Preview

Holden Caulfield: a Timeless Teenager Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1020 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Holden Caulfield: a Timeless Teenager Essay Example
When a person says "timeless", it could mean a variety of things. According to the Merriam Webster New Collegiate Dictionary, "timeless" means "to have no beginning or end, eternal; not restricted to a particular time or date; not affected by time, ageless." (Merriam 1222). When a person says the word "timeless", it could mean existing through the ages, relating to all. In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield relates to all people and their experiences. With Holden's vocabulary, sexual fascination, and attempts to enter the adult world, Salinger effectively creates a character with whom readers can relate. Salinger relates Holden Caulfield to readers with the use of foul language and provocative wording. Salinger may even overuse the swearing in some parts in order to emphasize Holden's lack of maturity and respect. Holden says, "I damn near puked, listening to him." (Salinger 49). Holden has no respect for the people around him. He sees the phony in everyone, yet never gives him or her a chance. When Holden says that he "damn near puked" while "listening to him", he just does not care about the consideration for others. Yet, when teenagers throughout the ages are growing up, some of the same feelings may arise. Also, Salinger uses Holden's vulgarity as a shock factor for his audience. "Holden constantly uses word like puke, vomit, and 4-letter-words that
Bernard 2 were strictly forbidden in the 1950s." (Kallen, 32). Although these words were forbidden, many young adults used them as a symbol of rebellion, much like Salinger used Holden's language for rebellion. Along with language, Salinger uses Holden's sexual fascinations as a shock factor in order to relate to his readers. Teens and adults alike can identify with Holden's confusion over his sexuality. Throughout the book, Salinger uses Holden's virginity as a means for awkward conversations between characters. It also bring up different points in Holden's past relationships that hit a
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    How Does Holden Lose His Innocence
    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Does Holden Lose His Innocence

    The novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger is about a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield who struggles to find his identity. Holden wants to be an adult but he also subconsciously wants to stay young and maintain his innocence. Holden shows this when he hires a prostitute but doesn’t have sex with her. Holden’s negative encounter with the prostitute shows that although he tries to act like a tough adult he is still a kid at heart.…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield and Language Essay Example
    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Holden Caulfield and Language Essay Example

    Holden’s language reflects the bitter, angry, and cynical aspects of his personality. Holden’s constant use of profanity and obsession with certain words such as: no kidding, madman, and crazy reinforces that he is a person that is not mentally health yand justifies his feelings about the phoniness of the world. His use of profanity is very strong. He refers to Stradlater as a “dirty stupid sonuvabitch of a moron.” He also tells Maurice that he’s a “goddam dirty moron.” These outbursts are reflective of Holden’s anger and bitterness toward some people. Holden also states that he is “the most terrific liar you ever saw in your whole life.” This would support the reason why he continuously says “no kidding.” He wants to make sure that people believe him because many times he knows he’s lying. When he’s on the train talking with Mrs. Morrow about his alleged tumor, he “started reading this timetable…just to stop lying.” Next, Holden refers to himself as a madman on a few occasions. When Stradlater asks Holden to stop smoking in the room, Holden ignores him. And “went right on smoking like a madman.” When he went to buy the stationery to write a good-bye note to Phoebe, he “ran like a madman across the street.” And “damn near got killed doing it.” Similarly, his obsession with craziness is demonstrated when he describes “Sally Hayes’s crazy mother, standing outside some department store and collecting dough for poor people in a beat-up old straw basket.” Finally, Holden imagines himself being a deaf-mute living in the wilderness. Although he knows that pretending to be a deaf-mute is crazy, he still likes the idea. As a result of all of Holden’s anger and negative feelings toward the adult world, he longs for the innocence of being a…

    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Character Analysis Of Catcher In The Rye By J. D. Salinger
    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Character Analysis Of Catcher In The Rye By J. D. Salinger

