In chapter 16 of The Catcher in the Rye, what are Holden's feelings towards actors?
In Chapter Sixteen of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden declares that he hates actors. He finds actors exaggerated and inauthentic:
They never act like people. They just think they do.
Holden concedes that good actors do act slightly like real people, but this depiction of real personalities is only superficial and, therefore, not "fun to watch." If actors are really good, Holden adds, then the audience can usually detect that they are aware of their talent, and this self-awareness then spoils the effectiveness of their performances. As an example of his point about the phoniness of actors, Holden mentions Sir Laurence Olivier, a famous British actor who played in major films and in the 1948 production of Hamlet. Holden feels that in playing Hamlet, Olivier portrays a man who is "like a general" rather than a "sad, screwed-up type guy."
Then, in a rather revealing statement, Holden mentions that he must read the play himself that he views because when he attends a play, he keeps "worrying about whether [the actor is] going to do something phony every minute." It becomes apparent, therefore, that Holden again perceives another facet of life through his own faltering psychological lens.
In chapter 16 of The Catcher in the Rye, what are Holden's feelings towards actors?
Holden believes actors are phony. He says actors try to be real, but end up just sounding like actors, not like real people. His hatred for actors and the movie first begins when he berates his brother,D.B., to selling out his talent and writing for the movies. Holden says the theater is also phony because instead of showing people the truth, it puts the emphasis on theatricality. He insists he never saw so many phony things as he saw in the theatre. Holden also shows his hatred towards three women he meets at a bar because they are only interested in movies and famous actors. In Chapter 16, when Sunny, the prostitute, tells Holden she spend most of her time at the movies,he calls her the "queen of phonies". The irony is that Holden is going to a play in the afternoon and he is paying to see a lot of those same "phony" actors.
What is Holden's opinion of literature in The Catcher in the Rye?
Holden has a deep love for books in Catcher in the Rye, that is why he is so angry at his brother D.B. for being a sellout and not writing books. Holden tells us that his favorite book of all time is his brother's book, "The Secret Goldfish."
Holden does well in one subject, English, not only because the work is familiar from school to school, but because he is a reader. He is a very intelligent young man, a deep thinker, a very thoughtful individual who possibly contemplates the meaning of life a little too much for someone his age.
His knowledge comes from his love of literature. He actually read "Out of Africa," already, the book that he was given at the library by accident. He is actually reading it again, he wants to read certain parts again.
"I'd read it already, but I wanted to read certain parts over again." (Salinger)
This admission by Holden that he wants to reread part of this book indicate that he has an intimate relationship with books, he gets a great deal of satisfaction and knowledge from reading.
What is Holden's opinion of literature in The Catcher in the Rye?
Holden's explanation of his opinion of literature is, like a good part of his discourse, pretty much disjointed, but he actually appears to have a fairly strong appreciation for books and is surprisingly well-read. Holden describes himself paradoxically as being "quite illiterate, but (he) reads a lot". He says that what he likes best "is a book that's at least funny once in a while...(and that) what really knocks (him) out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it".
Some of Holden's favorite authors include his brother D.B., Ring Lardner, Thomas Hardy, and Isak Dinesen. He has just finished reading Out of Africa by Dinesen, and also mentions Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham, and a book of plays by Lardner. A favorite or his seems to be Return of the Native by Hardy; Holden mentions that particular book more than once in the narrative, and is especially fond of its main character, Eustacia Vye.
Holden says that he reads "a lot of classical books", which he likes, and "a lot of war books and mysteries", which "don't knock (him) out too much". He rereads his favorite parts of books that he has found especially interesting, as he does with Out of Africa.
How does Holden's relationship with Ackley and Stradlater differ in The Catcher in the Rye?
I would add that Holden wanted both Ackley and Stradlater to care about him; he wanted to be real friends with both of them. Holden willingly writes Stradlater's composition for him even though he is going out on a date with Jane Gallagher, Holden's dream girl. Now you could say, well Stradlater is his roommate so he just wants to keep the peace, but its more than that, he also lends him his hound's-tooth jacket.
