What does Holden Caulfield symbolize?
Holden represents the attempt to shelter kids from growing up, and more personally, represents his desire to avoid the harshness of adult life. The Catcher in the Rye, Part 2: The symbol is ironic.
Why is Holden immature in Catcher in the Rye?
Holden has a violent mind and he thinks about killing people throughout the novel. He also never figures out his views on sex. He thinks he knows his views on sex and what he would do put in certain situations, but he does not follow through with his ideals. Holden also never learns how to think out his decisions.
Why is Holden so obsessed with innocence?
He wanted children to stay children and preserve their innocence because he doesn’t want them to fall in the corrupted and complicated world of adulthood. Holden tries to protect the children from reading the swear word that could poison their mind. The red hunting hat is another symbolism of innocence in the novel.
Is Holden Caulfield a virgin?
Holden is a virgin, but he is very interested in sex, and, in fact, he spends much of the novel trying to lose his virginity. Although Holden refers to such behavior as “crumby,” he admits that it is pretty fun, although he doesn’t think that it should be.
What is Holden’s biggest struggle?
One of Holden’s main struggles in the story concerns his inability to move on with his life by making peace with his past. Holden desperately fears becoming an adult, believes that the competitive world of grown-ups is full of “phonies,” and desires to remain an adolescent.
What is Holden’s biggest fear?
The most significant of Holden’s fears are the fears of growing up, intimacy, and human interactions. It is clear that the novel is bildungsroman, but what gives the Catcher in the Rye an interesting contrast to other bildungsroman stories is that Holden resents the very thing that progresses his story.
Is Holden Caulfield mature or immature?
Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel.
What is lying according to Holden?
Holden’s Lying: Salinger’s classic coming of age novel The Cather in the Rye. The narrative follows Holden’s misadventures as he tries to make sense of his own existence and the adult world around him.
What does Holden struggle with?
Holden is a misfit because of his alienation problem, his conflict with “phoniness” and his struggle of growing up. Throughout the novel, readers can clearly feel Holden’s alienation from the rest of the world.
What does Holden reveal about his level of maturity?
What does Holden reveal about his level of maturity? Holden says that he immature most of the time and when he does act mature no one notices it.
Is Holden Caulfield in a mental hospital?
Shortly after the German surrender, he checked himself into a mental hospital. Not long after he left, he wrote the first story narrated by Holden Caulfield. “I’m Crazy” was published in Collier’s in December 1945.
Why does Holden see Mr Spencer?
Holden decides to visit Mr. Spencer in the beginning of the novel in order to say goodbye to the teacher. Holden feels that he should say goodbye to Mr. Spencer because he is the only teacher that Holden actually liked at Pencey.