    In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger portrays the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, from two very different sides. On one hand, Holden is passionate about the protection of innocence, and he attempts to shelter all kids, especially his younger sister Phoebe, from any knowledge which might compromise their innocence. On the other hand, Holden is repeatedly revealed to be experienced and knowledgeable in society. He constantly swears, drinks, and smokes, sharply criticizes everyone he sees, and generally does not conform to society. Because Holden lost his own innocence so early in his life, he becomes fascinated with the idea of guarding it in others. Salinger shows Holden protecting the innocence of people many times throughout the novel. Some examples include Holden’s anxiety about Jane, Holden’s protection of Phoebe, and Holden’s general frustration…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Holden Caulfield's Journey
    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Holden Caulfield's Journey

    Holden Caulfield is a teenager who is struggling to fit into adult society. This is evident from very early on in the book when Salinger immediately characterises Holden as a very judgmental and cynical person. Examples from the very first page include when Holden refers to his brother D.B as a prostitute because he writes scripts for movies. He then continues “I there’s one thing I hate, it’s the movies. Don't even mention them to me”. He doesn’t even give his brother the benefit of the doubt over his occupation, and it is through phrases like this where Salinger creates the characterisation of Holden as a judgmental and stubborn personality. This is further continued throughout the novel where Holden continually uses the phrase “phony”, to refer to other people. He perceives the world as superficial, whereas it is his views on society that are lacking depth. This immediate characterisation of Holden by Salinger…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Holden Caulfield Phony
    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Holden Caulfield Phony

    Holden’s *friends are familiar and experienced with the topic of sex while Holden stays puzzled and curious. Holden comes on strongly with just about every woman he meets for example Sally Hayes, Sunny, and Jane Gallagher. Sally Hayes is a longtime friend of Holden’s and grew up together. Holden is extremely attracted to Sally and even dreams of running off to a cabin with her having children and living happily ever after. Holden says that he “felt like marrying her the minute I saw her” (138). Sunny is a prostitute that Holden paid just to talk to even after she started removing her clothes. When he met her pimp he knew what he was paying for, however never went through with it. Jane Gallagher is an old friend that Holden used to spend summers with and she is very important to him. He comes on strong to women at the bar and close friends but never actually does it. Holden is confused about sexuality, especially when it is homosexual. Holden strongly dislikes when a guy “flirts” a lot and is simply puzzled by the whole topic of sex. Sex is simply a confusing idea for any young teen, but for Holden it is a little harder. In the novel it implies that as a child he was sexual abused by his neighbors dad and was neglected by his own parents. He is also timid when it comes to being imamate with a women after his brother, Allie, lost his life to cancer. Phoebe is…

    • 1558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye
    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye

    In this novel, Holden Caulfield gets kicked out of his school and stays in New York for a couple of days before returning home. During his travels Holden does not maintain any relationships and he associates most adults with being phony. He is constantly trying to protect himself and his sister Phoebe from being exposed to the harsh adult world. In The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger uses rhetorical devices to explain Holden’s struggles and establish the theme of preserving his own innocence and the innocence of those around him.…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Controversy In Catcher In The Rye
    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Examples Of Controversy In Catcher In The Rye

    It is inappropriate for teenagers to have anything to do with a prostitute, Holden, having paid for Sunny, is not deemed acceptable. Another controversial scene is when Holden lies to the mother of one of his old classmates. It is a boy he detests; however, he speaks highly of him to his mother. He also attempts to erase every, “f*** you,” he sees to protect the innocence of children. He is attempting the impossible because all children will eventually have to grow up. Each of these scenes adds to Salinger’s overall theme of the novel, the loss of…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Catcher In The Rye Loss Of Innocence Essay
    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Catcher In The Rye Loss Of Innocence Essay

