J.D Salinger, the author of 'The catcher in the Rye', this novel is about a boy named Holden Caulfield who wants to save the children in the field from falling off the cliff into adulthood. I

The Catcher in the Rye J.D Salinger, the author of 'The catcher in the Rye', this novel is about a boy named Holden Caulfield who wants to save the children in the field from falling off the cliff into adulthood. I always ask myself "why does he want to do this?" I think that Holden Caulfield thinks that adulthood is bad; people won't say something is bad unless they have experienced it themselves, but I think that the only reason why Holden thinks adulthood is bad is because of his lack of faith in life. At the beginning of this interesting novel, Holden was a very sarcastic person towards everything. He was also cynical and has a hopeless outlook on life. Holden has been kicked out of Pencey Prep for failing all of his subjects. Holden went to his history teacher who began lecturing Holden on his lousy term paper. Holden, however, saw only the comical part, "he was holding my paper like it was a turd or something," Holden believes that everyone and everything is 'fake and phony'. In one of the chapters Holden took train ride to New York, Holden meets one of his classmate's mothers. He began to talk to the mother and started to lie to her and says how nice her son is in school. "That guy Morrow was about as sensitive as a god dam toilet seat," Holden thinks that it is ridiculous that parents don't pay enough attention to their kid's personality to know when someone is

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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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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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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What does Chapter One of The Catcher in the Rye tell us about the character Holden Caulfield?

What does Chapter One of The Catcher in the Rye tell us about the character Holden Caulfield? The main character in The Catcher in the Rye is a seemingly pessimistic sixteen year old named Holden Caulfield. Chapter One of this novel tells us of Holden's attitude and thoughts on various occasions and in a variety of situations. Holden is the narrator of the story. This enables readers to enter Holden's thoughts and see the world from his perspective. He is a very multifarious character. The first chapter presents the readers with background information on Holden. He has an older brother, D.B. who he expresses his views on his chosen lifestyle as "Now he's out in Hollywood...being a prostitute"; meaning Holden does not agree that D.B. should write what people tell him to write for money (like a prostitute). Readers also discover that Holden has been kicked out of school for failing four out of five of his classes. The first two sentences of the novel already give readers a perception of what Holden Caulfield is like. He rejects the habitual manner of narrating a story, and opts for his own more casual approach. Furthermore, he says "...but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth". This connotes that Holden sets his own rules, he will tell what he wishes to tell, and is fairly insubordinate to customary practices in various situations. One of these

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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A Rebel on His Way to Adulthood : 'Me, myself and I' vs 'The Catcher in the Rye '

Petia Ivanova Tzvetkova, Eph, 4th year, 41263 A Rebel on His Way to Adulthood 'Me, myself and I' vs 'The Catcher in the Rye' Ever since I read 'The Catcher in the Rye' - I was 17 then - I have tried to explain myself why this book is so significant. Why is it so hated and adored at the same time? I must confess I hadn't heard anything about Salinger till I watched 'Conspiracy Theory'. If you don't remember I'll tell you that the movie was about this taxi driver Jerry Fletcher who traced conspiracy in everything and all of sudden one of his theories came to be true. Mel Gibson was incredible playing a man who was funny and serious, brilliant and a bid mad. And this queer person couldn't feel 'normal' if he didn't buy a copy of 'The Catcher in the Rye' every day. And that impressed me so much that after that I bought the book myself. I don't know why I did it. Generally, I hate to be told what to do, less what to read. But at that time perhaps I needed to feel 'normal' too. Now, four years later, I read it again. And I was a bit nervous about it. After all there is this disaster called 'time' and we are all infected by it but there is no cure. The symptom is that we change but not only physically. Our points of view, ideals and beliefs also change. That is why I was so anxious about reading the book again but at the same time I was curious to find out how much I have

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Catcher in The Rye - How does Salinger present the character of Holden in the opening pages of the text?

How does Salinger present the character of Holden in the opening pages of the text? Salinger uses a variety of linguistic and literary techniques to create a realistic voice for the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, and to give the reader an idea of how this is achieved and presents the major concerns and thoughts of the character and the novel through these techniques. Salinger attempts to create the voice of a contemporary teenager through writing in the vernacular of this intended voice - the use of crude, colloquial lexis that Holden uses resembles this through his repetitive and continuous use of “phony” throughout the novel, for example “what a phony slob he is.” The use of colloquial language, coupled with the protagonists conditional direct address to the reader “If you really want to know”, is used by Salinger as an allusion to Holden being somewhat reluctant to telling us about himself and his past which leans the reader towards thinking that Holden is not well and that there may be something in his past which has caused Holden to be the way he is. The conditional also suggests that Holden views his life as boring and uninteresting, ergo the intensifier “really” and the conditional “if” are used by Salinger to convey Holden’s minor reluctance. In addition, the direct address also creates an immediate tenor with the audience which is engaging for

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Characteristics of Young-Adult Books and Its Relations to Catcher in the Rye

Lily Luo 9 December 2002 Language Arts/ Period 3 Mrs. Ethridge Characteristics of Young-Adult Books and Its Relations to Catcher in the Rye Catcher in the Rye contains many characteristics of a young-adult book. The character, Holden, in the novel, has many characteristics that the main character has in a young-adult book. For example, he is young, only 17-years-old. He is also realistic because many teenagers go through the same situations as he goes through. Many teens are depressed and feel as if nothing in the world matters. Holden also has a lack of self-confidence. For example, he says, "My brother D.B.'s a writer and all, and my brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard. I'm the only really dumb one." Most teenagers, who also have a lack of self-confidence, can place themselves in Holden's shoes. Also, the other minor characters in the book have the traits that characters in a young-adult book possess. Similar to other young-adult book characters, Holden's parents are undeveloped and are essentially out of the picture. In addition, other adults serve as the mentor for Holden, such as Mr. Spencer, who tells him "Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules." Another adult, Mr. Antolini, also serves as a mentor. For example, he knows that something terrible will happen to Holden soon and even says, "I have a

  • Word count: 542
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Holden Caulfield, in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, struggled to withstand the "phony" characters and personalities of the people in the New York society where which he lived.

Fernando Moura Due October 17, 2002 Ms. Williams C band Catcher In The Rye Essay Holden Caulfield, in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, struggled to withstand the "phony" characters and personalities of the people in the New York society where which he lived. He criticized their fake personalities and insincere actions to the only person that he could confide in, his little sister, Phoebe. He believed she, besides himself, was one of the only people that wasn't "phony". His second younger brother, Allie, who died of leukemia, was one of the only people that Holden really valued as well. "Phony" is the best word to describe what Holden felt about many people. He was constantly using the word to describe colleagues, teachers, and acquaintances. While Holden was constantly criticizing people's phoniness, he wasn't acting too differently himself. Phony, to Holden, meant hiding the truth, not saying what you really felt, and being hypocritical, just to receive acceptance in society. There were many times, though, when Holden's actions contradicted his values and beliefs, thus making him like everyone else that he judged. Holden tried to make himself superior over society by criticizing their fake ways because this was the only way that he could feel different from all of the phonies. One of Holden's hypocritical actions was to lie just

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Contemporary North American Teenager and The Catcher in the Rye.

Contemporary North American Teenager and The Catcher in the Rye How many people in the world are not aware of, at least some of, the sordid aspects of the American cultural landscape? In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the behaviour and attitudes displayed by Holden Caulfield, the novel's protagonist do much to bolster a unflattering stereotype of the contemporary North American teenager. Many students encounter difficulty within themselves regarding school work or relationship with one another. Numbers of scenes of prostitutions have been found all over the America. Innumerable teenagers are involved in sexual activities and drugs. There are three significant characters and plots within them captured in The Catcher in the Rye who show the contemptible side of the American cultural landscape of the present. Holden Caulfield's cynical and jaded narration leads chapter by chapter in The Catcher in the Rye. An American teenager's wandering life is well-illustrated through Holden's journey, from his school, Pencey Prep, to New York. Holden has to leave school and is afraid to tell his parents so he goes to New York. The statistics from the National Centre for Education Statistics and the U. S. Department of Education indicate that in 1997, the dropout rate for students ages 16 to 24 was 11 per cent. When Holden stays in Edmont Hotel in New York, he meets a

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Examine how effectively Chapter 16 deals with the main themes of the novel. Look at language: e.g. zoomed and screeched, the way in which the language brings the city to life, long, long etc. The significance of the title and holding back of time.

Lissie Fuller L6th KAB Beech Examine how effectively Chapter 16 deals with the main themes of the novel. Look at language: e.g. zoomed and screeched, the way in which the language brings the city to life, long, long etc. The significance of the title and holding back of time. In this essay I will be examining the main themes of the novel as they are portrayed in Chapter 16. The first theme to be looked at will be phoniness and how Holden is hypocritical in his views of others and their phoniness. The second will be Holden's treatment and views of women. At times these are controversial, especially when viewed with an appreciation of the time in which the novel was written. Alcohol, dancing, gyrating and grooving were all being born in the cities and teenagers were admitting that they actually had hormones and were ready to explore them. Radical behaviour that had previously been socially unacceptable was starting to emerge and society's views to it were beginning to change. My first point encapsulates both of the main themes. Right at the very beginning of the chapter Holden discusses with the reader how nuns behave in comparison with how his own mother and Sally Hayes' mother would act in a similar situation. He is not particularly derogatory about his own mother but when he moves onto Sally's mother it is a different matter; " The only way she could go around

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Analysis of The Catcher in the Rye.

Corey Pilz October 26, 2002 Period F Analysis Essay of The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye, by Jerome David Salinger, is a controversial novel about a teenage boy struggling with growing up in a society that has lost its grasp on moral conviction. Holden Caulfield, the main character and narrator of the novel, may seem like just another normal teenager trying to find their place in society, but Holden is different in many ways. Holden is a critic of society, and believes that the major weakness in society is the phoniness of everyone within it. He goes through the novel being alienated by people around him, dealing with the phoniness of society, and coping with the pain of the death of his younger brother Allie. On top of all this, Holden has just been expelled from his fifth school, and goes through most of the novel with no support from anyone. At one point in the novel, Holden falls apart, not being able to take what society throws at him on his own anymore. At this point in the novel, Holden lets all his feelings out and opens up his mind to the reader through his actions and thoughts. One experience in general, helps the reader to understand why Holden really does despise society. In chapter

  • Word count: 1432
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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