Holden tries to get Stradlater to like him by lending him things and doing his homework, anything to be accepted. Then when Stradlater won't share details about his date with Jane, Holden gets into a fist fight with him, after which time, he runs to Ackley for sympathy and comfort.
Holden longs to sleep in Ely's bed for the night, but Ackley won't give Holden permission to sleep in his roommate's empty bed. Holden feels rejected and isolated by Ackley's rejection,
"You're a prince, Ackley kid, I said. You know that. Your a gentleman and a scholar, kid." (Salinger)
Holden feels so awful that the can't get Ackley to care about him while he stands in front of him bleeding after his fight with Stradlater that he says:
"I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden, I wished I was dead." (Salinger)
Another good example of Holden reaching out for friendship in the novel is when he contacts Carl Luce, an older boy that he knows from the Whooten School. Holden is desperate to talk to someone about flunking out of Pencey, so he arranged to meet Luce at the Wicker Bar. But once he gets there, Luce doesn't want to hear about Holden's problems, he is bored with him even before they are together for five minutes.
"Listen, hey Luce, you're one of these intellectual guys. I need your advice, I'm in a terrific, he let out this big groan on me. "Listen Caulfield, if you want to sit here and have a quiet peaceful drink and a quiet peaceful conver." (Salinger)
At the end of their brief get together, Luce recommends that Holden seek psychoanalysis.
Holden is desperate for a friend, but he seems to get rejected over and over again.
Who does Holden like in The Catcher in the Rye and why?
Holden loves his dead brother (Allie) and his little sister (Phoebe). But more generally, he likes people who seem to him innocent and good-hearted. He likes people who are not phonies. He includes all children in this group, and he dreams of being the catcher in the rye, the person at the edge of the cliff who catches the children before they can fall off and get hurt. He has a strong and persistent urge to protect those who seem as if they might be preyed upon.
For example, he likes the nuns he meets when he has a huge breakfast in the New York diner. They seem authentic to him, not phony. He enjoys discussing Romeo and Juliet with them and feels sorry that they are eating a meagre breakfast when he has just wolfed down a huge feast. He insists on giving them ten dollars, a large amount of money at the time, and when they question whether he can afford it, he insists he can.
It is too much to catalogue every character in the text, but if you work your way through it, you will see Holden going to pains to be kind to people who in some way seem vulnerable to him or like misfits or innocents.
Who does Holden like in The Catcher in the Rye and why?
Holden Caulfield is considered a favorite character because he is at once plucky and vulnerable. While he exhibits an abundance of confidence in the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, that becomes uncertainty as the novel progresses. He becomes increasingly aware of his immaturity, and we watch him grow. In addition, he is loyal and protective. His sister Phoebe means the world to him. He wants to protect Jane from the world. He sees Sunny as a complex person and not a one-dimensional prostitute. In Holden Caulfield, we recognize the ability of one person to be both noble and out of line, to be sure of themselves while doing everything wrong. Readers can both empathize and sympathize with Holden Caulfield in different turns. And even at his worst, he has redeeming qualities which keep us glued to the page and eager to see how his story turns out. While there are certainly moments of sadness throughout the book, there is an optimism in humanity that endears us to Holden Caulfield.
In The Catcher in the Rye, what is the significance of Holden wanting to call his favourite writers?
In chapter 3 of the novel, we see Holden settling down comfortably in his school dorm to read. He strikingly declares that:
I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot.
He goes on to reveal his enthusiasm for good books – one of the very few things that he seems to really like in the world. He lists among his favourite authors his older brother D.B., Ring Lardner, and even admits to enjoying classical literature, like the works of Thomas Hardy. He remarks that:
What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. (chapter 3)
In other words, Holden appears to find the companionship in good books that he find so lacking in his real life. He feels assured that he would find the writers of his favourite books just as engaging and congenial as the stories they write. This could perhaps be taken as an instance of his inability to connect with people in his actual life, so that he takes refuge in imagining companionship elsewhere – much as he does in his frequent reminiscences over his dead brother Allie, for example. Books provide a kind of escape for him.
It is perhaps also typical of Holden’s life (or at least, of the way that he chooses to represent it) that he is not allowed to read in peace, but is interrupted by the unpleasant boy who rooms next door, Robert Ackley.
In The Catcher in the Rye, what does Holden dislike about actors?
Holden is portrayed as an extremely neurotic, hypercritical adolescent who is anxious about entering adulthood and hates people who act "phony." According to Holden, a person is phony if they are insincere or purposely alter their personality in certain situations to make themselves more appealing.
Given Holden's contempt for phonies, it is only natural that he cannot stand actors. In chapter sixteen, Holden mentions that he hates actors because they never act like people but believe that they do. Although Holden admits that some of the good actors slightly resemble the way people naturally behave, he does not find them fun to watch. Holden also mentions that if an actor is really good, then the actor becomes too arrogant and spoils it.
As an adolescent who values genuine, sincere behavior, Holden finds actors appalling and is highly critical of them. However, Holden continues to watch movies and attend shows because he is a hypocrite and unreliable narrator.
In The Catcher in the Rye, what does Holden dislike about actors?
It is also very telling about Holden\'s character that he shows so much disdain for actors. He says the worst is when an actor KNOWS he is good. However he takes on several different personae throughout the novel. It is more than mere lying. He is escaping the trap of being himself by acting as an “other”. He even brags about how convincing he is at it. He demonstrates the same arrogance that he despises so much.
Describe Holden's relationships with his family in The Catcher in the Rye.
The first family member with whom Holden should first be connected is Allie, his little brother who passed away from cancer.
Allie's death set Holden's life in motion towards the paths that he chose. His relationship with him was affectionate, as he was often more connected with all things juvenile, and innocent. When Allie died, Holden was in such grief that punched out the windows around him and wanted to punch those out of the family car as well, but his hands were already cut, and he was rushed to the hospital. It was this moment that set im into that depression that would come and go randomly, and which ultimately made him want to become a "catcher in the rye" when he grew older, so that he can save children who are in danger.
His parents, both normal, but affluent, and obviously caring, are not mentioned as much as Holden's relationship with his siblings. He does mention that his mom is as "insane" as every other mother, but he does seem to have an affection for them. He simply does not openly show it.
D.B. is a famous Hollywood writer who used to write stories. Holden held him in high esteem until the brother switched from working for books to working for movies. Holden has a hard time with D.B. because D.B. is the shining star of the family, and Holden feels like a lesser person around him. He also accuses D.B. of "prostituting" himself for working for the phonie Hollywood- because, of course, Holden hates movies.
Phoebe is the strongest connection that Holden has in his family, again, here we see the same pattern of connection to all things innocent, juvenile, innocent, and genuine. She is 10, and yet seems to be a the same intellectual and/or emotional level as Holden. She can tell his behaviors and comments on his decisions because she is clearly aware of how he is. He loves her to death as well.
How do Holden and Stradlater treat Ackley and what is their relationship?
Holden Caulfield and Ward Stradlater are roommates at Pencey Prep. Next door to their room lives Robert Ackley who is a senior, somewhat of a loner, and has very bad hygiene. Ackley gets along pretty well with Holden, but he does not like Stradlater because he thinks he's too rich and conceited. Holden identifies this accusation as false and reminds Ackley why he's really upset at Stradlater, as follows:
"The reason you're sore at Stradlater is because he said that stuff about brushing your teeth once in awhile. He didn't mean to insult you, for cryin' out loud. He didn't say it right or anything, but he didn't mean anything insulting. All he meant was you'd look better and feel better if you sort of brushed your teeth once in awhile" (24).
Holden seems pretty genuine when he tells Ackley this. Holden may think that Ackley is gross and disgusting, but he does not want to hurt the guy. Plus, it seems as if Holden truly believes that Stradlater told Ackley to brush his teeth more often in an effort to help him rather than to insult him. Stradlater must not have done a good job on the delivery, though, because Holden admits "he didn't say it right." Usually Holden will blatantly point it out if someone is being phony, and Holden doesn't call Stradlater a phony in this situation. Also, Stradlater always says something nice to Ackley when he enters the room, but Ackley won't answer back. Ackley must feel inferior compared to Stradlater, so he doesn't like him. Stradlater might feel superior, but he wouldn't say it to Ackley's face if he does. Stradlater may not hang out with Ackley, but he doesn't bully him or beat up on him in any way, either.
As far as Ackley and Holden's relationship, it seems like they are somewhat friends. Holden mostly feels sorry for Ackley in every way. He takes pity on the fact that Ackley stays in the dorm most Saturday nights rather than hanging out with friends or going on dates. Holden is younger, but he asks Ackley to go with him and his buddy Brossard to get hamburgers and see a movie. Ackley demonstrates that he and Holden talk more than mere acquaintances because he knows that Holden has been kicked out of school and asks Holden if he's told his parents yet. It would seem, then, that the two have some type of friendship even though they would seem like a mismatch for being close buddies.
What is Stradlater's opinion of Ackley in The Catcher in the Rye?
Holden Caufield, the protagonist and narrator of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, opens the novel telling of his time at Pency Prep. After losing the fencing foils for a match in the city, Holden returns to Pency (as a result of Pency's forfeiting). He begins to tell of his roommate, Ward Stradlater, and his neighboring roommate, Robert Ackley. Holden believes everyone to be phonies (a theme of the text), and his roommate and Ackley are included in this description.
When it comes to how Stradlater and Ackley feel about one another, Holden makes their feelings quite clear. Ackley "hated Stradlater's guts and he never came in the room if Stradlater was around." Stradlater, on the other hand, "was at least a pretty friendly guy, Stradlater. It was partly a phony kind of friendly, but at least he always said hello to Ackley and all." Therefore, although Ackley seemed to hate everyone, Stradlater was at least friendly (even if it was a phony type of friendliness). While this does not say directly how Stradlater felt about Ackely, the fact that he was at least friendly says that Stradlater did not believe Ackely to be completely horrible or unlikeable.
What are some other things that Holden loves in The Catcher in the Rye?
Holden definitely loves all the things mentioned here in your question. Three more things that he loves are authenticity, or the opposite of phoniness, innocence, which he observes most often in children, and writing, which is a way for Holden to connect with language and the literature he loves to read.
Holden's chief complaint throughout the novel is about phonies. These kinds of people irritate him to no end. His appreciation of and his tireless search for authentic interactions and unselfconscious truthfulness likely link to his admiration of children. In their innocence, children can't help but say what they think and be exactly who they are, which are qualities Holden looks for in his peers and in the adults in his life.
Holden's love for writing and language are clear in his willingness to work for his English teachers so he can actually pass, as well as in his prodigious appetite for conversation. As well, Holden is willing to write an essay for Stradlater to pass off as his own, which most students would not be happy to do.
Who are Holden's favorite authors in The Catcher in the Rye?
Holden in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is quite the avid reader. We might infer that he spends a lot of time reading because he does not have friends.
According to Holden, his favorite author is his brother D. B. Holden likes his brother’s short stories and praises him for having written The Secret Goldfish, a collection of stories, his favorite being “The Secret Goldfish.” Holden is unhappy with D. B.’s current work, writing screen plays in Hollywood, which Holden considers “phony.”
Holden states that his second favorite author is Ring Lardner. D. B. gave Holden Lardner’s book for his birthday before he left for Pencey Prep. He claims that it “just about killed me” to read it.
He also mentions Isak Dineson’s Out of Africa, which the librarian gave him by mistake. He thought the book would be terrible, but he ended up liking it. Holden says he reads Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native quite a lot, as he likes the character Eustacia Vye. He humorously claims to be “illiterate” even though he reads frequently, and he’s very interested in war books and mysteries. Holden says he likes books that, when he finishes reading them, he wishes he could call the author to talk as a friend.
In a way, books are the only friends that Holden has.
How does Salinger's life reflect in The Catcher in the Rye?
Jerome David Salinger grew up in New York in an upper class family of means. He was sent to a private preparatory school which he failed out of and then attended a military academy. Other evidence of the author found in the book comes in the form of Holden's isolation from society. Salinger is a recluse.
Salinger is reportedly locked away in some bunker still writing novels that no one is allowed to read. It is suggested in literary gossip circles that there is a treasure of Salinger's work stored up somewhere that will be released after his death.
In The Catcher in the Rye, the author is present in both the character of Holden and the older brother D.B who is a writer. It is not hard to imagine that the next step for Holden, after he gets out of the mental institution is a military school.
How does Salinger's life reflect in The Catcher in the Rye?
The title of Catcher in the Rye establishes Holden Caulfield's desires and wishes, as well as his insecurities. The title relates to a poignant image and theme prevelant in the novel. The enotes Study Guide on the novel says the following:
Despite his tough exterior, Holden consistently shows a caring heart. He asks Ackley, an annoying fellow student, to join him and another friend at the movies simply because he knows Ackley has no friends. He regrets hasty judgments he has made, specifically in believing that his favorite teacher, Mr. Antolini, was making homosexual advances to him, when in actuality Antolini was probably just expressing affection for a soul that was hurting. When Phoebe tries to pin him down in naming his goals in life, he creates an entirely unrealistic job of keeping playing children from falling over the edge of a cliff.
The children that Holden envisions saving are symbolic of his desire to protect the innocence of childhood. Before he has learned to recognize the phoniness in the adult world that he is rapidly approaching, before the tragedy of the death of his little brother, before his own grief over Allie’s death, Holden wishes a return to the innocent times of youth. His vision is not to save actual children, but to save that carefree and pure belief in the goodness of life.
Holden wishes for no more than to stand guard at the edge of a field of rye and make sure no children fall off the edge of the cliff. This is a reduction of experience on Holden's part. This job would eliminate ambiguities. It would eliminate authority figures and phonies and difficult decisions and appearances, etc. He could lead his life simply saving others. It is peace, to Holden. It is rest.
How does Salinger's life reflect in The Catcher in the Rye?
The first thing that comes to mind when answering this question is the theme of isolation and the inability to connect with others in The Catcher in the Rye. Author J. D. Salinger led a reclusive life. Throughout the novel, Holden tries to make connections with people, but he fails to do so because he holds them to such high standards, calling them “phonies” and getting upset when they act in a way that is anything less than genuine. One might assume that Salinger had this same attitude toward people, wanting to isolate himself from them because he could not relate to them. This assumption is supported by the fact that Salinger had many failed marriages throughout his life, possibly searching for a connection with someone that he could never find. Ultimately, it may be that, just like few people can live up to Holden Caulfield’s standards of authenticity, the people in Salinger’s life couldn't live up to the standards he set for them.
In The Catcher in the Rye, what effects does Holden's perspective have on his relationships?
The diverse relationships that Holden clearly has with others serves to show how unstable his character is, even though he himself is unaware of this. He ranges from outright hostility towards certain individuals to love and affection, which is shown most clearly in his relationship with Phoebe. However, the common theme that can be seen in Holden is that he always tries to reach out and form relationships, no matter how he actually feels about the person, only to find that for whatever reason there are problems with forming that relationship. Note how he talks about Stradlater when he is quizzing him about his date with Jane and what time he got her back, whom Holden clearly likes a lot:
He was sitting on the edge of his bed, cutting his goddam toenails, when I asked him that. "Coupla minutes," he said. "Who the hell signs out for nine-thirty on a Saturday night?" God, how I hated him.
What is interesting about this relationship is that even though Holden at one level clearly loathes Stradlater, he had previously completed Stradlater's homework for him and continues to stay in his presence, even though it is mainly to annoy Stradlater. Holden seems to try and form relationships whilst simultaneously pushing people away from him through his prejudice and hatred of "phoniness." This of course shows the reader a lot about his character and the various challenges that he faces.
In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, why does Holden yearn to talk to certain authors?
Holden Caulfield is a 16 year-old boy who goes to preparatory schools. His brother D.B. is a writer out in Hollywood, which Holden thinks is horrible because he feels his brother is better than that. D.B., though, gave Holden some books to read before he left to work in California and he really liked them. As the reader gets to know Holden more, he turns out to be fairly well-read for a high school boy. Since Holden is familiar with many different books, classics mostly, he has developed opinions about writers. Because Holden doesn't appreciate movies or the actors of his day, he views authors like celebrities. He describes his feelings as follows:
"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though. I wouldn't mind calling this Isak Dinesen up" (18).
Hence, as he reads a book, he develops a connection to the author, which is not unlike many kids who find a connection with a singer or actor. This shows us that Holden connects to humans in an arbitrary way through reading. Sadly, he has a little bit tougher time connecting with humans in reality.
In The Catcher in the Rye, what impact does Holden have on his sister?
Holden develops this sense that he is supposed to be a protector of innocent young people. His imagined destiny as a catcher in the rye is juxtaposed by his true impact on his little sister. He drags his horrible habits of smoking and drunkenness into her room late at night. He is unable to think of the impact of his constant swearing and reckless behavior on her. She seems wise beyond her years but we are taking Holden's view on this and perhaps she is overwhelmed by what goes on around her.
What makes Holden a good writer in The Catcher in the Rye?
J. D. Salinger wanted to use a sixteen-year-old boy as a persona and as the narrator of his novel, but Salinger was concerned about verisimilitude. How could Holden Caulfield, a boy who has flunked out of three of the best prep schools and has therefore had virtually no high school education, narrate a novel as perceptive as The Catcher in the Rye? Salinger has two different persons compliment Holden on his writing ability. One is his roommate, Stradlater. When he cons Holden into writing a descriptive composition for him,
"Just don't do it too good, is all," he said. "That sonuvabitch Hartzell thinks you're a hot-shot in English, and he knows you're my roommate. So I mean don't stick all the commas and stuff in the right place."
Holden may use a lot of slang and profanity in the novel, but we can see from reading The Catcher in the Rye that he has all the "commas and stuff" in the right places.
The other person who compliments Holden on his writing is Mr. Antolini, his former English teacher at Elkton Hills. Mr. Antolini wants to know why Holden got expelled from Pencey Prep.
"What was the trouble?" Mr. Antolini asked me. "How'd you do in English? I'll show you the door in short order if you flunked English, you little ace composition writer."
A large part of Holden's writing ability is attributable to his keen interest in reading. He is an autodidact. In Chapter 3 he tells us:
I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot.
This probably means that he reads what he feels like reading but has failed to read a lot of the books he was supposed to read, including the textbook for Mr. Spencer's class, of which Holden says, "Well, I sort of glanced through it a couple of times."
Holden tells us:
I read a lot of classical books, like The Return of the Native and all, and I like them, and I read a lot of war books and mysteries and all, but they don't knock me out too much.
He mentions The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham, and Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, as well a collection of short pieces by Ring Lardner. We can see that he must be intelligent and discriminating as well as eclectic in his tastes. This explains why he has become a good writer although he has such a deplorable academic record. The Return of the Native, Of Human Bondage, and Out of Africa are heavy reading for a sixteen-year-old who flunks out of his third school for scholastic ineptitude. Here is a boy who gets A's in English and F's in everything else. We easily get hooked on The Catcher in the Rye and are easily able to believe it was written by a sixteen-year-old boy just like Holden Caulfield.
What type of places does Holden like in The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger?
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden likes places that do not change. Since the death of his brother Allie, Holden has a hard time dealing with change and wishes that life would just stay the same. So, he likes places that are the same as they were during his childhood. For example, Holden likes the Museum of Natural History because the exhibits are the same as they were when his teachers used to take the students in elementary school. Thinking about seeing his sister Phoebe, Holden walks over to the museum and reminisces on the exhibits that never change, like the one showcasing Native American Indians. If places like these never change, then Holden does not have to say goodbye to the old and usher in new places.