    J.D. Salinger uses glass cases and profanity to portray the importance of Holden's need to protect the youth of Phoebe and other children. Holden's need to preserve chastity also appears in characters that Holden interacts with such as Jane and Phoebe. Like Holden, I feel the need to protect my own brother from reality. I want him to remain youthful in believing in the magic of Christmas forever. I also fear the devastation he might feel when told the truth. Many of us use such innocence to shield ourselves and others from the corruptions of society. However, progression shapes people into who they are and gives reality a…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Censorship In Film In The Catcher In The Rye
    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Censorship In Film In The Catcher In The Rye

    The novel is basically about young Holden and his psychological problems. He is stuck between the adult world versus rejecting it. So Holden attempts to connect with his peers on a whole different level. He experiences an encounter that deems him unable to handle a sexual encounter. Finally, it is revealed to Holden that he should just remain a child for as long as possible and not to rush himself into adulthood.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Literary Analysis Of Catcher In The Rye
    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Literary Analysis Of Catcher In The Rye

    Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in Rye speaks to core of being an outsider, but beyond the anti-hero, anti-establishment persona that Holden reflects, Salinger wrote a portrait of a boy deeply troubled by the end of simplicity. Past the cynical nature and the reclusion from people, Holden is a little boy saddened by the death of his brother. Holden was never able to get closure over Allie’s death and because of this he has never been able to move on. To remember his brother and a simpler time Holden treasures innocence and has remained a child himself in many ways. Through the uses of metaphorical landscapes, a relatable anti-hero, and the setting of a repressed post-war American society Salinger depicts the journey of a young boy fighting, resisting the transition from childhood to adulthood. Holden Caulfield’s cynicism and reclusion are his defense mechanism, they warn of phony and slobs alike, but leave him lonely. He is both a figure for the youth and old alike, because Holden’s disdain of hypocrisy, longing for innocence, and his need for acceptance transcend age groups, these are human emotions that bother any age group. At the end of the novel, Holden says “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do you start missing everybody” (Salinger 214). There are times when Holden comes off as neurotic, but in this case he meant that you will the way life used to be if you remember it. At the end Holden realizes that Allie’s death and his longing to go back to his childhood were holding him back, keeping him from applying himself. Many readers come away from that last line and feel that there is no happy ending for Holden, but the negative tone of the comment is less of a warning and more of a new being for Holden, meaning that Holden’s dream of being the catcher in the rye can can…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Catcher In The Rye Individuality Analysis
    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Catcher In The Rye Individuality Analysis

    Salinger is about an adolescent who runs away to New York to discover who he will become. While most people his age are able to mature and grow up Holden is still trying to figure out how he to deal with growing up when he values youth over maturity. Holden doesn’t feel the need to grow but whether he likes it or not he is not able to avoid growing up. When Holden checks into the hotel and gets the prostitute, he rushes himself into an uncomfortable situation that he doesn’t know how to handle. While the prostitute named Sunny is trying to do her job Holden thinks to himself, “The trouble was, I just didn’t want to do it. I felt more depressed than sexy, if you want to know the truth. She was depressing. Her dress hanging in the closet and all” (Salinger, 96). Holden rushes himself into situations where he tries to act older or more mature than he really is, but when put into a situation where maturity is required Holden is not able to apply maturity since he is not ready to grow up himself. He is also going through a constant struggle of whether he is ready to grow up and start identifying himself. Many times throughout the book nostalgia saddens Holden and he often contemplates whether he is ready to find his selfhood. When Holden explains about how nothing at the museum changes he explains it by claiming “ The only thing that would be different would be you. Not that you’d be so much older or anything. It wouldn’t be that, exactly.…

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Theme Of Childhood In Catcher In The Rye
    • 1574 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Theme Of Childhood In Catcher In The Rye

    Throughout the novel Holden fights to protect his innocence from the cruel society around him that is just so… phony. He hates all of society for the phony things it does, he hates sex because that may make him feel that he too is apart of the adult life, and he hates change because change is just a recipe for a child to step into the new life, the older more mature life. The one that comes with responsibilities that Holden is not ready to…

