Untitled Essay, Research Paper

The Catcher in the RyeIn J.D. Salinger & # 8217 ; s The Catcher in the Rye, the first personnarration is critical in assisting the reader to cognize and understandthe chief character, Holden Caulfield. Holden, in his narrative, relates a flashback of a important period of his life, three daysand darks on his ain in New York City. Through his narrative, Holden discloses to the reader his innermost ideas and feelings.He therefore provides the reader non merely with information of whatoccurred, but besides how he felt about what happened.Holden & # 8217 ; s ideas and thoughts reveal many of his charactertraits. One late Saturday dark, four yearss before the beginning ofschool holiday, Holden is entirely, bored and restless, wonderingwhat to make. He decides to go forth Pencey, his school, at one time andtravels to New York by train. He decides that, one time in New York, he will remain in a inexpensive motel until Wednesday, when he is to returnhome. His program shows the reader how really hotheaded he is and howhe Acts of the Apostless on a caprice. He is unrealistic, believing that he has afoolproof program, even though the extent of his programs are to & # 8220 ; take aroom in a hotel.. , and merely take it easy till Wednesday. & # 8221 ; Holden & # 8217 ; s inordinate ideas on decease are non typical of mostadolescents. His close compulsion with decease might come from havingexperienced two deceases in his early life. He invariably dwells onAllie, his brother & # 8217 ; s, decease. From Holden & # 8217 ; s ideas, it is obviousthat he loves and misses Allie. In order to keep on to his brotherand to minimise the hurting of his loss, Holden brings Allie & # 8217 ; sbaseball mitt along with him where of all time he goes. The mitt hasadditional significance and significance for Holden because Allie hadwritten poesy, which Holden reads, on the baseball hand. Holden & # 8217 ; spreoccupation with decease can be seen in his contemplation of a deadclassmate, James Castle. It tells the reader something aboutHolden that he lends his polo-neck jumper to this schoolmate, withwhom he is non at all close.Holden & # 8217 ; s feelings about people reveal minute

re of his positivetraits. He constantly calls people phonies, even his brother,D.B., who ” has sold out to Hollywood.” Although insulting, hisseemingly negative feelings show that Holden is a thinking andanalyzing, outspoken individual who values honesty and sincerity.He is unimpressed with people who try to look good in other’s eyes.Therefore, since it is obvious that Holden is bright, the reasonfor his flunking out of school would seem to be from a lack ofinterest.Holden has strong feelings of love towards children asevidenced through his caring for Phoebe, his little sister. He isprotective of her, erasing bad words from the walls in her schooland in a museum, in order that she not learn from the graffiti.His fondness for children can be inferred when he tells her that,at some time in the future, he wants to be the only grown-up with”all these little kids playing some game in this big field of ryeand all.” He’ll stand on the edge of a cliff and catch anybody whostarts to fall off the edge of the cliff. He got this image fromhis misinterpretation of a line from the Robert Burns poem, ” if abody catch a body comin’ through the rye.”When situations are described, in person or in a book, theyare influenced by the one who describes them, and by his or herperceptions and experiences. Through Holden’s expressions of histhoughts and feelings, the reader sees a youth, sensitive to hissurroundings, who chooses to deal with life in unique ways. Holdenis candid, spontaneous, analytical, thoughtful, and sensitive, asevidenced by his narration. Like most adolescents, feelings aboutpeople and relationships are often on his mind. Unfortunately, inHolden’s case, he seems to expect the worst, believing that theresult of getting close to people is pain. Pain when others rejectyou or pain when they leave you, such as when a friend walks off ora beloved brother dies. It would not have been possible to feelHolden’s feelings or understand his thoughts nearly as well had thebook been written in third person.