Holden Caulfield

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“It’s easy to blame others for your situation. It’s much more productive to search your own past and find what caused your faults.” In the novel written by J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield, has had a traumatic childhood. As he has gotten older, he has not done much maturing. Like many teenagers, he makes irresponsible decisions. Some might say that he has the right to blame others, due to his history of traumatic events. It can be assumed that at points in his life he was sexually abused. Going through something as traumatic as that can have a huge effect on someone. For example, Holden has made the choices multiple times to not put forth an effort in school. He also has a problem with trusting adults …show more content…
At the age of 16, Holden has been kicked out of now, four schools. At his last school, Pencey, all classes except for English. As a reader, it does not explain why he does not try to the rest of his classes. Although, when Holden talks about his brother, at one point he mentioned how his now deceased brother, Allie, was in school. Allie’s teachers would write letters to their mother to read. They talked about how much the enjoyed have Allie in class. Holden said, “But it wasn’t just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways.” Holden obviously thought very highly of his brother. The relationship between siblings is often the longest relationship a person may have throughout their lives. This being said, losing this type of bond may take longer to heal. According to the Children’s Grief Education, one of the six most common symptoms of grief is difficulty concentrating. This could be the reason behind why Holden has gotten kicked out of four schools. Although, having problems concentrating does not have to lead to getting kicked out of four schools. Dealing with death, in general, is very difficult, but one can not let it consume their everyday lives. He can not live the rest of his life not concentrating in the areas that he needs to get through the rest of life. Some could
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