    • 1574 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Timeless Voice In Catcher In The Rye
    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Timeless Voice In Catcher In The Rye

    The fact that the novel is from the 1950’s is unrelated to Holden Caulfield’s convincing, pessimistic voice. Even though every generation grows up in a completely different world, it is certain that as teens, they all shared a cynicism and a hatred of hypocrisy, and this includes the teens of the 21st century. I am a heavy user of technology, along with most of the other teenagers around me. Yet, many of us (including myself) enjoyed the novel, and more notably, strongly related to Holden’s character. The world surrounding teenagers will inevitably change, but feelings of angst and alienation are inside every teen from any time. Holden displays such emotions after Ernie finishes his piano performance, “You should've heard the crowd, though, when he was finished. You would've puked. They went mad…. I swear to God, if I were a piano player or an actor or something and all those dopes thought I was terrific, I'd hate it. I wouldn't even want them to clap for me. People always clap for the wrong things” (Salinger 110). Holden’s cynical words sound as though they could have come from a sassy Snapchatting teen. He is quick to denounce the entire audience, revealing his angst and alienating himself. His familiar teenage struggles are not exclusive to the 1950’s, so it is no shock that The Catcher in the Rye resonates well with teens generation after…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holden Caulfield
    • 829 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Holden Caulfield

    In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger the main character Holden Caulfield is obsessed with phonies and the loss of innocence. To Him almost everybody are phonies especially those who have lost their innocence. According to Holden there is only one thing that can cause one to lose their innocence and that is sex. Throughout the entire novel Holden is confronted with sex. In every confrontation with sex he “runs away” due to his fear of growing older. Holden never wants to become an adult therefore he never wants to have sex. It is obvious that the only thing in his mind that will make him an adult is sex because he smokes and drinks alcohol throughout the novel. Many believe that those two acts along with other things bring about the change from childhood to adulthood. However Holden commits these acts and still believes he maintains his innocence. Even through all his fear Holden also seems to be fascinated with sex. When he meets up with Carl Luce he constantly ask him questions about sex. This shows that Holden is both fascinated and disgusted with sex. He seems to be more concerned with other people’s innocence, especially Jane. He is so concerned he gets into a fight with his roommate Stradlater because he thinks he had sex with Jane. After this incident Holden continues to contemplate calling Jane but always decides not to. This shows he is worried he will find out that that she did have sex. If she did have sex…

    • 829 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Poised Between Two Worlds
    • 420 Words
    • 1 Page

    Poised Between Two Worlds

    James Brian notes that Holden “is poised between two worlds, one he cannot return to and one he fears to enter”; Holden is embodying the limbo between childhood and adulthood. Holden in part of the book “Catcher in the Rye”, orders a prostitute to his room and thinks, “Anyway, while I was putting on another clean shirt, I sort of figured this was my big chance, in a way. I figured if she was a prostitute and all, I could get in some practice on her, in case I ever get married or anything. (Pg. 102-103)” This displays that Holden is thinking about his future when he talks about getting married, but he shouldn’t be having sex when he is seventeen years old. This is because he likes doing thing that are usually only for adulthood, like drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. Holden was having an alcoholic drink with Luce even though he is only seventeen years old, “I kept sitting there getting drunk and waiting for old Tina and Janine to come out and do their stuff, but they weren’t there. (Pg. 165)” This demonstrations how Holden loves the part of adulthood where you can drink, smoke, and hit on girls. This is because Holden wants to forget about his depression, so he does these things that are unhealthy for his body so he can just forget. Although Holden is trying to find out where he belongs, he tries to protect kids from loosing innocent too fast, “But while I was sitting down, I saw somebody’d written ‘Fuck you’ on the wall. It drove me near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they’d wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them-all cockeyed, naturally-what it meant, and how they’d all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever’d written it. (Pg. 221)” This shows that Holden want to protect the innocents of little kids, and how he doesn’t want them to grow up like adults. This is because he sees what the…

    • 420 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More