Catcher In The Rye Literary Analysis

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Holden Caulfield values authenticity and criticizes anything that smacks of phoniness. Holden mocks the adults in his life because he is convinced they are all phonies. In the beginning of the book Holden compares his older adult brother to a prostitute, “Now he’s out in Hollywood, DB. being a prostitute” (page 4). Holden believes that his brother DB is a sellout. DB loved to write books but since making movies is making him more money he chooses to do that. Holden believes DB was happier and wrote better books than movies. DB used to be a regular writer but now he has so much money he just wants more. Holden appreciates real people who don’t come off as selfish and ignorant. As Holden describes the headmaster’s daughter we discover how much …show more content…
Holden likes Selma Thurmer because he realizes how real she is. Selma has many quirks and flaws. For example, how she wears falsies and she wasn’t the type of girl everyone would take a liking to. Even though her dad isn’t the nicest person Selma never brags about him. Realness is a major theme in Catcher in the Rye. Even though Holden supposedly hates phonies, in multiple situations he appears to be hypocritical and portray a phony. When talking to Ernest’s mother on the train holden decides to tell her false information about her son, “Then I start shooting the old crap around a little bit, “He adapts himself very well to things.” (page 62). Even though Holden hates his classmate Ernest, he pretends like he really likes him. He also lies about his name and tells the lady he is leaving school early because he has a brain tumor. Holden thinks its good he is lying because he wants this woman to believe her son is a good person. He doesn’t want her to lose her innocence about thinking her son is good which is a huge theme that is represented in the book. Even though Holden Caulfield critizes adults of being phony but really he is doing the same things

Literary Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye

Holden? How are Holden and James similar? What does James’ suicide represent to Holden? How is it significant that he was wearing Holden’s sweater? How does Holden’s dream of the catcher in the rye relate to the theme of preservation of childhood innocence? What does the cliff in Holden’s dream represent? Literary Analysis: In chapter 21, Holden sneaks home to visit Phoebe. He lies to the elevator boy claiming to be the nephew of the Dickensteins. However, he doesn’t do a very good job at lying…

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The Catcher In The Rye Literary Analysis

Holden had a very close relationship with Allie and his death causes Holden to experience loss in a very sudden and tragic way. Holden begins to rebel and has trouble coping. This was a turning point for Holden where he lost his innocence. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a novel about a young man, Holden, that attempts to cope with his confrontation issues. He feels lost and lonely, despite that he experiences different stages of living. Holden first hand experiences the pain and suffering…

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Literary Analysis Of Catcher In The Rye

yourself, you have to embrace your vulnerability. It starts by realizing that you are able to become hurt, and that realization will help you to come more to terms with life itself because you’re accepting who you are. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the dark sides of maturing which makes him feel weak and open, making him believe in the protection of the innocent of these unwanted lessons and emotions. Holden teaches about vulnerability through his interaction…

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Literary Analysis Essay On The Catcher In The Rye

Catcher In The Rye Analytical Essay At first glance, people can perceive someone to be sane or insane. It is a way society has classified people for many years, but in an mad world are only the mad sane? People who are supposedly sane are the ones who set the standards of insanity, so how can one person’s definition of insanity or sanity relate to the whole world. Holden Caulfield can, in many people’s eyes, be perceived as insane, but he’s actually the sane one in the insane world. Holden’s way…

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Catcher in the Rye Essay

The Catcher in the Rye “Is The Catcher in the Rye, as a work of literature still relevant for today’s youth?” Name: Sara Sigurdson Course: English A1 Supervisor: Mr. Peter Steadman Word count: 3851 Candidate number: 00136022 Table of Contents Content Page Number Abstract 3 Introduction 4 The Actual Catcher in the Rye 4 The Sexual Matter 5 The Caulfield Family 6 Narrator and Protagonist 8 Role Model 9 Mr. Antolini 10 Targeted Audience 10 Guidance 12…

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MMeehan 14 Essay

Somerville School Name: CAVA Graded Assignment Literary Analysis Final Draft Type your name, the date, your teacher’s name, and your school name at the top of this page. Type or paste your draft into this document. Be sure that your draft is double-spaced and in 12 point Times New Roman font. Save the file as: ENG304B_Honors_Project_Assignment_Name_FirstInitial_LastName.doc Example: ENG304B_ Honors_Project_Essay_M_Smith.doc (200 points) Catcher in the Rye is one of the most taught and controversial…

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Holden Caulfield Phony

In J.D. In “The Catcher in the Rye”, Holden Caulfield is not just a naive and rambunctious teenager, but overall an unreliable narrator of the novel. This idea is represented through Holden’s perspective on life, as well as his mental illness. This belief is shared by literary critic and author Susan K. Mitchell, as she explains that Holden’s view on society being “phony” would make Holden a phony as well. She writes that “Holden is an unreliable narrator not only because he is a self-proclaimed…

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Holden Caulfield Research Paper

issues in youth Often times writers enjoy integrating their struggles and experiences in their works to engage their audience with a particular narrative or express an opinion. One such writer is Jerome David Salinger author of the novel, The Catcher in the Rye who has a direct parallel with the books protagonist Holden Caulfield. Salinger was born in Manhattan, New York on January 1, 1919 as the second child of Solomon Salinger, a Jewish importer and Marie Jillich of Scots-Irish heritage. Holden…

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The catcher in the rye Essay example

Jaycie Wright Period 3 Independent reading assignment -The Catcher in the Rye By: J.D. Salinger Genre- Bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel) -Year published: July 1951 -Literary period: Modern America, during a time of prosperity in the United States due to the industrial economy Holden Caulfield- (protagonist) Holden is an intelligent and sensitive man. He cannot stand the world around him and tries as long as possible to stay out of the adult world. He is very rude and mean at times…

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Holden Caulfield Mental Illness

and relationship with other people. Mental disorders are emphasized through the protagonist of the book, The Catcher in the Rye. This book is written by J. D Salinger, published in 1951.The book is about a troubled sixteen-year-old, Holden Caulfield, narrating his flashback about three very disoriented days. The Catcher in the Rye is set mainly in New York during 1950s. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden demonstrates characteristics of Major Depression Disorder, social anxiety and post-traumatic stress…

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