Theme in The Catcher in the Rye.
Theme in The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye shows the turbulence and confusion experienced during many childhoods. This confusion is expressed through Salinger's use of long, run-on sentences that often contradict themselves. A clear example of this stylistic technique is found on page 62, when Holden states, "I think if you don't really like a girl, you shouldn't horse around with her at all, and if you do like her, then you're supposed to like her face, and if you like her face, you ought to be careful about doing crumby stuff to it, like squirting water all over it. It's really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes." The structure of these two sentences reveals a character that is coming to terms with his impending adulthood and trying to establish his identity. By using long, run-on sentences, J.D. Salinger provides room for Holden to contradict himself and argue both sides of his arguments. Currently, Holden sees the same acts as both "crumby" and "fun", and he hasn't had an opportunity to make up his mind yet. One of his main sources of confusion is interpersonal relationships. Salinger devotes fifty-three words in a single sentence to Holden's musings about girls and where to draw the line with them. Relationships are just one of the things that don't make sense yet to Holden because his life experiences are
'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
"The story it tells is episodic, inconclusive and largely made up of trivial events. The language used is, by normal literary standards, very impoverished" (5) How far do you agree with this statement?
"The story it tells is episodic, inconclusive and largely made up of trivial events. The language used is, by normal literary standards, very impoverished" (5) How far do you agree with this statement? This statement suggests that "The Catcher in the Rye" is episodic in structure and the plot is inconclusive and made up of trivial events. The language is also described as impoverished. I think that this statement is extremely unfair; although the points may have some truth they make the novel realistic and easily related to. The book is about the protagonist Holden Caulfield narrating in the first person, describing what he himself sees and experiences and providing his own commentary on events and people. The novel is quite clearly episodic in structure; it is split up into chapters which could be seen as small episodes in the life of the teenage protagonist Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield is recalling events from the past, in each chapter something new happens in his life. This is a very simple but effective structure of a novel; Salinger uses Holden to tell the story for himself in a colloquial and direct way to the reader. In the statement the episodic structure is seen as a bad point about the novel but it could also be seen to give the novel its deeper meaning. This deeper meaning is that it makes the novel realistic, this is because life is episodic being split
How does JD Salinger use the character of Holden Caulfield to explore the issues related to 'growing up'?
How does J.D Salinger use the character of Holden Caulfield to explore the issues related to 'growing up'? 'The Catcher in the Rye' was written in the late 1940's and first published in a magazine in 1947. The novel is like a bildungsroman but only consists of two and a half days in the life of a 17 year old boy called Holden Caulfield, although he argues that the book is not about his "lousy childhood". Holden seems to be very conscious of this and doesn't want it to be "all that David Copperfield kind of crap". Nevertheless the book is an insight into a young man's mind. Salinger creates Holden Caulfield's idiolect with all the colloquialisms and swearing, which resulted in the book being banned in many states of America. Holden is very open and does not refrain from sharing some of his views on society and the war. At the time of publishing, America was experiencing very rich, prosperous, affluent years. Hollywood was the worlds best film industry and something America was very proud of and enjoyed, "Everybody was on their way to the movies" but Holden "couldn't stand looking at them", this was a big dig at American society and became very controversial. Holden doesn't hold back his political views either, "I'm sort of glad they've got the atomic bomb invented. If there's another war, I'm going to sit right the hell on top of it". Due to the contextual time of post WW2
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'
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
How does the reliability of the narrator, and they style they use, affect the way the reader responds to the narrator and the novel? Discuss in relation to Wuthering Heights and Catcher In The Rye.
