The Catcher In The Rye

A detailed Summary of The Catcher In The Rye

"I swear to God I'm crazy. I admit it." It is very easy to automatically assume that Holden Caulfield is crazy. It's even a logical assumption since Caulfield himself admits to being crazy twice throughout the course of the book. However, calling Holden Caulfield crazy is almost the same as calling the majority of the human race crazy also. Holden Caulfield is just an adolescent trying to prevent himself from turning into what he despises the most, a phony. Most of Caulfield's actions and thoughts are the same as of many people, the difference being that Holden acts upon those thoughts and has them down in writing.

Holden Caulfield is a teenager growing up in New York in the 1950s. He has been expelled from school for poor achievement and "was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all." He decides to leave school a few days than what he is supposed to in an attempt to deal with his current situation. "Besides, I sort of needed a little vacation. My nerves were shot. They really were." Caulfield goes to New York to take a vacation before having to face his parents' inevitable wrath. During this time, he experiences a nervous breakdown that was characterized by his sudden unexplained depressions. "What I really felt l

The red hunting hat that Holden buys is his way to stand out and a way to attract attention. The hat is not fashionable, so it is out of place in a city like New York as Holden is out of place in the world. Holden wears it the way a catcher in baseball would wear it, which refers to his fantasy of being the catcher in the rye. The hat is a hunting hat but he says that he "shoots people in this hat." This means that since he wants to be the catcher in the rye, he shoots people to prevent their influence from affecting the children.

Holden uneasiness about where the ducks went in the winter was a symbol of his uneasiness about himself. He was worried what the ducks would do when the lake would change, he wanted to know what happened to them if there was a simple solution, if they had to do things for themselves or if they just died. The ducks represented Holden. The lake where the ducks lived, was the world, where Holden lives. When everything around him changed, he was worried of what would happen to him since he couldn't change along with the world. The fish, which stayed in the lake, represented all the phonies. The taxi driver told him that the fish froze and survived by absorbing what was around them. Phony people stay where they are and live off of other people to survive.

I think the major theme of this book was that Holden didn't want to mature and take on responsibilities. He didn't want to have to take on all the stress and work that an adult has to deal with daily. That is why he enjoyed children so much. It is true that they posses a purity and innocence that everyone loses but they also lead carefree, stress free, fun lives. I think that is what he truly trying to hang on to. He saw how people had to act when they became adults. They could no longer be themselves in the public, adults always have to be careful about what they do so as not to earn themselves a bad reputation. Holden didn't wan to be responsible for his actions. He wanted to continue leading the carefree life he saw children were leading. That is probably a reason why he was doing so poorly in school. He knew that if he didn't apply himself he wouldn't pass the classes. If he didn't pass the classes he wouldn't graduate and be able to get a decent job in the modern world. I can relate to some characteristics that Holden had. For example, the not adapting to change I can relate to very well. I don't like changing, I could live with the same friends, surroundings for years. It provides a sense of security that nothing else gives. I enjoyed reading this book because there was always the question in my mind of what Holden would decide to do next. I truthfully don't know why this book was ever censored. It provokes people to think in a different manner and to realize that society is what Holden makes it out to be sometimes. I like how I was able to read his every move and see what his thoughts were from his point of view. I was able to see where he was coming from when he would reach the judgments that he did. Although at times I thought he was immature and stubborn in not wanting to accept the fact that everyone has to grow up eventually. But I would have liked if the ending had said more about his situation when he was writing the journal. The novel is very thought provoking, especially about humans and society.

The final aspect of Holden Caulfield's personality is his respect for others. He can't stand people who don't respect or listen to what others have to say. He also thinks it is important to listen to people and respect their privacy. This is shown when he is willing to stop in the middle of a sexual act at the request of the girl which is something that not a lot of teenagers would do. Holden's respect for others is also evident in the respect he shows towards the nuns. "They didn't seem to know what the hell to do with their suitcases, so I gave them a hand."

An important theme arises from the conversation between Holden and Mr.

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Approximate Word count = 4209
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels