Theme Of Growing Up In Catcher In The Rye

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Growing Up
Holden is seventeen when he tells his therapist his story; by law Holden is still a child and is in his final stretch of growing up. Holden resists growing up as much as he can because he is afraid of what the adult world might bring. Holden’s struggle is evident throughout the novel, often occurring when he has to decide whether to mature or to keep his immaturity. Examples of his decisions are whether or not to have sex with Sunny and other females, and hiding his expulsion from Pencey from his parents.

Seclusion for Protection
Holden’s goal is to keep everything the same and to remain a kid for the rest of his life. To complete his intentions, he separates himself from his peers, who, at the same time, are experiencing

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Growing Up In Catcher In The Rye

Growing up in Catcher in The Rye The inevitable change from childhood to adolescence in one’s life is a time of confusion and stress, and can often lead to an empty feeling of helplessness. This idea is heavily discussed upon in J.D Salinger's novel, The Catcher in The Rye, which is primarily focused on the theme that growing up in the twentieth century can be frightening due to the explicit exposure to the adult world, and can result in one becoming introverted as a method of self protection…

Words 1724 - Pages 7

Catcher In The Rye Quotes

wait to grow up… What the hell were we thinking?”(Unknown). This quote relates to J.D. Salinger's coming-of-age novel The Catcher in the Rye because it relates the painfulness of growing up. The protagonist in the book, Holden Caulfield is dealing with all the struggles that come with maturing to be an adult. Throughout the book Holden deals with all the pain of growing up. The Symbols, Museum of Natural History, Ducks in Central Park, and The Catcher in the Rye all helps portray the theme of the painful…

Words 810 - Pages 4

Holden Essay

Catcher in the Rye Final Depression is a state in mind in which a person can’t seem to find anything to make them happy; which is how Holden the main character of the Catcher in the Rye felt throughout a couple of rough days. Many things that scared him occurred throughout his childhood; one he was forced to grow up from. As a teenager not being able find anything to make up for his tragic childhood led him to become very depressed. There were many factors that came into his depression such as his…

Words 960 - Pages 4

Catcher In The Rye Theme Essay

Think about if we never had to grow up, would we have a better life if we could stay young forever? A main theme of the catcher in the rye is the fear of growing up, you can see this through the structure of the book itself, the characterization of Holden, and the dream that he has for himself. The Catcher in the Rye has the structure of a reverse coming of age story, where Holden is venturing around New York because he isn't ready to return home. After Holden was notified that he was being expelled…

Words 864 - Pages 4

Essay on Modern Works

Many works of literature focus on easily relatable issues. That is, common themes which every person can understand. Such works often connect to their readers on a much deeper level, and the lasting impressions can turn a novel into a piece of art, a masterpiece. To construct such a powerful message, the author must weave his theme into a relatively comprehendible story; however to generalize the story too much creates a bland, spineless piece of junk. These awfully boring books are usually eaten…

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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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Compare and Contrast Paper

Young and Innocent Lives As people slowly grow up and change in every way, they also lose their own innocence and they acknowledge and accept the loss of innocence of everyone else. The good people are isolated from society, because they are unwilling to change. Two novels that I have read share a similar theme, but in different ways. In each novel a character is going through hard times and is not able to make decisions. They need a close friend to help them, so they can move on. Although these…

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The Theme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

of the most fragile parts of the human psyche, it is so pure, but so easily tainted. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the goal of protecting children's innocence against the evils of adulthood is that of the protagonist. This theme of protecting innocence is shown by Holden, a rich but depressed teenage boy in 1940’s New York. Holden has the desire to be the “catcher in the rye”, this causes him to try to protect other children's purity, while he is losing his childhood to being…

Words 655 - Pages 3

Pencey Prep And Elkton Hills Symbol Analysis

A literary symbol is something, often an object, that stands for a significant concept or series of ideas. Sometimes it is emblematic of the values of the characters. A symbol for the catcher in the rye is Pencey Prep and Elkton Hills. They are both institutions that serve as symbols in the book. The schools represent the phony, cruel world of those who are in charge of running them. The advertisements for Pencey Prep are deceptive. They feature “some hot guy on a horse” performing equestrian feats…

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Symbols In Catcher In The Rye

Throughout The Catcher In the Rye, written by J.D Salinger, several symbols are revealed in the novel which unveils the main character, Holden Caulfield's, inner self. These symbols represents the values and characteristics of Holden but also contributes to his fear of growing up and keeping his innocence. He feels that as you get older you become more fake or “phony” therefore losing your innocence. Every adult he knows is a phony to him, and once someone becomes a certain age they become one.…

Words 629 - Pages 3