#the catcher in the rye analysis

[chaotic-multi-fandom]

Holden Caulfield

So, I just finished “The Catcher in the Rye”, and it was very different from what I expected. This book has a reputation of being somewhat extreme, and making teenagers more angry, depressed or even violent because of its main character Holden. However, now that I’ve read it, I fail to see why. I can understand why at the time of its publication Holden’s internal monologue could’ve been seen as alarming, specially to adults, but not as much in the present time, and definitely not as extreme as it said to be. He’s also constantly called annoying, pretentious and an asshole, which he sometimes is, but once again, In my opinion, not to the extreme people present him as. I didn’t mind being inside of his head the entire novel, nor did I ever find him as insufferable as most people seem to, and definitely not a monster, if anything I had a lot of empathy and understanding towards him. 

To me, Holden simply came off as a lost 17 year old boy, grappling with grief, identity, and having lost his innocence at a very young age. He’s clearly suffering from depression, and is generally angry and disillusioned with the world, however given his implied experiences it’s only natural, even just the death of his brother prior to the events of the book cold easily explain his behaviour, however there’s definitely other elements, which choses not to reveal, that have contributed to his current state. 

To me, Holden never came off as extreme or violent, at least not enough to be sent to a psych ward or o incite the alarmed response people seem to have to his character. In fact, despite seemingly being done with the world, and not caring about anything anymore, Holden seems to have this constant thrive and need of protecting the world. Despite all of his utterly depressed, frustrated, and negative inner monologue, he’s constantly through out the novel, carrying out these little acts of kindness towards children. He helps two boys find a section of the museum, and explains to them what everything means, he helps a girl tie up her skates at the roller rink, and rubs off nasty messages left at schools so that the children don’t read them, and most notably he does anything and everything for his younger sister Phoebe.

Most of the time, he’s left in awe of the world when he interacts with these children, specially with Phoebe, it’s the only moments were he even says he feels happy. He seems to be impressed by children’s minds, and has this urge to protect and help them every time he encounters one, going to great lengths (such as buying a limited expensive album for his sister) in order to make their days better. Then, he hears a child sing the song that brings the name of the novel “the catcher in the rye”, he sings about a body catching another body in the rye,. When later in the novel he wonders about he’d want to do in the future, the song is the only thing that comes to mind. He imagines that he’s in that field, where children are playing near a cliff, and he’s the one that catches them and leads them away from the cliff, he’s the catcher in the rye. To him, this means saving children from losing their innocence as young as he did. It’s the only thing he can imagine himself doing. 

This truly shows that Holden, is in no way some disturbed violent mind, he’s just a 17 year old child, who lost his innocence at a very young age due to traumatic experiences which he’s only now processing, he’s also going through the grief of his brother’s death, which his parents don’t help with, his mother also suffering from depression, and his father always being away as a big shot lawyer. He’s disillusioned with the world and humanity, because most of his life experiences, and contacts with older role models have been very negative, including the one with his older brother whom he once had a good relationship with, but is now a shame to the family due to his work as a prostitute. He’s desperate for the children around him not to suffer the same fate. 

While he may seem utterly disgusted and done with the world, I think that he actually holds a lot of hope in his heart for his sister Phoebe and all the children he meets. Holden’s problem isn’t that he has no hope left, it’s that he has too much of it no matter how hard he tries to repress it. He holds a hope so great for the world, that he can’t help but stay despite his suicidal thoughts. Holden, fantasises about ending his life several times throughout the novel, but then, as soon as he’s even close to getting sick with a cold for example, he becomes extremely anxious, scared and even obsessive, thinking that he’s going to die, which he desperately doesn’t want to do. Even when he is attacked with those suicidal thoughts, which never last long, he’s always immediately reminded of Phoebe, and realises he couldn’t bare her going through grief. 

Holden desperately wants to stay in this world, and he’s constantly looking for reasons to do so, he’s in awe of the purity and innocence of children, and wishes the world would be kinder and better for them. Holden is lonely angry and depressed, which can result in him acting violently in instances, but essentially, he’s desperately trying to improve the world around him, and repeatedly not giving up on it. As he puts it, he never hates anything for long.

Well, this had been my small Holden rant, however do be aware that, I'm writing this approximately 30 minutes after finishing the book, so my ideas aren't completely settled, and given that I haven't looked AT ALL into actual analysis of the novel, I may be way off, and made a fool of myself but oh well. At the end of the day they're almost no wrong answers when it comes to interpretation, and this is how I personally perceived Holden Caulfield.

