What Is The Moral Of The Catcher In The Rye

To start off, Holden had an insecure or unstable sense of self. Once Holden started on his path to the unknown, he struggled to find belonging as he would frequently change his location, hopping from place to place, and using different names. He never really discovered who he actually was and where he should belong. The only sense of security Holden had was his red hunting hat. Whenever he put his hat on he had a uplifting feeling that no one else could provide except his younger sister Phoebe. The only times that Holden found himself as a strong independent person is when he was wearing his hat. For example, "When I was all set to go, when I had my bags and all, I stood for a while next to the stairs and took a last look down the goddam corridor.

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

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.

Holden's disconnection from his family and friends causes an isolation that then leads to the deep depression expressed in the novel as “his great fall”. Sending him to boarding school portrays the physical and emotional distance that Holden faces with his parents. After the death of his younger brother it is implied that Holden displayed the tendencies of a distraught teneager. By “flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all.(6))” Yet instead of dealing with the issues of their problematic son they instead choose to send him away to boarding school as a means of not having to have that problem. Holden is so far disconnected from his parents emotionally and physically that it becomes a sure fire way for him to lead the life of a

He left 3 days before they were supposed to go home for winter break. He goes to a hotel for at least a week and walks around the city. He does not want to go home and face his parents mostly his father because Holden has got kicked 3 other private schools and his dad would “kill him.” Holden’s sister Phoebe says to him “I suppose you failed in every single subject again.” His little sister was not surprised at all that he failed out of his school again. Phoebe is 10 years old giving her bigger brother a talk about why he’s not good in school. Phoebe should not be able to give his older brother advise because she is the younger one. Holden should be mature enough to lead his sister to do good overall in life by facing his

Holden as a character displays the alienation of himself through his behaviour. Holden is not the same as many people and believes that everyone is a ‘phony’. Throughout the novel Holden realises more and more that he is different and sees the world differently to others around him. Holden has created an identity for himself and doesn’t want that to be diminished therefore he alienates himself from the rest of society to decrease the chances of that happening. Holden’s old school, Pency Prep, has the motto “since 1888 we have been shaping young boys into splendid, clear-thinking men.” (pg. 2) This increases Holden’s motivation to leave the school as it will be shaping his identity into something he doesn’t want to be; a man. Holden is all about protecting those younger than him from the dangerous world of adult hood and by alienating himself he feels he has a better chance of

He does not have many friends because he chooses not to make any. He also has a total lack of interest for his studies and for his school. Holden feels that school work is unnecessary and he doesn’t even try to succeed. In the beginning of our session, Holden mentions his old teacher Mr. Spencer. He then talks about a letter he wrote to Mr. Spencer and it said, “It is alright with me if you flunk me though as I am flunking everything else except English anyway. Respectfully yours, Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye).” From that point, I can already observe that he doesn’t care about any of his studies. In addition to this, Holden doesn’t seem to want to grow up. The fact that he’s failing every school he attends, drinks underage, and rebelling against every grown up, shows this detachment. Everyone just wants Holden to grow up and live a decent adult

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

This song speaks volumes as to what Holden is trying to find in life. He wants to be happy, but he is often depressed with his life. In the story it is revealed that the museum is his indeed “happy place”. In the story it reads “I get very happy when I think about it. Even now” (120). Holden admires the fact that nothing in the Museum changes and wishes that the museum could represent how his life would go. Simple, and manageable all characteristics he wishes he could trace into his real life. The song brings this all together because no matter how long it’s been since Holden’s last visit it still gives him the same spark of happiness as the last time. Being happy is definitely the main point of this

Holden Caulfield is a seventeen year old junior who was kicked out of Pencey Prep school in Pennsylvania for failing his academics. He lives in New York with his father, mother, and sister, Phoebe Caulfield who Holden adores for being so mature for her age. He has an older brother named D.B. who lives in Hollywood as a screenwriter and a brother named Allie who died from leukemia. Holden is very picky in taste when it comes to books- his favorite author is Ring Lardner, D.B., and war novels. Holden has a deep hatred for watching movies. He tries to quit smoking, but has an addiction to cigarettes (also drinking) which affects his health. Holden is the manger of the fencing team and is considered to be well off. He is a liar- he agrees with

Throughout the book Holden is isolated from people that he like’s and he often purposely isolates himself by exaggerating traits he finds untasteful. Holden throughout the book see’s to himself has his advisor his guide, he has a limited view on his matters and as a result he does irrational things. Holden could avoid many of the situations he encountered if instead of being by himself and having someone by him he could get actual advice. But because Holden only listens to himself he often doesn’t know what the right thing to do is.

In the novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden, the main character, is in a mental hospital where he is telling the story of how he got there. Holden starts his story around the time where he gets kicked out of his school, Pencey Prep. Holden, who has gotten kicked out of two schools including Pencey has to face his parents who do not know that he got kicked out of Pency yet. Up to now, Holden has had a rough life between his brother Allie dying of cancer and having to go to multiple different schools. On the other hand, Holden cares about very few things.

Within these three days that the book takes place, many things happen to Holden. For starters, he is already getting kicked out of his current school. Holden seems to hate this school. He hates the people, the classes, and he hates how everybody is so phony. Holden continues to tell us that all adults are phony through this book. He can’t stand that all the adults are trying to imitate someone they aren’t and they continue to do awful

Throughout the novel Holden is rejected and exploited by the society around him. As he is conflicted with himself to find a purpose in life he constantly tries to connect with a superficial society. The ongoing failure and fake personas he meets adds to his depression and cynicism. But instead of facing the problems by growing up and to move on Holden uses this negativity and isolation to protect him. Holden tries show that he is better than everybody else as this is the little stability he has left. When in reality Holden is just scared of the interaction of people because they just submerge him with complications he doesn 't know not yet how to deal with. Holden not being be able to cope with the idea of growing up adds to his loneliness which is the core of his pain. When his encounters first interaction in the novel, Holden Caulfield is an uncaring outcast who sees no motivation in life. As he says to Mr. Spencer, he feels trapped on “the other side of life” (Salinger). Holden constant attempt to fit into society is hidden because of his detachment to people. His only stability right now is to search for his own individuality and to face adulthood himself. That is why

He drinks, he smokes and rebel against both his teachers and adults. Holden is a very negative person and is constantly trashing other people, if not he is lying to them. He likes calling people ‘phonies’, even tough he acts like a phony himself. And this is his hefty scare, he is terrified of growing up, yet he realises it is time for his body is changing and turning him into a man. Holden has had an uncomplicated life if you disregard away from his brother’s death. He comes from a good family, has never lacked anything and has agreeable opportunities. An instead of using this to his advantage, he gets sucked down into a pessimistic and sad vortex. He never feels at home anyplace or feels a strong connection to people. Rebelling is an ordinary thing to go through in your adolescence and Holden has it bad. He is indeed a ‘rebel without a