Holden and friends/classmates. Along with that, he also does not have very many close relationships with friends. I have very close relationships with many people and I know I always have friends there for me, but on the other hand Holden seems to be looking very hard for friends because he does not already have them there for him. Another thing about Holden and relationships is he seems to struggle making them with both girls and other guys. Most of his attempts with both genders have resulted in failures, whether he was trying to get intimate or not. I can be very outgoing which is generally good when it comes to creating relationships, so unlike Holden this is generally something that I do not struggle with. Although it can be a very debated thing, Holden seems mature. He does things that were uncommon for his age group but are now common like drinking and smoking. Although these things are not good to be doing at his age, the activities are typically associated with an older age group. He is also very respectful when it comes to

Holden is very immature and cannot act his age for anything. In the beginning of the story, Holden was very immature and self-centered and he often did very immature things, but he wanted to be an adult. This is very contradicting considering that he is very immature. In the novel, Holden states, “Boy! I said. I also say Boy! quite a lot. Partly because I have a lousy vocabulary and partly because I act quite young for my age sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I'm seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I'm about thirteen.” (Salinger 16). This shows how Holden is very immature and needs to start acting his age and this could be dangerous to society. This is why he needs to stay inside the mental facility. In the mental facility, he will be safe and he will not cause any harm to anyone or to himself

In the beginning of the chapters, Salinger makes Holden seem relatable to other teens. “I could feel a terrific lecture coming on. I didn't mind the idea so much, but I didn't feel like being lectured to and smell Vicks Nose Drops and look at old Spencer in his pajamas and bathrobe all at the same time.” (Chapter 2) Many young teenagers can relate to this quotation, since not many people find it amusing listening to an elderly lecture. Later on in the book, his childish personality begins to show more and more as the plot moves. At some points, he would like to connect to the adult world and at other points, he rewinds to the idea of every adult being “phony” or insincere people. One example of this is when Holden meets with Sally Hayes on a date. At first, Holden seemed to believe he is in love with her at first, but he came to the state of annoyance and exasperation when he couldn't connect to the adult world Sally was living in when he asked her to move out of state with her. Holden imagines himself as the “catcher in the rye.” He conceptualizes a field of rye perched high on top of a mountain cliff, full of

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

For instance, Holden can be seen isolating himself when he distances himself from the rest of the school at a football game, the quote “I remember around three o’clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill, right next to this crazy cannon that was in the Revolutionary War and all” (Salinger 2). The depression which is causing him to isolate himself is very evident throughout the novel because of the main ideals circling around these two defense mechanisms. The depression may also derive from the relationship with Holden and his mother. Freud would argue that Holden’s lack of any meaningful attachment to his mother leaves him feeling inadequate and depressed thus making Holden isolate himself. In an article by Neil Farber M.D the main idea was on mother and child relationships and how it affects the child’s development and psychoanalysis. Farber acknowledges that “parent-child relationships influences child and family functioning as well as and has the used longitudinal studies to look at the association between parenting styles and children’s emotions and behaviors that may contribute to early mental health issues in children” (Farber ). And this can be one direct reason on why Holden behaves the way he does because when Holden’s family went through the loss of a son/ brother the mother began to not focus as much on Holden thus driving Holden into a depressed state of mind and those furthermore caused the isolationism.

One thing that annoys me about society is people moving really slowly. What I mean is like in the hallway, cars, and on the streets like walking. But this is no comparison to the things that Ferris Bueller and Holden Caulfield hate about society. The thing that annoys me is no match for the little things that annoy Ferris Bueller and Holden Caulfield.

John F Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, once said that, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” This quote means that change is unavoidable and that it is always happening. Change occurs whether we want it to or not and because of that, we must continue to look forward. Some of the changes that occur in a person’s life are minor and other changes are more significant.

Society today continues to grow towards the glorification of unique objects, that become very important to a person. These objects obtain strong power, that can become very influential in a person's life, whether it be good or bad. J.D Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye, uses Allie and the ducks from the pond in Central Park, to portray the theme that change is a very difficult transition for many people.

Stories always differ in how characters develop change. Characters usually change from their first encounter to their last. In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, the main character does not experience change. Throughout the book, the main character, Holden Caulfield, simply is just a young adult strict about change. He is still his narcissistic-self, believing everyone is phony except himself, also focusing on the wrong aspects of life.

The character of Holden Caulfield has been built by Salinger to represent the stereotypical juvenile delinquent. He wears his hat backwards (p.15), swears using words like “goddamn” (p.18) and “crumby” and uses a lot of slang such as “chew the rag” (p.23) meaning to chat and “bucks” (p31) meaning dollars. Holden also involves himself in fights (p.36-39), smokes and flunks out of school these are all actions of rebellion against the expectations of adults. These behaviors highlight Holden’s attitude towards himself and others, and how others may perceive him as a person. Of course, we only appreciate this

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

Holden has a complicated relationship with his parents and he acknowledges their attitudes that do not match his. This is understood in the novel when Holden says things such as, “In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them" (Salinger 3). This shows the reader that Holden does not talk much about his parents and they react extremely to Holden doing things that they do not agree with. In addition, Holden also makes statements such as, “They're nice and all- I'm not saying that- but they're also touchy as hell" (Salinger 3). When Holden says things like this, it shows the reader that he has trouble communicating and interacting with his parents because he believes they are very sensitive. This leads Holden to use failure as a way to get his parents attention. Since he has trouble telling them things and talking about them, he could try to use his failure as a way to force them into talking with him and noticing him. In a review of the book found on “Novels for Students”, it says a statement that directly supports the idea that Holden uses his failure for the purpose of receiving his parent’s attention. The review said, “Holden continually sets himself up for failure, then wears it like a badge of courage. Why would a sixteen-year-old want to fail?