#the catcher in the rye #the catcher in the rye analysis #book rambles #book analysis #not actually an analysis but still #holden caulfield #phoebe caulfield #jd salinger

[dykeinthedark]

i think it's really interesting setting catcher in the rye in the leadup to christmas. in new york city of all places. you've got this holiday season associated with togetherness and family and joy and warmth but it's about this kid who's just wandering around aimlessly and lonely and depressed and isolated. and it's in this city that never sleeps full of crowds who hardly look at each other. it's full of people, but everyone's alone. it really drives home the dissonance of the american experience and all that.

#i am projecting onto this book because i hate christmas and also new york #catcher in the rye #literature #analysis #holden caulfield

[christapher217]

"i'm quite illiterate, but i read a lot." - Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye (Salinger, 1951)

#love #poetry #literature #heartbreak #bookish #sad thoughts #artists on tumblr #heart eater #sad poem #art #bookblr #books and reading #books & libraries #books #literary quotes #literary criticism #literary magazine #english literature #literary analysis #literary fiction #lit #prose #jd salinger #the catcher in the rye #holden caulfield

[kaeyapilled]

childe tartaglia has something of a holden caufield coding in him

#holden's image of the catcher in the rye. it reminds me of childe #his protective older brother side. you know? #i see a parallel alright. particularly holden-phoebe / childe-teucer #something something.. the desire to protect the innocence that children have.. #put that against his own ''innocence'' which was ripped away from him when he fell into the abyss #and him now as an adult and a literal harbinger #it makes sense to me.. #if a body catch a body comin through the rye. as they say #i just think that if you removed childe from the fantasy setting and put him in the role of a 1950s teenager that'd just be holden caufield #is this anything #my posts #childe #tartaglia #is this meta. is this analysis

[markerfumes]

My perception of The Catcher In The Rye

Personally, I think the book hints at pedophilia/ child molestation. Let me explain.

Early in the book, Holden says he liked a girl name Jane who had a “bore hound stepfather” doing things like running around naked and being very prone to having tantrums. Later, the stepfather makes Jane cry in front of Holden. She was said to be an innocent girl, quiet, and kept to herself. Was she scared of being around boys? Did her stepfather have something to do with making her this way?

Later in the book, we meet a Mr. Antolini (Holdens old teacher). Holden is invited into Mr and Mrs Antolinis Home and describes their relationship as “never seen in the same room,” implying they are distant. But he goes onto say that they are always seen, “kissing in public,” implying they fake their love for each-other in public, putting on a perfect household mask. I could be reading into things here but, while saying goodnight, Mr Antolini calls Holden “handsome”. Holden later wakes up to find Mr Antolini “petting his face”. He made Holden very uncomfortable. Holden said it happened often from many adults when he was younger. Mr Antolini tries to get Holden to calm down by saying he was just “admiring”. Again, I may be reaching here, but Mr Antolini says in a rant to Holden that, “you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior… just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.” Put in the context of the themes I am reading in to, that doesn’t sit right with me. It sounds like an offer from Mr Antolini.

But back to Holden. When he was made uncomfortable at Mr Antolinis House he said that that kind of thing happened, “about 20 times since I was a kid.” His flee from the old teachers apartment made it obvious what he did triggered something in Holden. This makes so much sense as to why Holden is so immature, or why his friends describe him to seem to never grow up. Holden says he has only been intimate with a girl once, he never wants to make a girl feel uncomfortable or feel pressured to do something she doesn’t want to do. Holden brings a prostitute in his room in the middle of the book, not for love, but to emphasize with her.

It’s no wonder all Holden wants to do is be a catcher in the rye for children. Be someone to save the children from falling off that cliff.

#catcher in the rye #book analysis #booklr #books #holden caulfield #themes

[captainwaffles]

Okay Catcher and The Rye Vs Solitaire

These books are just same thing different font, let me explain.

The book follows a teen who hates school, most people and themselves. They have (various) mental health issues

Tori’s issues are out shinned by Charlie’s, Holden’s aren’t noticed due to the time period

They both hate themselves, but express it in different ways. Tori puts that dead inside feeling on the outside, Holden puts on a show

They both contemplate killing themselves and deal with suicidal thoughts throughout.

Solitaire defiantly has a more defined plot and matches the way stories are told today. Catcher is more just Holdens thoughts and wandering

But Tori frequently does the same, she rambles about things and the plot sometimes seems to disappear

Cause it’s not about that at the end of the day, it’s about the Charecters

It’s about how everyone interacts with eveyone, how everyone by the main charecters a perceived as fake or a phony. Everyone is one deminsional till Tori or Holden find them of importance. So this part

Really makes so much more sense, cause There are a a lot of similarities

Catcher in the Rye is the Blueprint, Solitaire flushed it out for the modern reader

#captainwaffles #solitaire #solitaire alice oseman #the catcher in the rye #holden caulfield #Tori springs #alice oseman #book analysis #book ramblings

[estel-and-agape]

