Holden Caulfield Motifs

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Throughout the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, he uses motifs to explain what is going on in the head of our 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 and understand the adult world, while a part of him wants to reject the adult world as a whole. The other part of him wants

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