Help, Support And Guidance In The Catcher In The Rye

The way that Holden brings himself down when he compares himself to his family also has made a big impact in Holden’s life. Even though Holden doesn’t mention his relationship with his parents as much as he talks about his brothers and sister, Holden does

Let’s consider once more Holden’s view of adults and his quest. As stated before, his views of mistrust of adults derive from their lack of empathy and their cynicism. Holden's parents for example did not teach him about life but rather they sent him off to a boarding school, creating a communication barrier between them. They also seemed to get over the death of his brother much faster than Holden could. In the book, Allie died of leukemia at the age of 11, which Holden emotionally devastated, since his youngest brother and his role model passed away so quickly. As a result of Allie’s death, Holden broken the windows in the garage and hurt himself; this shows how the death affected him and was an important caused of Holden’s mental state.

This excerpt makes me very curious about his family members. The tone makes me believe that Holden probably is ashamed by them or he doesn’t like them when he describes them as “crap”. His parents’ attitude toward telling others personal stories is also confusing. It is not clear whether they are the ones inhibiting Holden from telling or not. I predict that Holden is reluctant when it comes to uncovering truths about his life. This quote is important because it gives me background

Because of this, Holden doesn’t attain a strong, healthy relationship with his parents, causing him to go on a path of self-destruction. He has little control over his actions, which has caused him to get expelled from his school, and is now roaming the New York streets by his

Holden never going to Allie’s funeral gives us insight into why Holden is still holding onto Allie. After Allie’s death, Holden still went through experiences that caused his BPD, neglect and separation. During the time following Allie’s death, Holden’s family was in great grieving, making Holden feel isolated and not getting the attention he needed to fully grow mentally as a child (“National Allegiance on Mental Health”). Holden also expresses twice, that his mother is still grieving over Allie’s death by stating his mother, “still isn’t over my brother Allie yet” (Salinger 155). Holden is also never close to anyone. He meets with his family a limited amount of time throughout the year, and is kicked out of schools, giving him no permanent guidance in his life. Holden constantly describes his expulsion as, getting “the ax” (107). He shows a continuous changing in guardians, because of his attachment to both Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini, both old school teachers from schools he flunked out of. He also dealt with the separation from D.B. his other brother, who moved to Hollywood, Holden seems to be very inspired by him throughout the novel, but is mad that he left (1).

Holden’s outbreak where his gave the backstory of Allie’s death where he stated “They were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage … I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it. I even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon we had that summer, but my hand was already broken and everything by that time, and I couldn't do it.” (Salinger 50) This was the leading cause of Holden’s alienation because his parents weren't so compliant to his reaction. Experiencing the Death of a Sibling as an Adolescent further sights this issue by stating “ Powerless adolescents, who cannot survive without an adult, may not be able to seek, sympathy, comfort, and understanding from those around.” This expands on the issue which Holden experienced and didn’t receive the proper treatment that was necessary for him to recover.

A disparate situation is presented to readers in The Catcher in the Rye. Early in the novel, Holden expresses the reason for his difficulties in school as his being: “always surrounded by phonies.”(Salinger 13) Holden is correct; he is completely incapable of relating to his peers. However he takes no time to consider potential solutions to his problem. During his conversation with Mr. Spencer, Holden communicates that he deals with his troubles by simply quitting; putting minimal effort into academics and socialization. Since Holden never addresses his emotions directly, he fails to realize

Holden needs some mental help because he does not want to hurt the people he love most knowing his actions are reckless. Holden sister, Phoebe, is probably the only reason why Holden is still living. If his sister was not around, then Holden’s life is just unimaginable in an instant due to having no shoulder to lean on. Phoebe is truly one great sister because she is willing run away from the world just to be with the miserable Holden. Holden not wanting to ruin his sister’s future, he decide that it would be best if she would go back home where there is protection Holden cannot provide. Holden was considerate at this point of the book because he was not only not selfish, but he saw that he should not make others suffer with him. His

As Holden begins his journey, he meets many possible companions in hope to fulfill the empty space in his heart, but is let down when he realizes it is not possible. While Holden is having a conversation with Mr. Spencer he thinks about how sometimes he is mature, but “people never notice anything” (Salinger 13). He wants to get close to others, but he feels as though everyone rejects him for who he is. This causes him to isolate himself from society and never take any chances. When he at the Ernie’s, he meets Lillian Simmons and the Navy guy, and has a conversation in which turns to be bad in the end. He then talks about how “people are always ruining things for you” (114). The idea of him generalizing society is the main reason

It is known that humans require interaction between each other. As a result we tend to get attached and depend on them. We tend to advocate others from groups and keep to the same people. J. D. Salinger explores this in his book in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye. This book is beloved by many because it is so easy to connect to, even our generation now can connect to Holden and some of the things he goes through. The story is about a boy named Holden, he gets kicked out of school multiple times, and instead of telling his parents he wanders around New York in search of someone that cares and that he can make a connection with. Growing up is hard, and we need human connection to make through the hard times.

Holden experiences extreme difficulty accepting his current realities and one of the main factors causing this is the lasting negative impact his brother Allies death had on his life. Firstly, when Holden decides to leave his school, he tells readers , “I don’t care if it’s a sad goodbye or a bad goodbye, but when I leave a place, I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t, you feel even worse” (Salinger, 4). Holden’s need for closure is evident in this quote. When Allie died, it was very unexpected and he was not prepared to let him go, resulting in his denial that his brother is actually

Jerome David Salinger’s only novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is based on the life events shaping main character, Holden Caulfield, into the troubled teen that is telling the story in 1950. The theme of the story is one of emotional disconnection felt by the alienated teenagers of this time period. The quote, “ I didn’t know anyone there that was splendid and clear thinking and all” (Salinger 4) sets the tone that Holden cannot find a connection with anyone around him and that he is on a lonely endeavor in pursuit of identity, acceptance and legitimacy. The trials and failures that Holden faces on his journey to find himself in total shed light on Holden’s archenemy, himself.

One of the hardships Holden must cope with is his inability to come to terms with death, in particular that of his younger brother, Allie. Holden seems to have experienced a

The death of Holden’s brother Allie at a young age adds to Holden’s negativity as well as stopping Holden from accepting inevitable change. Allie dies immaturely of leukemia. “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it” (p. 39). Holden is in the hospital because he broke his fist, and he was unable to attend Allie’s funeral. Holden has trouble accepting Allie’s death because he never said goodbye to Allie. His relationship with Allie is similar to his maturity. Just as Holden is unable to accept his brother’s death, Holden is not able to accept that

Everyone in the society can have some influences in any way, negatively or positively. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden encounters many people throughout his journey. These relationships he has influence his view of the world, allowing him to mature from someone who dislikes the shallow cruel world to understanding this is how life is. This development is shown through "phonies" he meets throughout the novel, his brother Allie, and his sister Phoebe.