#sense and sensibility #marianne dashwood #catcher in the rye #holden caulfield #literary memes #book memes #estel’s literary adventures #this is my impression so far but I’m only on page 128 of catcher in the rye so forgive me if this changes #I also have not read any professional analysis of either book

[rhododaktyl]

imo, actively disliking the catcher in the rye (1951) is a genuine character flaw. it makes me like ppl less

are there valid negative critiques? absolutely. have i ever heard one from the ppl who hate the book? literally never. not once

#if you want to hear the actual worst media analysis you’ll ever find look for ppl talk abt catcher in the rye #the catcher in the rye #catcher in the rye #rhododaktyloi oc #c1ç #c1med #c2 med

[yourlocalswan]

yesterday in my Ennui lit class we read Lenz by Georg Buchner and i went feral for 15 (fifteen) minutes straight as opposed to the 5mins i was allotted and i was quite literally ranting and raving about how incredible the work was and how it was the first time i’ve seen my unique and painful life experience of everything being too much and too beautiful and therefore too painful and everyone just looked at me like i was crazy cause i mean the story is crazy and for me to resonate so strongly then i must be crazy. but it felt just like AP Lang in my junior year of high school when we read The Catcher in the Rye and everyone only saw Holden as a pretentious asshole instead of a deeply tormented and observant young person and once again everyone just gave me that Look that’s made me miserable my whole life. why can’t anyone understand?

#literature #english major #college student #literary analysis #the nd urge to overshare #vent post #anyway go read georg buchner #the catcher in the rye #lenz #georg buchner

[specialshinytrinkets]

Literature teacher, to a group of my classmates: Could you explain to me why [my friend] is interested in America of 1950s and 60s?

Me, listening to this going down, with my interest in America of 1920s:

#random.dusty #life fabric snippets #i've been thinking in my head on how to explain to her why i am personally interested in this period without sounding #like a madman #context: there was an assignment to write 'which historic period i like and why'. i didn't do it bcuz i don't have the literature #material necessary in mind (the writings require at least two arguments from literature and i've just started The Great Gatsby) #and because i'm lazy #anyway. today we had the analysis/grading of those assignments and another group got my friend's work #the friend in question is the mvp in everything btw. hydrogen bomb of the school #she helped out with suggestions on material about 1920s this year! very knowledgable person #the main point of this story is that the teacher wasn't convinced by her argument (friend used The Catcher In The Rye as an #example of why this time period is interesting to her) and now i'm sitting here with Gatsby and gay casino workers like #*chuckles* i'm in danger

[eyeofthetaiga]

tiktok is a cesspool much the same way this site or any site w a big teenage fanbase is

still concerned abt how many teens and young adults believe in shifting

that should be massively fucking concerning to everybody that there are young people believing in that mumbo jumbo nonsense im not evwn joking like

theres no way that shit isnt a sign of a deteriorating society and how people are further buying into mysticism bc theyre increasingly kinda stupid gullible andnlosing hope in the real workd

#im being so fucking serious #txt post #like no you did not visit the universe of mha it doesnt exist its a comic #go do your catcher in the rye analysis essay

[readbooksummary]

the catcher in the rye summary, The Catcher in the Rye is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angst and alienation, and as a critique of superficiality in society.

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[tomsgreg]

I think we as a society need to be pushing for a more realistic and sympathetic wide spread analysis of Holden Caulfield. Everyone thinks he’s either some profound intellectual or is just some whiny kid. Holden was emotionally neglected, and it was implied the teacher that he’d trusted SA’d him. That kid wanted to help and protect other kids from the harshness of the world. He was a CHILD. He was whiny because he was a teenager but he had every right to be jaded and hate the world, but he still held out hope that kids could be protected from the harsh reality out there. He was a BABY. He didn’t know where the ducks in central park went when the water froze over. He hired a prostitute and spent the whole night talking to her. He needed someone to protect him. Catcher In The Rye is about a kid that the every adult in his life failed. Throwing money at a kid and offering them no warmth breaks them. Holden was a spoiled bratty kid, but he was just that. A KID. He needed someone to look after him.

#I remember being 17 HATING him bc ‘we all have problems’ #but as I got older I realized how YOUNG he really was. I teach kids his age. they’re babies. they need to be cared for #catcher in the rye #holden caulfield #sam rants

[santacarlatourism]

JD x Kevin x Reader Reading/Book Headcanons

J.D.

Musical J.D. is canonically a Baudelaire-quoting bad boy, and I think movie J.D. would honestly enjoy Baudelaire’s work too. I know this because I’ve made an entire Google doc about the things I think J.D. would enjoy reading.

Aside from Baudelaire I think he would also enjoy e. e. cummings and-- ironically enough given the Heather Chandler situation-- Sylvia Plath. I think that he enjoys reading her because her poetry about her depression and suicide, like “Lady Lazarus,” is something he’d read to try and make sense of his mom’s death and it would help him feel more connected to her in some ways.

