Sunday, May 19, 2013
Introduction
At first glance, Holden Caulfield may seem like just an ungrateful jerk who hates the world. However, Holden's character has multiple layers to his personality, and as each layer is exposed he becomes more and more sympathetic. At times he may seem like an overbearing parent trying to protect his child from everything in the world, and at others, he may be a 17 year old boy who just wants to know where the ducks went. I believe that we can all relate to Holden Caulfield in one way or another. We don't have to be a rich guy from the 1950's to see things the way Holden does. Teenagers nowadays face the same problems that Holden did in the book: depression, loneliness, the death of a loved one and the unwillingness to grow up. The Catcher in the Rye shows us that no matter the time period, all teenagers encounter the same issues.
Innocence and the Unwillingness to Grow Up
Quote
"The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move. You could go there a hundred times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole, with their pretty antlers and their pretty, skinny legs, and that squaw with the naked bosom would still be weaving that same blanket. Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you"(Salinger 121).
Context
As Holden is walking in the park, he misses Phoebe and decides to look for her. He sees a girl that knows Phoebe, and she tells him that she is on a fieldtrip to the Museum of Natural History. She remembers that the field trip was the day before, but he walks over there anyways.
Quote
"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around — nobody big, I mean — except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff — I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy"(Salinger 173).
Context
After Holden's stay with Mr. Antolini, he sneaks into his own house and wakes up Phoebe. He tells her that he had been kicked out of Pencey and she repeats over and over, "Daddy's going to kill you."
Analysis
The fact that Holden doesn't want anything in the museum to change mirrors how he doesn't want to change himself. He doesn't want to grow up and become a phony like all the other adults in his life. He wants to be like how the museum is and not have anything from the outside world change him. Not only does he not want to grow up himself, he also doesn't want children to grow up either. When Holden says that he wants to catch the children when they fall of "the cliff," it symbolizes how he wants to protect them from losing their innocence and growing up. Holden is aware of how cruel the world can be and he wants to shield the children from experiencing the harmfulness of the outside world. He wants the children to stay in the field of rye, and maintaining their innocence while in his protection.
Peer Response
I asked people about their opinions on growing up. Some said that they were excited to be free and have responsibilities while others said that they were nervous and scared that the responsibilities would be too stressful to handle. One person said "I'd prefer to stay young. I want to act like a five year old and play, but this appears to be socially unacceptable." I'm pretty sure many of feel that way and I agree that acting like a five year old when you're not is frowned upon in our society.
Innocence can be interpreted in many ways by different people. It can be seen as ignorance of the outside world, not being corrupted by society, or maybe not yet having experienced love. Depending on you definition of innocence, losing your innocence can be a good thing. You can't live life blindly pretending that the world is perfect and that death or famine doesn't exist. Losing one's innocence is inevitable and has to happen and is part of life.
Song
Avril Lavigne- Innocence
Sometimes we don't want anything to change...
Loneliness
Quote
"All I did was, I got up and went over and looked out the window. I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead" (Salinger 48).
Context
After Stradlater gets home from his date with Jane Gallagher, Holden asks him how it went. Stradlater doesn't give him much details so he keeps asking him for more information. The two begin fighting resulting in Holden getting a bloody nose. Stradlater leaves and Holden goes into Ackley's room. Out of nowhere, Holden becomes depressed and lonely.
Quote
"You ought to go to a boy's school someday...everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques. The guys that are on the basketball team stick together, the Catholics stick together, the guys that play bridge stick together. Even the guys that belong to the goddam Book-of-the-Month Club stick together" (Salinger 131).
Context
After Holden and Sally's date at the skating rink, they head to a bar. Holden asks her if she likes school or not and later starts talking about how much he hates school. He feels as though everyone is a phony and says to Sally that he is in bad shape.
Analysis
Holden feels all alone at Pencey. He feels as though all the guys there are just phonies who just want to talk about sex and liquor all day. He wants more out of school than just talking about pointless things in order for him to fit into a clique. We can see that Holden likes to be unique as evidenced when he wears his red hunting hat even when it makes him different. However, his individuality separates him from his peers making him an outsider and ultimately making Holden lonely.
Research/Peers' Response
So what exactly is a clique? According to dictionary.com, a clique is a small, exclusive group of people. I asked people at Cap if they thought our school had cliques at all. Most people said that there were but that they were but they're not very exclusive and that you can drift in and out of a clique and no one would think differently about you. Holden struggles to fit in because he wants to be different. I asked if it was more important to fit in or stand out and be unique. One person said that it was easier to get by in school if you fit in, while another person said that originality is all we have nowadays and that we should embrace it. Regardless of whether or not you think you fit in, one person summarized it by saying : "wherever you feel loved and appreciated is where you should be."
