Holden Caulfield Conflict

Words: 622

Pages: 3

Open Document

Everyone has their own ways to deal with conflict, some people address their situations and try to fix them. On the other hand, some people run away and hide from their problems. There are many different ways to deal with problems and you are judged by how you respond. Evangelical Christian pastor, Charles R. Swindoll, said “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”. In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, has to respond to conflict and inside and outside of the novel, he is judged by the decisions he makes. The decisions he enriches the story because it allows the reader to make connections between the events that they read about Holden and real life. Holden is a sixteen year boy from New York City who has to deal with society and its standards of the mid-1900s. Holden deals with his problems by running away and averting them.
Holden Caulfield is an extremely judgmental person and is very depressible. He judges almost everything and everybody presented towards him. He always has something bad to say about everybody, …show more content…
Holden’s characteristics allow the readers to understand the theme due to the relatability of Holden’s character. One of The Catcher in the Rye’s themes is about the protection of innocence. One day Holden misheard a lyric about a “catcher in the rye” and he interprets it as a man catching children who are about to fall from a cliff. It is a metaphor for protecting children from their conflicts due to their innocence, but Holden is one of the children falling off the cliff. Holden struggles with growing up and maturing and that affects how he responds to adult conflict. His childish mentality and his adult conflicts allows him to be in poor situations which cause worse situations. Holden’s character is used as a symbol for teenage rebellion and that help the theme of the story to be relevant and

Holden Caulfield Research Paper

Kehrmeyer AP Language 19 March 2018 Diving deep into the MInd (Holden Caulfield) Make sure to mention mental 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…

Words 1246 - Pages 5

The Catcher in the Rye Final 1 Essay

D Salinger, Holden Caulfield fabricates drama in order to escape his problems and pain that are a result from his debilitating past. Holden Caulfield is a 17 year old boy whom struggles towards moving on and meets various obstacles he can’t seem to overcome. Throughout the novel, we soon discover that Holden is the antagonist against himself. He doesn’t seem to realize it though because he’s being convinced that society is against him. His inner conflicts tend to become outer conflicts and he lets…

Words 521 - Pages 3

extra credit Essay

quite a sensation. Many people love the narrator Holden Caulfield. The book The Catcher in the Rye is still a popular book today even though it was written in 1951. FORM: The Catcher in the Rye consisted of 26 chapters. This story had the main character, Holden Caulfield who is essentially telling his story to the audience. He is the narrator throughout the whole story. In the novel he’s telling about what happened to him last Christmas. The way Holden told the story, there were always surprises. You…

Words 1332 - Pages 6

Red Hunting Hat Symbolism In Catcher In The Rye

their parents so they flee to their rooms. The red hunting hat symbolizes an external conflict of Holden’s; he uses it to isolate himself, not from himself but from other people's ridicule. The ducks symbolize an internal conflict of Holden’s; he compares the ducks to himself and the actions that he take while physically, the ducks represent very little. New York City is an external conflict; most of the conflicts he runs into are connected to other people and other things. The Catcher in the Rye by…

Words 933 - Pages 4

Essay about Holden and Jim

Not having friends can cause and lead to depression. All human beings are disconnected and they need to work at relating to others. Jim Stark from “Rebel Without a Cause” and Holden Caulfield from the The Catcher in the Rye are teenagers who struggle with connecting themselves to human beings. Jim Stark and Holden Caulfield are two teenagers who struggle with relating to other human beings. Jim is a teenager who gets in trouble many times. In the beginning of the movie, he is drunk and is sent to…

Words 1375 - Pages 6

Book report #2 Essay

Holden Caulfield starts off with his explanation of how he lost the fencing team’s equipment after he had missed the annual football game at Prencey Prep. The fencing match gets cancelled and decides to visit his teacher Mr. Spencer. Holden had been expelled form Prencey Prep because of his poor academic grades and he wanted to say bye to his teacher. Holden goes back to his dorm while everyone else is still at the game. He decides to re-read a book, but gets interrupted by his dorm neighbor Ackly…

Words 1131 - Pages 5

Holden Caulfield Motifs

main character, Holden Caulfield, and his experiences through hope and fear of his weekend. This iconic 50’s novel is about the struggles of a young 15 year old boy as he gets expelled from yet another school. He travels throughout New York, ending up having to recover from the breakdown he faced on his way home. J.D. Salinger uses Holden's sister, Phoebe Caulfeild, as a motif for hope, while he uses alcohol as a motif for fear. The central conflict throughout is the fact that Holden wants to connect…

Words 154 - Pages 1

Holden Caulfield Leitmotif

overwhelming and can be extremely difficult to overcome. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, demonstrates the negative effects that feeling stuck can have on a person. Salinger’s use of ice as a leitmotif may seem disconnected and even trivial at first, but it is actually immensely significant to the complexity of Holden Caulfield, for it relates to Holden’s inner thoughts and misfortunes and is representative of his eventual growth. Initially, the idea…

Words 1105 - Pages 5

Theme Of Childhood In Catcher In The Rye

life. Some want to leave this stage of time immediately and never return, but not Holden Caulfield. In Salinger’s book The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield finds himself running from a life of adulthood and clinging to a life of childhood. This conflict between adulthood and childhood was caused by the death of his brother Allie. Many things can drive a man to madness, death is what drove Holden to it. Holden Caulfield has always been fascinated with the idea of childhood. He seems to think adulthood…

Words 1192 - Pages 5

Catcher in the Rye Essay

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 It is not Criticism 13 Exposing Culture 13 Conclusion – Fall of Innocence 15 Works Cited List 17 Abstract This essay is a detailed analysis about The Catcher in the Rye investigating whether it is relevant for youth and…

Words 4410 - Pages 18