In this post, use some of the skills we've practiced in class and describe the character of Holden Caulfield. What are his thought patterns like? What kind of person do you imagine he is? What might have caused him to be this way? You many even refer to our discussions about "typical" adolescent life for comparison or contrast. Refer to specific scenes or passages for evidence.
Just a reminder: look at your "procedures" sheet for guidance on writing these responses.
Holden Caulfield is a very judgmental and troubled character. He always judges people by using adjectives to describe them. Such as, "phony". Also, he is the kind of character that doesn't have many friends or isn't very friendly with people. For example, when he is having a conversation in the book with another character, hell think to himself what he wants to say but then when he answers he does't actually say hat he wanted too. He just gives the person hers talking to the answer they want to hear instead of arguing. He's sneaky.
ReplyDeleteHolden Caulfield is a very harsh and blunt character. Even though he doesn't always say what is on his mind, he thinks rude comments of those he speaks with. For instance, when Stradlater was getting ready to go out with Jean Gallagher, he was in the mirror for a long time and all Holden said to himself was "He spent about half of his goddam life in front of the mirror." I believe that he does have the potential to be a nice character but so far he is very narrow minded with the words he uses, hence the repetition. What may have caused him to be this way is his lack of friends and the death of his brother Allie. This could bother him very badly to the point that he takes his anger out on other people. Again, if he had more people in his life, I suppose Holden could be a good person to himself and others.
ReplyDeleteHolden is a unique kind of character that is harder to analyze. For example in a lot of his personal narratives he comes off as sort of a big hotshot, he portrayed himself as a guy that can take on anything and face his problems head on. Yet, when problems present themselves like the conflict with Stradlater where he will not fight back and just keeps repeating that he is a "moron" you can see he really is not what he comes off to be, still in this scene he believes he is above his roommate in the argument. He seems like he definitely has some mental issues and his biggest conflict is man v. self. He is always lying and analyzing other peoples actions and the gross flaws about them. He does not seem to be very successful in the social aspect of his life and when it comes to academic he seems to be smart but not want to learn like the other "phonies" or apply himself. I believe through out the book Holden's worst enemy will be himself.
ReplyDeleteHolden Caulfield has a negative outlook on life. He constantly criticizes others in his head during conversations, but never expresses his actual feelings. Holden also subconsciously includes “goddam” or other harsh expressions in his thought process. Even though Holden judges everyone he talks to I believe he is a good character. There is a lot of pressure trying to fit in at a preppy school like Pencey with all the talented athletes and smart students. This could be a reason for his thoughts and unusual actions. He seems to have gone through a lot in his short life as well. For example, losing his brother Allie, flunking out of multiple schools and having an estranged relationship with his father are all reasons to be upset about life. Living so far away from his family at Pencey, Holden does not have the constant support from his parents and older brother D. B. This isolation from his loved ones makes social interactions difficult. I also concluded Holden doesn’t have many friends because at the football game he was watching it all alone, so he is socially awkward in some situations. Yet he is kind to any acquaintances he has, never telling them the thoughts in his head.
ReplyDeleteIn the book the Catcher in the Rye the narrator Holden Caulfield is a very angry and judgmental character. He see’s everything in life in a negative way. Because of this he does not have many friends and lives a pretty lonely life. A reason why Holden does not have many friends other than the fact that he is a negative person is because he has been kicked out of a surplus of schools over the past few years.This might have caused him to distance himself from the other students attending his school because he knew that he wasn't going to try on his work and would end up being kicked out again. In the book while Holden is talking to Old Spencer about whether his parents will care that he got kicked out of Pencey, he says, “They really will. This is about the fourth school i've gone to.” Holden seems to have no motivation to succeed in life and a reason for this may have been because of his brother's death. The way Holden explains his brother Allie and how he reacted to him dieing causes me to assume that he is what caused Holden to have such a bad outlook on life. Holden says “God, he was a nice kid, though.” It may not seem like a lot but this is one of the first nice things you hear Holden say about someone in his life which causes me to assume Allie had a big impact on his life.