On the non-poetry side of things I think he reads a lot of philosophy. He reads Nietzche and Foucault and draws... interesting conclusions from their works. Maybe fuels his god complex along the way. I think he’d also enjoy The Catcher in the Rye, duh, and also Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley.

He’s definitely a philosophy bro. I definitely think that should J.D. have gone to college he would have ended up majoring in philosophy or English simply because i think he would have taken a lot of classes in those two, needed to declare a major, and saw that credits wise those would make the most sense for him.

Overall J.D. is someone who enjoys reading and enjoys feeling smart and superior to the Kurts and Rams of the world so you very often will see him with a book in his hand.

He’s tried to get Kevin interested in his books a couple of times, but he’s largely given up. J.D. is a quick learner and he quickly picked up that trying to make Kevin interested in something was a futile task.

Still, that does not save Kevin from having to listen to J.D. break down random philosophical theories and it’s always unclear if Kevin is somewhat appreciative of how smart J.D. is, or if he’s considering choking him. J.D. assumes it’s the former as he hasn’t been choked yet.

If you like to read though, he loves to discuss books with you. He is the type that literally cannot read anything and “just enjoy” it everything is going to get analysis even if that analysis is utterly trashing it if he disliked it.

Will always take your book recommendations but won’t always finish them if they don’t interest him

Kevin Khatchadourian

The only thing you are going to catch this guy reading of his own volition is Robin Hood

It‘s not just that he found the act of writing school essays about books trite and boring, but he finds reading-- when not for a specific purpose-- boring as well. He’ll read internet articles about hacking and he’ll occasionally read books with very disturbing contents but you won’t often find him simply reading for pleasure or relaxation like you’ll find J.D.

He does, however, enjoy watching J.D. read to you. You with your head in J.D.’s lap, trying to act like you don’t notice the way J.D.’s tone gets a bit more invested when he’s reading about murder and vigilante justice. The way you squirm is something he enjoys much more than reading most books.

One day, if you’re sick, and just so happen to be sick when Kevin is in a good mood, you may wake up to find him entering the bedroom with his copy of Robin Hood, which he starts reading to you with zero explanation. It’s always hard to tell Kevin’s motivation for anything, but you’d like to think that it’s a very rare glimpse into the fact that he does care about you (and J.D.) in his own certain way.

#jd x kevin x reader #jd x reader #kevin khatchadourian x reader #by santacarlatourism #post: hcs

[dykeinthedark]

thinking about starting a youtube video essay channel tailored to my interests specifically designed for me here are some ideas

bojack horseman as a modern retelling of greek tragedy (accidentally signed up for a class on classical literature and this is all i can think of) (i tie it back to aristotle's poetics)

how bruce springsteen and dolly parton both subvert gender expectations by playing into them as a working class critique of american culture

philosophy of undertale and deltarune or a literary analysis (these are my favorite genre of videos ever)

how media shapes rock cultures (thinly veiled velvet goldmine analysis abt 70s glamrock and also i talk about the importance of the internet and MTV in shaping 2000s emo subculture development) (thinly veiled excuse to infodump about mcr also)

analyzing biblical imagery in indie games (undertale, deltarune, omori, OneShot)

the rise of 2020s queer comedy (+ analyzing ofmd and good omens because i have things to say)

why is being on the road so queer? (analyzing on the road by jack kerouac, my own private idaho, the origins of the road movie trope (easy rider, haven't seen that) early seasons of supernatural, bruce springsteen's Born to Run, and a nonwestern example of a road movie in Sholay 1975, and danger days mcr)

all-boys: teen media about implicit queerness in an all-boys (all-white) 1950s boarding school (aka just talk about dead poets society and catcher in the rye and a separate peace)

#would you guys watch my channel be honest.... these are literally ideas that are my personality in a nutshell #video essay #important

[captainwaffles]

Micheal Holden Vs Holden Caulfield

(I will do a longer one comparing Solitaire to the Catcher in the Rye)

Okay so with the Catcher in the Rye mention in the book, in some reviews I’ve seen and the name Holden. It was either intentional or a really really weird coincidence.

I feel like the way Tori perceives Micheal is similar to the way people see Caulfield. This annoying weirdly emotional kid that’s tall and a little scary.

They both have some form of mental illness that they should talk to someone about, but put a cover on. Michaels is more silly goofy, and Caulfield’s is more I’m a bad boy wink wink

They aren’t as closely similar as Tori and Caulfield, but it was just a funny little thing that I noticed

#captainwaffles #solitarie #micheal holden #holden caulfield #the catcher in the rye #book analysis #alice oseman #solitare