Everyone feels lonely at times. Whether you are physically alone or even alone in a crowded room, we can all relate to how it feels like to be lonely. Like Holden, you might feel like no one around really gets you and you're just watching from the side lines while everyone else seems happy. The truth is, the people that seem happy may feel the exact same way as you do: lonely. If you do feel lonely, try doing activities that you enjoy where you will be around other human beings. These situations are a good place to cultivate new friendships because you often find people who share similar interests as you. Focus on developing quality relationships with people and don't be discouraged if one person seems like a jerk, there are 7 billion other people in the world to be friends with.
Song
Jack's Mannequin- Dark Blue
Here's a song dedicated to anyone who has every been alone in a crowded room.
Loss of a Loved One
Quote
"I slept in the garage the night [Allie] died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist just for the hell of it" (Salinger 39).
Context
Stradlater asks Holden to write a composition for him about an old house. Instead, Holden writes about his brother Allie's old baseball mitt. He tells the reader about his brother and how he had leukemia and passed away a couple of years back.
Analysis
Holden reacted to his brother's death in anger. Allie was intelligent, nice and he never got mad at anyone. When Phoebe told him to name one thing that he liked, Holden responded by saying, Allie. In Holden's opinion, Allie was a thousand times nicer than anyone else that was alive. He reacted so strongly to his brother's death because Allie was one of the only people that he truly cared about. Allie's death further emphasized Holden's view of how unfair the world is.
Research/Peers' Response
The five stages of grief, introduced in Kübler-Ross' 1969 book On Death and Dying, includes:
If you have just gone through a loss of a significant person in your life, know that you are not alone. Talk to your peers or family about your emotions, but don't keep it bottled up inside. Getting extra rest and maintaining healthy eating habits can help one cope with grief. Another way to cope is writing journal entries. There are no strict rules to this method, but the Center for Journal Therapy suggests limiting the time to 15 minutes or less a day to decrease the likelihood of grief and writing about how you imagine your life will be a year later.
Song
Luther Vandross- Dance with My Father
"I slept in the garage the night [Allie] died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist just for the hell of it" (Salinger 39).
Context
Stradlater asks Holden to write a composition for him about an old house. Instead, Holden writes about his brother Allie's old baseball mitt. He tells the reader about his brother and how he had leukemia and passed away a couple of years back.
Analysis
Holden reacted to his brother's death in anger. Allie was intelligent, nice and he never got mad at anyone. When Phoebe told him to name one thing that he liked, Holden responded by saying, Allie. In Holden's opinion, Allie was a thousand times nicer than anyone else that was alive. He reacted so strongly to his brother's death because Allie was one of the only people that he truly cared about. Allie's death further emphasized Holden's view of how unfair the world is.
Research/Peers' Response
The five stages of grief, introduced in Kübler-Ross' 1969 book On Death and Dying, includes:
- Denial: having trouble realizing that this is really happening
- Anger: questioning the fairness of the loss
- Bargaining: wishing to make a deal to get the person back
- Depression: gets in touch with how sad they are
- Acceptance: having more ability to move on with their life
If you have just gone through a loss of a significant person in your life, know that you are not alone. Talk to your peers or family about your emotions, but don't keep it bottled up inside. Getting extra rest and maintaining healthy eating habits can help one cope with grief. Another way to cope is writing journal entries. There are no strict rules to this method, but the Center for Journal Therapy suggests limiting the time to 15 minutes or less a day to decrease the likelihood of grief and writing about how you imagine your life will be a year later.
Song
Luther Vandross- Dance with My Father
Depression
Quote
"What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide . I felt like jumping out the window" (Salinger 104).
Context
When Holden arrives at the hotel, the elevator operator, Maurice, offers Holden a prostitute. Sunny, the prostitute goes up to his room, but when she arrives, he realizes that he just wants to talk. Sunny leaves and comes back with Maurice. The two demand for their five dollars which Holden refuses to give them. This results in Holden getting into a fight with Maurice and being beat up.
Analysis
Holden was feeling really down at this point of the story. He had just been kicked out of school and he tries to do the right thing by not taking advantage of the prostitute, but his money gets stolen anyways. Nothing is going right for Holden. First, he gets kicked out of Pencey, he then loses the fencing equipment on the bus and now he gets his money stolen by a prostitute and her pimp. Holden's emotional instability with the loss of his brother combined with these instances that coincided resulted in Holden's suicidal thoughts.
Research/Peer Response
If you are having a bad day and you feel sad or depressed, listen to some music or read a book to help get your mind off the subject. However, if you are experiencing symptoms of depression that include, apathy, aches, difficulty concentrating, loss of appetite or compulsive overeating, withdrawal from friends, talk to your parents and your mental health care provider will help determine the best treatment for you. If your depression leads to having any suicidal thoughts, there is help out there and you are not alone. Life would not be better if you just "disappeared" and there is always a better option than ending your own life.
Hotlines:
1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-273-TALK
Song
Coldplay-Fix You
When I'm having a bad day, this is the song that I always listen to.
Conclusion
Even though we're now in the 21st century, Holden's character still relates to many teens today. We all feel lonely sometimes and we all have those days where we just hate the world. Sometimes we never want to grow up, and unfortunately, some of us have also lost someone important in our lives.
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