Contradictions

Throughout the course of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden contradicts himself quite frequently. Throughout the course of the novel, Holden reveals his very strong feelings as to things in everyday life. Some of these things include movies, church, and many others. He will talk about how he hates these things in his life and how he doesn't understand them, but the next minute he shows concern for them. For example, at the beginning of the novel he talks about how he hates movies. Holden states, "If its one thing I hate, it's the movies," (Salinger, 4). But then later on in the novel, he goes an attends a movie with Ackley. Not only does he contradict himself concerning movies he also does this with the church. He talks about how he hates church because Catholics are "always trying to figure out if your catholic" (Salinger, 112). But later in the novel, he gives $10 to two nuns just as a donation. I think that Holden contradicts himself so much because he is never happy. His deep depression causes him to not know what he wants in his life, so he is constantly contradicting himself.

Phonies

Throughout the course of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden makes his stance clear on adults.  Holden believes that all adults in this world are phonies. Part of the reason that Holden refuses to grow up is because he does not want to socialize with "those" people. He also does not want to turn into that type of person. He does not want to turn into his brother D.B. who changed for people when he grew up. Holden talked about how D.B.changed from a book writer to a prostitute. Holden stated, "It [D.B.'s book] was about this little kid who wouldn't let anyone look at his goldfish because he'd brought it with his own money. It killed me. Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute" (Salinger, 4). Later in the novel, Holden also learns that their are even more phonies in this world than the one's that appeal to his eye. Since he was too scared to go home, Holden decided to book a hotel room. While he was there, he happened to look out the window and see a man that "took out all these women's clothes, and put them on" (Salinger, 80). Holden learns that even when people seem normal from their appearance they still can be phonies in disguise, leading him to trust no one.

Living with Depression

In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden battles a deep depression. By reading this novel, one gets a look inside of the life of a teenage battling deep depression. Throughout the course of the novel, Holden continues to surround himself with people. The quote "How can I be surrounded by a sea of people and yet still feel so alone?" really applies to the life of Holden Caulfield. Even though he surrounded himself with people, he was felt depressed and alone. I would label Holden as a pessimist. Holden always found a way to find a bad in every situation. For example, while eating breakfast with two nuns Holden thought, "All the two of them were eating for breakfast was toast and coffee. That depressed me" (Salinger, 143). The fact that he was a pessimist greatly contributed to his depression. Even a simple event, such as a small breakfast, spiked his depression. His depression got so bad that he spoke of taking his life on multiple occasions. Living with depression is a battle that Holden will fight for the rest of his life, but lucky for him he has people in his life like Phoebe to help him through it.

Mr. Antolini

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden contacts an old teacher during his time of need, Mr. Antolini. Due to the fact that he was desperate for shelter, Holden contacts Mr. Antolini late in the night. Mr. Antolini cared deeply for Holden since he allowed him into his house in the middle of the night. He also "came up to [Holden's] house for dinner quite frequently to find out how [Holden] was getting along' (Salinger, 180). Since Holden came to him in the middle of the night, Mr. Antolini suspected that their must have been a problem. Mr. Antolini prepared his usual speech and even though Holden wanted just to sleep when he got to Mr. Antolini's house, he continued with his speech anyways. If Holden had been awake for Mr. Antolini's speech, it could have really changed his attitude towards life. Mr. Antolini reminds me of the people in my everyday life. Everyone has those people in their lives that are always their for them. I can only hope that everyone has a "Mr. Antolinil" in their lives and appreciate him/her.

The Red Hunting Hat

The red hunting hat made appearances throughout The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. At the beginning of the novel, we first learn about the Red Hunting Hat that Holden bought in New York. At the beginning it did not really seem relevant to the novel and to Holden as a person, but as you read on you begin to understand. The first point where I began to see the red hunting hat's importance was when he picked it up from the hat-check girl.  I learned that the hat really became a part of him. After Holden picked up his hat, he stated, "She [the hat-check girl] was very nice though. I showed her my goddam red hunting hat and she liked it. She made me put it on before I went out, because my hair was still pretty wet" (Salinger, 153). At this point in the novel, I realized what the red hunting hat symbolized: individuality. When the hat-check girl made him put it on before he left, she was really saying to be yourself when you leave here and not the person that other people want you to be. Since no other person in the novel owned a red hunting hat, it was a symbol of who Holden was. Even though it may have looked weird and ridiculous he was proud to wear it because it was who he was. He learned that he maybe different but he should always be himself.

Holden

Holden Caulfield was the major character in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Holden was an antagonist and narrator throughout the course of the novel. He was a sixteen year old who was stuck in his childhood. At the beginning of the novel, we were introduced the Holden as a junior in high school that had just been kicked of Pencey Prep.  My first impression from Holden after reading a few pages of the novel was that he was sort of a "loner". I got the idea from the quote that stated "I was way the hell up on top of Thompsen Hill, right next to this crazy cannon that was in the revolutionary war and all" (Salinger, 5). I began to wonder why he was not socializing with other students during the game. As I read on, I quickly learned that Holden had issues socializing with people because he believed that almost everyone around him was a phony. As we read on in the novel though, we were able to see him grow as a person. Even though throughout the course of the novel, Holden often fought with his depression and thoughts of suicide, he became more sociable. With the help from people like Phoebe, Holden was able to realize that people are always going to be there for him and that he is never alone. He was also able to see that not everyone in this world is the phony person that he thought. We also saw him transform from a kid stuck in his childhood to someone who realizes that he must embrace his adulthood and the adventures that lie ahead of him. Throughout the course of the novel, it was really nice, as a reader, to see Holden break the mold of society and become a sociable and unique individual.

Home

There were many settings throughout the course of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Because of the way that Holden traveled throughout the novel, the settings varied from city to city, hotel to hotel. One setting in particular though stuck out to me and that was home. Before Holden arrived at his home, he always felt depressed and alone. He never had the sense that someone was always there for him, or that he was never alone until he went home. No matter how far the journey, Holden knew that home for him was the setting for happiness. Holden stated, "I walked all the way. It wasn't too far, and I wasn't tired...  The best break I had in years, when I got home..." (Salinger, 156-157). He knew that when he arrived at home that Phoebe would be there waiting for him like she always had been. The idea of that gave him a sense of comfort. Even though it was a change from what life had been like away from home he liked it. He stated, "I felt swell for a change... I just felt good for a change" (Salinger, 159). People say that "Home is where the heart is" and for Holden's sake it really was home. He loved being surrounded by those that he loved and those that loved him. Home gave him a sense of individuality and security, which will help him in becoming the man that he secretly has always wanted to become.