the catcher in the rye

The Catcher in the Rye

By Jerome David Salinger

A young man , Holden Caulfield , is in a mental institution where he is recovering from a recent mental breakdown . The entire novel is a flashback of the events that had led up to his emotional destruction The flashback begins with Holden leaving the boarding school he had been attending because of lackluster grades . Holden had been sent to boarding school by his parents

1 . Why do the other kids not like him

Holden throughout the whole novel differs from society which results

in his rebellious nature . Other kids not like him because Holden has a very hard time dealing with people that are not known to him . He feels that most people are phonies and finds it hard to open himself up to others He is very insecure as well as being very immature . Holden does not have any friends and cannot keep relationships . This is because he finds and exaggerates any negative aspect of all the people he knows or meets This can be seen when Holden cannot keep his relationship with his girlfriend Sally

2 . Why does he think all adults are phony

Holden also rebels because he feels that all adults are phonies . Holden believes that these phonies are people who try to be something that they are not . Usually , the mark of a phony is the desire for material goods This is because people usually want these possessions in to become something they are not and impress others . Holden calls other 's phonies but in actuality , Holden is the biggest phony in the novel . He despises those who value material things but he himself prides his possessions

3 . What does he think about himself

The protagonist and narrator of the novel which is Holden , finds himself upset with the society in which he lives . Throughout the novel he goes on a journey to find himself . Holden is immature although he makes attempts to act as if he is mature . Holden can not accept those who value materialistic items and labels them phonies . In all , Holden is hypocritical and it is perhaps this trait that causes him to self-destruct

4 . What do you think about Holden

The character oh Holden has many conflicts with society . He suffers these conflicts because of his own low self-esteem . He doesn 't like and has conflict with people similar to him . He has such high standards for people . He bases these expectations on his brother Allie 's example . To him Allie is such an awesome person . Allie was honest , artistic (poetic , valuable , intelligent , and just a good kid . God , he was a nice kid , though ' Holden is especially disappointed with the following characters - D .B . for his materialism , Stradlater , for his exploitation of women , and Mr . Antolini 's motives

5 . Does he remind you of yourself or someone you know

Holden reminds me of myself two years ago before I got the age of 20 . I felt like I don 't...