Allie, Holden's young brother who died several years beforehand is a major symbol throughout the novel. When Holden remembers incidents from his past involving him, his attitude changes, such as when he writes the composition about Allie's baseball glove or when Holden remembers breaking his hand after punching all of the windows after Allie’s passing. "I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddamn windows with my fist, just for the hell of it”, (Salinger 39). He feels that Allie was one of the few people who was normal in a world full of phonies. More importantly, Allie represents the innocence and childhood that Holden strives to find throughout his three-day journey.
On one side Holden’s interest in human interactions drive him to find and build relationships of his own, but on the other hand he uses his alienation as a wall of protection from outside forces. An instance of this is when he goes on a date with Sally Hayes; his solitude forces him to crave love and affection from another human being but his isolation and fear of being hurt from another person cause him to drive off people easily. In conclusion we learn that Holden feels isolated from everyone and everything. In spite of living a seemingly happy life and going to one of the best schools in the country, Holden hates everything and everyone and believes everyone is fake. Holden’s sense of superiority is just a veil to cover his insecurities and his social criticism of everyone are just ways to project his negative qualities onto another person to make himself feel
How does J. D. Salinger use symbolic imagery to enhance the characters and/or purpose of the text? In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger introduces a young boy named Holden who is expelled from school and wanders the streets of New York for 3 days. Holden fears change in the world and seeks company which he constantly drives away with his own self isolation. J. D. Salinger uses symbolic imagery to allow the reader access into Holden’s thoughts which in turn reinforces the underlying purpose of the text. The author uses the symbolic imagery of the red hat, ducks and carrousel to link to the novel’s themes of innocence, grief and change.
And another thing he says is that he wants to be a “catcher in the Rye” to save the kids lives so that they won’t fall off the cliff. I don’t think Holden is as perfect as he wants to be I think he only judges people and calls them a phony, because he probably does things like they do that he hates doing himself. There’s parts in the book were Holden acts like a phony and sometimes is a hypocrite , he contradicts himself, for example when he tells he hates the movies but then again he also tells that he likes attending them with her sister and with his friends. I can’t say Holden is a phony because he judges people in his mind and he admits he’s a liar, his attitude is like many people. Yes Holden does criticize people a lot but he never tells them and he never hurt anyone.
He holds on to his brother Allie’s death as well as holding on to Allie’s baseball glove which has poems written all over it. Every time something changes or Holden feels uncomfortable and lonely, he brings up his brother Allie. After Holden left Mr. Antolini’s house, something very spooky started happening. Every time [Holden] came to the end of the block and stepped off the goddam curb, [he] had this feeling that [he’d] never get to the other side of the street…and nobody’d ever see [him] again…. Every time [he’d] get to the end of a block [he’d] make believe [he] was talking to [his] brother Allie…then when [he] reached the other side of the street without disappearing, [he’d] thank him.
Holden is afraid of growing up and becoming an adult – Discuss J.D. Salinger’s unique novel ‘The catcher in the Rye’ explores the life of a cynical teenager, Holden Caulfield, who is stuck between childhood and adulthood. Salinger highlights that Holden’s goal is to resist the process of maturity and entering adulthood. This is evidenced and demonstrated by Holden’s persistent fear of change, his strong opinion on the ‘phonies’ of adult world, his difficulty of moving on from the past and his impulsive personality. Holden’s fear of change contributes to his resistance of the process of maturity.
“The Catcher in the Rye” Critical Essay A novel in which the fate of the main character is important in conveying the writers theme is “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger. The novel explores the themes of the pain and suffering caused by the transition from childhood to adulthood, alienation and loneliness, through the story of Holden Caulfield, a sensitive sixteen year old boy who after being expelled from his boarding school due to academic failure, goes on a journey through New York City and encounters a number of emotional and difficult experiences. “The Catcher in the Rye” is the turbulent and emotional account of teenager Holden Caulfield’s journey on the last few days before his Christmas vacation. During these days, Holden leaves his all boys’ school which he has been expelled from, Pency Prep, an all boy’s school in Pennsylvania, and embarks on a few nights alone in New York City. As a result of Holden’s resistance to grow up and embrace adulthood, he instantly alienates himself from the world and those around him leaving him lonely and vulnerable.
Vereen M. Bell states, “Hindley cannot forgive Heathclff for unsurpuring the love of his father, so once he master of Wuthering Heights he sees that Heathcliff is methodically humiliated and degraded” (Bell). Catherine, however, accepted Heathcliff and liked him from when he first came to her house. She liked to spend time to him. She even began to love him, Catherine states that, “My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff!
Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield discusses his journey from the inside of an insane asylum. As most he holds a fear. His fear is of seeing the innocence and purity of childhood lost. This fear allows him to realize the painfulness of his growing up, the phoniness of the cruel adult world, and the path in which he wants his life to follow. These realizations develop from his lying and deception, his fear of relationships and intimacy, and his self imposed loneliness.
Lucky seems happy to be working for Dove as well as living with him and there seem to be a light ahead for him. Yet after a couple of deals gone wrong, and the breaking of a rule Dove had made, Lucky is shot in the head. Firstly I want to discuss if his lifestyle was chosen by himself or if it just was a path he was set upon. Lucky is only fifteen years old. He’s living at home in the beginning, but gets kicked out by his parents because of his drug addiction.