ReplyDeleteHolden Caulfield, the main character in “The Catcher in the Rye”, is a 16 almost 17 year old high school student. He is a very difficult character. I mean that in the ways that it is difficult to understand he thoughts and his outlook on certain subjects, and he is difficult in the manner of his personality. He’s an extremely judgmental person and has a certain way with words. He seems to not truly care about many things. I imagine that he is a very stubborn person and not particularly pleasant unless you enjoy sarcastic judgmental statements. I believe that the suicide of his sister Allie caused him to become this way. Also his idea that the majority of the population is made up of phonies may have cause him to have a different outlook on life and could have changed his attitude.
ReplyDeleteHolden Caulfield is a unique teenager who doesn’t have the most positive look on life. He is very judgemental and negative. Holden has a negative opinion on every person that is introduced in the book. He has a vast list of adjectives that he uses to describe these people and also repeats many phrases such as phony or goddam. Holden describes himself to be this superior person who doesn’t like to fight. But the way he puts himself out there is quite the opposite. He always seems to be getting in arguments with others and sometimes getting physical with them due to his negativity. I’m not sure how he got to be where he is now, but there must be some form of explanation. Yes, he does portray typical adolescent behavior, but there does seem to be something different about him. Whether it was a traumatizing experience in his past or a personal issue, Holden has a perk to him that is shown multiple times throughout the book. I hope to soon find out about Holden’s perk because I’m interested in why he is the way he is. Overall, Holden is quite a unique person who teenagers can, in some way, relate to one way or another.
ReplyDeleteHolden Caulfield is an opinionated person who has a lot of negative comments about
ReplyDeletemostly everything. He seems to pick out the negative parts about people and focuses on those things. Another thing that he does a lot is contradict himself by saying one thing and then saying or doing something different in a short amount of time. One example is when he got mad at Stradlater and then hits him. While Stradlater sits on him, he continues to call him names. He later says that he is a pacifists, which does not seem true because of what had just happened. Holden is a compulsive liar and lies about big things like having a brain tumor or small things like being older. The lies he tells are not necessary, he just tells them for the fun of doing it. During the book he also calls people morons and says goddam constantly. This makes him seem
more tough than he actually is. I think that he is like this because of something that happened in his past like why he does not get along with his father and dislikes him. He could also be like this because his brother Allie died and he really liked his brother. I find it interesting that Holden is very negative about a lot of people, but he says only good things about his sister, Phoebe and brother, Allie.
Holden Caulfield is a very negative character. Each time he introduces a new character he always manages to find one small negative thing about them. And then he will talk about why he is so much better than they are. In addition, Holden is very self contrasting. For example, when he gets into a fight with Stradlater he said that he punched Stadlater in the side of the head and then Holden got slaughtered by Stradlater. Soon, Holden would call himself a pacifist after starting a fight. Holden is also conceited. He thinks he is a big deal because he is the manager of the Pencey Academy fencing team. Also, Holden puts everybody down around him to pick himself up. I see Holden as a troubled kid. He doesn't have a positive outlook on life and when people try to help him he pushes the help away. This is why Holden is always a lone wolf as he scares the other characters away. In the end, Holden is conceited, negative, constantly self-contrasting, and from what I have seen, is the type of person who I would try to avoid.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the story so far, Holden Caufield is a very negative character in the book. He tends to swear a lot when talking to others and thinking to himself. He also seems like he is a compulsive liar because he tends to lie about a lot of things, big and small. For example, Holden lies to a lady on the train when he is going back home because he got kicked out if his school, Pencey Academy. He told her that he had to go get an operation because he had a brain tumor, which is one hundred percent false. Holden also seems like he may have some anger issues. When Stradlater sits on top of him, Holden begins to say very mean things to him over and over again. Holden even attempts to attack Stradlater, but fails, resulting in a bloody nose. I Believe Holden may have gone through a hard time in life that has made him feel and act the way he does. He may have had to be tough and strong when he was little for his siblings, so maybe he feels like he still has to act that way. Either way, Holden is a very unique and intresting character in the story.