In The Catcher in the Rye, how does Holden's family affect him?
Holden is deeply and traumatically affected by the death of his younger brother, Allie, from leukemia. Although there was nothing he could have done to prevent it (leukemia was incurable at the time), he still feels responsibility. In his pain and grief at the news of the death, Holden punches out all the windows in his family's garage, breaking his hand in the process.
Allie's death triggers further acting out in Holden. He is kicked out of series of boarding schools, the latest of which is Pencey. There, he has to leave for flunking his courses, which, other than English, hold no interest for him.
The main way Allie's death effects Holden is to trigger in him a desire to protect the innocent, including children. He picks a fight with his roommate, Stradlater, because Stradlater has gone on a date with Holden's friend Jane, an innocent in Holden's eyes. Holden fears Stradlater has taken sexual advantage of her. It as if Holden wants to be beaten up by the stronger Stradlater to atone for the perceived sin of not being able to protect the innocent.
On his New York City spree, Holden sneaks into his family apartment to see his younger sister, Phoebe, a little girl he loves dearly. When she asks him what he wants to be, he says "the catcher in the rye." This person supposedly stands at the edge of field by a cliff where children play so he can catch them before they fall off the edge. He protects the innocent.
We see these protective instincts on display over and over in Holden. He won't sleep with the prostitute he hires because she is so very young. He gives ten dollars to a group of good-hearted nuns eating a meagre breakfast in a diner because he feels for their vulnerability. He helps some boys find the mummy exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
By the end of the novel, however, as he is watching Phoebe ride the carousel, Holden is beginning to understand that he can't protect everyone in the world.
How has J.D Salinger incorporated family relationships in The Catcher in the Rye?
The mental descent of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye begins with the death of his brother Allie several years before the novel begins. To Holden, Allie maintained these qualities: he was "nicest" in the family, was more "intelligent" than Holden, and "had very red hair." When he died of Leukemia, Holden lost his mind and "broke all the goddam windows [in the garage]" with his fist, "just for the hell of it."
In the novel, Holden also clings to his 10-year-old sister Phoebe, whom he says, "[S]he knows exactly what the hell you're talking about." It's Phoebe's love for Holden that keeps him going off the rails. He wants to see her and even buys her a record. It's her threat to run away with him that knocks some sense back into Holden.
One important factor about family to consider is the absence of Holden's father. He continues to send Holden to boarding schools despite the fact that Holden seems to be failing at every turn. When Holden does return home, they are noticeably absent with Phoebe's repetition of "Daddy's going to kill you" being the only reminder of him. Holden also mentions that his father is a corporate lawyer, but Holden doesn't really want to be like him.
What does Holden like about his old schools in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye?
Holden did not like any of the schools that he attended. He generally despises the institutions for what they claim to be and never seem to deliver. For example, he didn't like those who were in charge and many of the students because he felt they were phonies, or fake. What Holden did like about the schools, then, wasn't the education or the institutions themselves, but he found a couple of people who were at the school that he could either like, feel sorry for, or actually admire.
At Whooton he liked his student adviser, Carl Luce. Holden looks up to Luce because he thinks he's a genuine person. To Holden, Luce is very intelligent and mature. Holden likes the fact that Luce has a very sophisticated vocabulary and has a lot of experience with women. When Holden meets up with Luce at the Wicker Bar he said, "He never said hello or anything when he met you" (143). That must mean that Holden also thinks that saying "hello" is a needless technicality, which gives insight into Holden's character for sure.
From Elkton Hills, Holden respected one teacher named Mr. Antolini. Again, Holden likes Mr. Antolini because he didn't seem fake when he was in his English class. It also helps to like him because he's young, about the age of his older brother D.B., and seems to understand teenagers. Holden describes him as someone with whom a person could joke around "without losing your respect for him" (174).
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