NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield finds himself a protector of innocence. Throughout the whole book, the idea that children lose their innocence as they mature is widely explored, and it appears that Holden is trying to shield them from maturity. Or, at least, to keep these people pure, and innocent, in his mind. In this way, I believe Holden Caulfield is one of the most complex characters that we have read about, in school. The act of Holden giving his red hunting cap to Phoebe, to wear. This acts as a shield.
It symbolizes security and protection. In a way, Holden feels as though he is protecting his sister, by giving her his hat. A red hunting cap, that you can pull over your ears, and block out the rest of the world. Block out the harshness of reality, block out the? phonies? , block out the cruelty that people inflict upon one another. Holden is physically trying to shelter his sister, from the rest of the world. ?
Anyway, I kept picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around nobody big, I mean except me. And Im standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff I mean if theyre running and they dont look where theyre going. I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. Thats all Id do all day.
Id just be The Catcher in the Rye and all. I know its crazy, but thats the only thing Id really like to be. ? (173) This quote shows Holden expressing his deepest desire: here he is, protecting childhood innocence, and saving these children from having to live in the? phony? adult world.
To Holden, few are sacred? the rest are phonies. If a body meet a body comin thro the rye, not If a body catch a body comin thro the rye. This is not the first time Holden has altered something, but, unlike his previous lies, this one stands out, and seems to have some significance.
Holden? s image of this song is that of falling children being caught. I see it as children facing a death-like situation (much like Holden? s brother, Allie), and being able to pull through, and get help. Maybe it is a cry for help. Holden seems to be heading into a bum-styled life, and he isn?
t really pulling his act together. In a way, it seems as though Holden needs a catcher in the rye. In the end, I have decided that, even though Holden seems to view himself as a? catcher in the rye? , it is Holden himself that needs one. Holden feels all-alone in a strange world. A world that is made even stranger when you are an adolescent young boy that has a ton of emotional problems.
It is obvious that Allie? s death still bugs Holden, and he still is not able to come to terms with it. Holden needs somebody, on his wavelength, to talk to. He seems to have no close friends, and it seems like his family has pretty much abandoned him. They probably believe him to be a? hopeless case? .
If Holden went to our school, I would recommend a counselor.
Free research essays on topics related to: holden feels, rest of the world, catcher in the rye, red hunting, holden caulfield
Research essay sample on Catcher In The Rye Rest Of The World
