Critical Essay: 'The Catcher In the Rye' "Choose a novel which deals with the theme of isolation. By referring to the novel closely, examine the techniques the writer uses to portray this theme."

Critical Essay: 'The Catcher In the Rye' "Choose a novel which deals with the theme of isolation. By referring to the novel closely, examine the techniques the writer uses to portray this theme." 'The Catcher In the Rye', written by J.D. Salinger is a bildungsroman in which Holden Caulfield, a misanthropic sixteen-year-old, narrates a story concerning three, eventful days of his life. Among the several themes successfully portrayed throughout the novel, the theme of isolation is most prominent, as Holden constantly feels detached from the society in which he lives. The reasons for this are various but are mainly due to the fact that Holden is unhappy with the world he lives in and what it values. His dislikes for the world around him cause him to withdraw into a state of isolation and this serves as a form of self-protection from the 'phonies' that he finds so unbearable. It is at the start of the novel that that Holden is initially perceived as being an outsider to the society around him. At 'Pencey Prep.', he reveals his strong emotions on a number of instances and the reader soon learns that he does not appear to have any true friends. An example of this is shown after his fight with Stradlater when he admits to himself that he was "feeling so lonesome and rotten, I even felt like waking Ackley up". This quotation clearly illustrates the extent of Holden's loneliness

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Discuss the view that in "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" and "Catcher in the Rye" Holden and Ruby can be regarded as unreliable narrators

Julia Christie Coursework Discuss the view that in "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" and "Catcher in the Rye" Holden and Ruby can be regarded as unreliable narrators ---------------------------------- In both "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" and "Catcher in the Rye" there are obvious signs that Holden and Ruby are troubled and unreliable characters. The informal conversational tone that Holden uses is meant to be spontaneous and unrehearsed; so instead of getting a focused autobiography, we get a scanty account of a few days that often trail into other stories that are what we use to draw a picture of Holden. Holden states his intentions from the beginning. He has no intentions of telling his 'whole goddam autobiography or anything' and states clearly that he doesn't want to write 'all that David Copperfield kind of crap'. This also suggests that Holden has no concern with what has happened previously, which we later see is not the case. "Catcher in the Rye" is only spread over a few days unlike "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" which can be seen as more of a bildungsroman and appears to be a child's viewpoint in an adults voice. This is characterised by the use of vocabulary and descriptions and also marked by the use of parenthesis. Parenthesis often follows descriptions such as after the description of the guest bed Ruby adds in brackets 'much nicer than the camp bed'

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  • Subject: English
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Why is symbolism in the Catcher in the Rye so important?

Andre Malan (word Count 1064) Why is symbolism in the Catcher in the Rye so important? Symbolism is an essential element in any literary work. This is especially true for J.D. Salinger's novel the Catcher in the Rye. Salinger's main character, Holden finds it difficult to communicate with the outside world and therefore with us, the reader. Salinger uses symbolism as a subtle way of communicating Holden's emotions and faults to us the reader, without compromising the consistency of his characters by forcing Holden to do so. Salinger also uses symbolism to relate events in the novel to society at the time and expose its faults to public ridicule and criticism. Finally Salinger uses symbolism to highlight the idea of Holden making a journey and to make the reader aware of when Holden's journey has reached an end. Holden hides his emotions from himself and from those around him. He says that his breaking of the car windows was 'just for the hell of it' (Salinger 39), when it is patently obvious to the reader that this violent reaction was due to anger and pain caused by the death of his brother Allie. Salinger uses the symbol of Holden's hand that 'still hurts me once in a while' (39) to show us that the death of Allie still causes Holden great emotional pain. He also uses the hand to show that The death of Allie has weakened Holden 'I can't make a real fist anymore - not a

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The protagonist Holden Caulfield shows a lot of bravery during the course of the novel. I disagree with the quote, but I do agree that there are many references that are similar between J.F. Clarke's quote and J. D. Salinger's novel.

Corey Perlmutter September 26, 2005 Catcher in the Rye essay Mr. Pryal Period 8 Author J.F Clarke's quote, "The bravest of individuals is one who obeys his/her conscience" can be looked upon in many ways. It also relates to J. D. Salinger's novel Catcher in the Rye. The protagonist Holden Caulfield shows a lot of bravery during the course of the novel. I disagree with the quote, but I do agree that there are many references that are similar between J.F. Clarke's quote and J. D. Salinger's novel. Conscience is described as the awareness of a moral or ethical aspect to one's conduct together with the urge to prefer right over wrong. In the novel Catcher in the Rye, Holden is very brave by leaving his school and spending time by himself in one of the busiest cities in the world in New York City. I have mix feelings about whether or not Holden obeys his conscience. He is a typical bad boy, he smokes, tries to buy a hooker in his hotel room that he was staying at alone, and is put into a psychiatric hospital. I feel that somebody who obeys their conscience would not be this type of a kid who is basically known as a rebel. In some parts of the book, Holden does look like he has some moral respect when he is very nice to a kid who really has no friends in Robert Ackley. When Holden goes to his old school to give his sister a note he sees that someone has written

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'Holden's quest is an impossible one; it is a quest for the preservation of innocence in a world of phoniness and cruelty'. By close examination of appropriate episodes in the novel, discuss how far you would agree with this statement.

'Holden's quest is an impossible one; it is a quest for the preservation of innocence in a world of phoniness and cruelty'. By close examination of appropriate episodes in the novel, discuss how far you would agree with this statement. On reading 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D Salinger we discover Holden Caulfield's quest to preserve innocence in the world of phoniness and cruelty that surrounds him. However, the various people, places and events that we come across as the story unfolds lead us to doubt the possibility of such a quest. The novel takes the form of a retrospective narrative as Holden, the seventeen year old narrator and protagonist, relates to us from a kind of institution the "madman stuff" that happened to him the previous December. It charts Holden's journey other three significant days in his life, from the elite boarding school Pencey Prep to the urban wilderness of New York City as he resists entry to the adult world which he views as a cold, cruel and corrupt place. His overriding belief is that this world poses a major threat to the purity and virtue of childhood innocence. I will now explore the many ways in which Holden attempts to protect this innocence and evaluate the extent to which he succeeds in his quest. In order to better understand the innocence-threatening world presented to us in the novel, we must first consider its various contextual

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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