Literature Analysis #2: The Catcher In The Rye

This story was set in Pennsylvania and New York City in the 1950's. Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old boy who just got kicked out of his school Pency Prep. He can be bitter and have a negative outlook of the world. Holden doesn't like that his older brother D.B. is a writer because he feels he is giving his ideas away for money and refers to it as "prostituting his talents". Holden mentioned that he was recently at a mental hospital near L.A. getting checked out and having some tests done. Pency Prep is a high class school for smart, rich kids but it makes Holden feel like they're all being fake. Holden was failing four classes there.. all but English. Holden is alone a lot and always isolated. He goes to say goodbye to his history teacher Mr. Spencer because he won't be returning after Christmas break. Ackley is a really annoying kid that went to Holden's school with him. He has acne all over his face, never brushes his teeth, his ears are gross, and he always cleans his nails. Holden is pretty mean to Ackley sometimes. -"I don't feel like stepping on your crumbly nails all night." Holden is roommates with this other guy named Stradlater. Stradlater is taking out one of Holden's old friends Jane. Holden is very protective over Jane.. ever since they use to play chess together when they were little and Jane would keep all her kings in he back row, which fascinated Holden. Jane was also abused by her father when she was younger. Holden is lying in bed thinking about Stradlater on a date with her and he is cleary bothered by this idea. He knows Stradlater is kind of a cocky guy, and he doesn't want him to take advantage of Jane. While Stradlater is on his date with Jane, Holden begins to work on the English assignment Stradlater asked him to do. He didn't know what to write about so he starts talking about his little brother Allie's old baseball mit that had poetry written on it in green ink. Allie died of leukemia 3 years ago but it is clear that Holden hasn't moved on. When Stradlater comes home and reads it, he complains that it has nothing to do with the assignment and so Holden gets upset and rips it in half. They get into a fight and Holden ends up running out of Pency with a bloody face. He is tired of waiting and figures it's pointless to stick around because he's already been kicked out. Holden is crying when he leaves from all the built up emotions. While on the subway he meets this really nice old lady named Mrs. Morrow. He lies about every question she asks him because he doesn't know who he can trust. Once he tells one lie, they just start pooring out and he can't stop. Once he realizes how nice she was he starts to feel bad for lying. Holden is very respectful of girls in general. He doesn't want to make them do stuff they'll regret. He had plenty of oppertunities but when the girl says no he stops. Holden gets a hotel room and talks to some guy in the elevator who convinces him to get a prostitute sent to his room. When she gets there Holden is really surprised at how young she is. He tells her that he will still pay her but he only wants to talk. This just shows how lonely he really is that he needs to pay a prostitute to just listen to him talk. Another thing that just shows how lonely Holden is..is when he calls his old friend Sally and asks her on a date. The whole time he keeps saying how annoying she is. They go ice skating and then while they are eating in a diner Holden starts telling Sally how they could just run away together and get married! He is so desperate that he would marry someone even though they really annoy him. She thinks he is crazy. Eventually Holden makes it back home and finds his ten year old little sister Phoebe. She is so mature and very wise for her age. She is super happy to see him. Holden takes a trip to the Museum of Natural History. He loves that place because everything is the same. Nothing changes.. he is the only thing that is different from the last time he was there. Holden likes the stability he feels there. Holden tells Phoebe that he is leaving and she can't come with him. She starts to cry and so he brings her to the marry go round and watches her ride it. Holden ends the story by saying he is not going to tell us what happens next. He's not going to explain how he went home and got sick.. he just felt like stopping there.

Isolation is a major theme in this book. Holden always feels isolated and like can never belong anywhere. He is constantly lonely and searching for somewhere to fit in.

The author's tone really gives personality to the characters. Holden seems like he has given up and just doesn't really care anymore. -"I forgot to tell you about that.. they kicked me out." This just shows how careless he is. He forgot to say that he got kicked out of school! Holden also curses a lot and just has a negative attitude towards everything. He doesn't like change and is often his own worst enemy. He always says he is going to do something and then changes his mind and says he is not in the mood.

*Irony- Holden Caulfield calls everyone "phonies" because he feels like they are being fake or insincere. -"I'm the most terrific liar you've ever seen in your life." He gets mad at everyone else for being fake and yet he does it himself and admits it which is very hypocritical.

*Metaphor- the ducks at the pond is a metaphor because through out the book Holden keeps asking everyone where the ducks go when the pond freezes over. This relates to Holden because he feels lost and doesn't know where to go when things in his life start changing. The pond was -"partly frozen partly not frozen". This also relates to Holden's world. Part of it is changing and some parts are staying the same and he doesn't know how to deal with that.

*Symbol- Allie's baseball mit was a symbol for Holden because it reminded him of his past. His little brother Allie was a part of him. Even though Holden was older, he seemed to look up to Allie because he was supposedly the best child and always friendly and nice. When Allie died.. so did a part of Holden. The baseball mit represents all those old memories that Holden can't let go of.

*Characterization- Throughout the book you can definately see different sides of Holden. He is a dynamic character. In the beginning he seemed really negative and rude. He didn't seem to care about anything or anyone. As the story went on you saw a different side. When he goes to talk to his History teacher he says-"It is alright with me if you flunk me though.. as I am failing everything else except English anyways." This shows that Holden has compassion and he cares about his teacher's feelings. Holden also really cares about young people. He wants to be a catcher in the rye because he wants to protect little kids and if they are about to fall off the edge.. he will catch them. Holden also shows that he has a lot of respect for women. You learn throughout the book that Holden has his negative views because of events that have happened in his life but those don't have to define you. He also has good qualities and is respectful. You can see Holden discover who he is and realize that the choices he makes can affect everyone else around him.

*Tone- Throughout the story Holden's tone is very casual. He can be mad or happy but either way he acts like he doesn't care about what might happen. I think he does this as a defense mechanism because he is scared of getting hurt. Deep down Holden is his own worst enemy because he wants to be with someone so bad and he is so tired of being alone, but he is too scared of losing someone else he cares about so he pushes people away. By the end of the book Holden learned that certain things in your life will always hurt. Sometimes the pain doesn't heal in time, and keeping memories doesn't help because it just reminds you of the pain you felt when you lost it the first time. Everyone is different and they handle life in different ways.