How does the reliability of the narrator, and they style they use, affect the way the reader responds to the narrator and the novel? Discuss in relation to Wuthering Heights and Catcher In The Rye. The reliability of the narrators in both Wuthering Heights and Catcher In The Rye are vital to the way we respond to the novels, and they style they use is also equally important. In this essay I will outline exactly how the narrators style and reliability affect the readers perceptions. The Catcher In The Rye is a modern 1950's American novel, narrated entirely by the main character Holden Cauldfield. Throughout the book we see the world exactly how he does, journeying through his thoughts and feelings. Wuthering Heights however was published in 1847 and has multiple narrators throughout. The main narrators in Wuthering Heights are not the main characters in the story that is being told, a fundamental difference between the two books. Theese differences affect our perceptions of the narrators and the story. It would be easy to read through both books and take everything that is said at face value and accept everything as truth, but that is not what either J.D.Salinger or Emily Bronte were intending. They wanted the readers to think twice about what is being said in order to add more depth and thought into the novels. Right from the onset of both books it is clear that neither
The Catcher in the Rye - Consider and discuss 5 or 6 episodes in the book, which reveal different aspects of Holden Caulfield's character
2/2/2001 Coursework essay: The Catcher in the Rye Consider and discuss 5 or 6 episodes in the book, which reveal different aspects of Holden Caulfield's character By Felix Crosse The Catcher in the Rye is a story surrounding about three days of the main character's (Holden Caulfield) life. The story is written from the point of view of Holden Caulfield, but in the past tense, so it seems that Holden is telling the story from past experience. Using that way of describing the events creates a very potent point of view for the story, resulting in what can only be described as an excellent read. In this essay, I will write about a number of passages or episodes from the book, in relation to Holden, his character, and all the other characters featured. Holden, in his narration reveals a lot of details during conversations, and that is one of many reasons why I have chosen passages to do with conversations (to use in the essay). Possibly the most important part of the essay is the choice of passages. Each section shows individual points about Holden's character, and it is important to portray as much of him as is possible. Holden seems to be a very curious personality. Throughout the book, he seems to be full of confidence, however, at the same time; he appears to be an introvert with his real personality, and feelings, never showing how he really feels. In the whole book, he
To what extent do the authors of The Outsider and The Catcherin the Rye suggest that society pressures individuals to fit in and conform to society's mores?
PES ENGLISH STUDIES 2003 CRITICAL ESSAY To what extent do the authors of The Outsider and The Catcher in the Rye suggest that society pressures individuals to fit in and conform to society's mores? SACE ID: 333961W Albert Camus in The Outsider and J.D Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye suggest that society pressures individuals to fit in and conform to its mores. Salinger chooses to narrate his novel in the form of a bildungsroman, a rights of passage novel that depicts his protagonist, Holden's, transition from adolescence to adulthood. In contrast, Camus writes his novel in order to record the events leading up to, and the last days before, the execution of his main character, Meursault. Through the employment of settings, characterisation and endings, both authors imply that society's pressure on the individual to fit in plays a major part in both of these climaxes. The importance of setting is established in both texts to impart the idea that society pressures individuals to fit in and conform to its mores. Throughout The Outsider, Camus illustrates society's pressure on the individual through his setting as seen by the uncomfortable and suffocating heat of Algiers that Meursault must endure. The presence of this heat during the funeral procession, when others judge Meursault for his lack of care and emotion towards his deceased mother, and the court trial where
a letter to holden caulfield
Catcher in the Rye Dear Mr. Holden Caulfield, You broke the ice in my soul. I see the world differently after I read your diary. I was too much of a wimp before this but as the bible says "whereas until now I was blind, but now I see". I consider myself kind of lucky to have found the personal diary of a high school student, a year back, just before I was to get admitted into one. I really was quite a wimp before this and perceived myself to be in the company of dominating buddies, who'd hang in popular circles, whom I'd have to devote my honest friendship to, just so that I could earn my share of popularity. But your diary altered my wimpy perception and served to be a good sign of the rather depressing life that was coming my way. I can relate quite a lot to your high school experiences and must admit I find it comfortable thinking the "Holden Caulifield" way. We seem to have already shared a similar pre high school life considering my mom died when I was five. By the way, let me introduce myself, I'm just another high school "phony", as you may find me. I too have a little sister, whom I share my problems with. Speaking of problems, I think we share some common ones like dropping out of school, only once in my case though, and issues with parents, but for different reasons. A notable difference though is that I am much better than you at academics, especially math. I