ReplyDeleteHolden Caulfield, the protagonist in “The Catcher in the Rye” is angry, judgmental, and conflicted and is in some ways a typical adolescent. He appears to want to fit in, but he is always pushing people away. For example, he picks a fight with Stardlater, calling him a “moron”. Holden is also judgmental. He consistently judges others as “phony”. Early in the novel he even refers to his former head master as “phony” and an alumni of Pencey which his dorm is named after. There are many different occasions when Holden lies. He lies about his age, he claims he is older, he lies about having a tumor and he also lies about his name, claiming he is the janitor at Pencey. At one point he agrees to write an essay for Stardlater and he writes about his dead brother’s glove. When Stradlater insults the essay, Holden tears it up. For the most part, Holden speaks pessimistically. This changes when he refers to his siblings. The loss of his brother at such a young age contributes to his anger and alienation.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, readers learn about the life of Holden Caulfield. His thought patterns are uncovered from the start of the book. Right away one notices how judgmental and "picky" Holden really is. He narrows in on certain characteristics about people and begins to pick out every flaw the person uncovers in every scene. I feel he does this is spite of himself. He makes himself look better than everyone else and is very conceited. Overall, Holden is not quite as tough as he comes across. Holden gets engaged in a fight in Chapter 6 and rather than sticking up for himself, he acts like a wimp and calls Stradlater silly names. The way Holden narrates the book also shows quite a bit of his personality. He is very repetitive and enjoys to use curse words as adjectives. "Goddam" and "as hell" are used frequently, and it gives the readers a childish feel towards Holden's personality. He is also repetitive in the fact that he always brings up little unimportant pieces of information over and over. An example of this is the fact that Holden can not let go of the idea that Jane Gallagher keeps her king in the back row during checkers. I imagine Holden as the type of person who has a low level of maturity for his, teenage, age. What might have caused him to be like this is just the way he was brought up in his family. He has always been moving schools and he seems to reveal in chapter one that he does not have a good relationship with his parents. "Typical" adolescent life has behaviors that are very diverse from Holden's. Holden acts very different from his age group during his high school years. He acts more like a child and is very immature and rude. Holden Caulfield has not grown to fit his age yet. One word that fits his personality is most certainly, unique.
ReplyDeleteThe character of Holden Caulfield seem to be naive but at the same time, resentful of the adult world. Also from what I've read he is very caring and respectful, and calls himself a "pacifist." One of Holden's recurring and striking qualities is his powerful revulsion for "phony" traits in a person , a term for all the perceived hypocrisy that riles Holden. It is this cynicism that causes him to distance himself from other people, despite wanting connection as well. Holden is very much a character of contradiction; at seventeen years of age it seems as though he sometimes acts more like a 13-year-old than an adult. He continually fails classes and calls himself "dumb," although he shows intelligence through the articulate narration of his life events. When describing these events he has this conceited or almost a showoff tone like he can handle anything that comes his way. Another tendency of his is to lie, in chapter 8 he is on a train and a lady sits down next to him and notices the Pencey sticker on his suitcase and points out that Her son goes there. He then goes off on how her son is modest and that he has a small tumor in his brain and that he's going down to South America with his grandmother which completely false. Holden is a character I find quite difficult to analyze because he contradicts himself frequently, but I'm hoping he has the potential to become a better person by the end of the book.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel The catcher in the Rye the main character Holden is very judgmental and sarcastic. Holden is 16 and goes to a school that he lives at. Holden is very negative and obsessed over little flaws in people. Holden contradicts himself a lot. He says he is a pacifist but during his confrontation with Stradlater Holden punches him in the head. Holden constantly calls people phony'a and uses god damn to describe them. Holden has a very low self esteem and goes through life carelessly. All in all Holden is a very dynamic character
ReplyDeleteHolden Caulfield is a harsh and troubled teenager. He spends his days complaining and making fun of other people. The days he spends with his friends, he yells at them for being annoying and talks about them to himself. For example, when he goes to the movies with two of his friends, he complains that they laugh to loud during the entire movie. But, this can be a normal adolescent behavior for guys his age. He also lies a lot to people, like when he lied to the lady on the bus about the brain tumor. To conclude, Holden is a very different character with unorganized thoughts that are usually judgemental.
ReplyDeleteHolden Caulfield is, to say the least, not entirely stable mentally. He is a pathological liar, antisocial, and extremely anti-conformist. He makes those around him uncomfortable, and is generally off-putting.Based on subtle hints dropped by Holden, his home life isn't very good. His parents are generally disappointed by his behavior, and keep sending him to different schools. It is possible that this, along with the loss of his younger brother Allie, may have affected Holden's mental state. In conclusion, Holden is, to an extent, mentally ill, possibly due to familial issues.
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