Holden Caulfield Flaws

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The Catcher in the Rye
“Boy I felt miserable. I felt so depressed, you can’t imagine” (Salinger 110). Holden Caulfield is never happy and he doesn’t care much for his future, or for other people. He judges everyone and never takes any advice. In the book, “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is an angry kid who is ruining his life by seeking attention.
Holden spiraled out of control and became very angry after his brother, Allie died. “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage” (Salinger 44). After Allie died, Holden freaked out and broke all the windows in the garage with his hand. He then slept in the garage that same night. Holden missed Allies funeral because he was in …show more content…
“I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself at all” (Salinger 6). Holden comes from a smart family. However, he is not applying himself in the classroom because he is seeking attention and he wants any little bit he can get from whoever will give it to him. He is also having a hard time focusing on himself, instead he focuses on everybody else because it is easier for him.
Holden is a very impatient person who is constantly contradicting himself. “It’s no fun to be yellow. Maybe I’m not yellow at all. I don’t know. I think I’m just partly yellow” (Salinger 100). Holden contradicts himself so often, and he is either putting himself down, or others down. He puts others down to make himself feel better. He also cannot take constructive critism either because he doesn’t know what to do with it, so he just doesn’t listen to it.
Holden Caulfield is slowly ruining his life. He flunked out of multiple schools becaus he is seeking attention. He also can’t take any advice, and he’s very impatient. He doesn’t know how to fix his problems, instead, he focuses on anybody but himself. This is due to his brothers

Catcher In The Rye Literary Analysis

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…

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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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Essay on No Person Is Exempt from Flaws

Holden Caulfield and Will Hunting, both adolescent boys, often had trouble forging relationships with others. The main character of Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden, rejected those around him. He called them “phony” (106) and “bastards” (33). Will in the movie Good Will Hunting also had similar feelings and feared that there may be imperfections in people which would convince him those persons could not be his friends. Despite their initial attitudes, they both embarked on journeys that…

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Being the Catcher in the Rye For Holden Caulfield, the main problem is that he is not ready to grow up. He wants everything to stay the same, like the displays in a museum. When he gets kicked out of Pencey Prep because of his bad grades, Holden decides to run away from his problems and try to avoid the transition from adolescence into adulthood, but eventually realises that he can’t delay the inevitable, decides to move on and let go of his responsibility of being the catcher in the rye. Holden’s…

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How Is Holden Caulfield Phony

In J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield frequently uses the term "phony" to describe the people he encounters. To Holden, a phony is someone who is insincere, fake, or pretentious. He believes that almost everyone he meets is a phony, and this perception is a recurring theme throughout the novel. Holden's obsession with phoniness stems from his desire for authenticity and genuineness in others. He is disillusioned with the superficiality and hypocrisy of…

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Essay On Holden Caulfield A Hero

way to deal with an unfree world is to become so free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” Which is essentially the motto that Holden lives by, he has without a doubt internalized this quote. J.D Salinger uses the protagonist, Holden, to criticize the vices of society; a psychotic, depressed and cynical teenager who is trying to “find himself.” Holden is unquestionably not a hero, well in the stereotypical sense with the whole saving the world gig, however he does do something a little…

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The Three Essay

variety of ways including the use of propaganda advertisements. However, these advertisements ironically promoted the purchasing of materialism that ultimately told people to conform. In J.D Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”, the main character, Holden Caulfield responds by openly rejecting the values of materialism that the American Dream offered. In a Post World War II era, propaganda advertisements used by companies highly succeeded. The American Dream of individuality collapsed as big corporations…

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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…

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trying to kill them like Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause, or have a presumed mental condition like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye. However we are all different, and some people may relate more to other characters, but from being able to relate to the characters we not only learn more about them, but we learn more about ourselves and analyse the good things, but also work on our flaws in order to be the best we can…

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Holden's Immaturity In Catcher In The Rye

time of adolescence. For many, the lines between right and wrong become blurred as they struggle to discover who they are as an individual, and how they function within society. Holden Caulfield is a young adolescent who deals with these very problems after he falls out of his school, Pencey Prep. Throughout the novel, Holden struggles to come to terms with himself and his environment, as he stumbles through New York hoping to find the very affection and attention he is avoiding. These conflicting emotions…

Words 2354 - Pages 10