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i need help i hav to give my essay tomorow to the teacher can u guys edit it frm me plz.. n do make ur suggestions
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The Catcher in the Rye
The novel The Catcher in the Rye is written by J.D. Salinger illustrates the problems of a teenager; Holden Caulfield, as he goes through a transitional phase from childhood to adulthood. Holden Caulfield; a teenager growing up in 1950s New York is on the verge of having a nervous breakdown, as he suffers from the bitterness and the phoniness in the world, his brother's death, and depression. Holden's personality is complicated and twisted. This novel shows that Holden is very lonely, a compulsive liar and compassionate.
Firstly, Holden is very lonely. His loneliness is apparent through his lack of friends. Holden has a lot of trouble in making friends, as he cannot manage to stay in one school. Prep Pency is Holden's third school and he is been expelled from it too. When Holden leaves the school; he says, "It made me too sad and lonesome" (p. 51). Holden is compelled to leave Pency early because he does not have any friends. He gets very lonesome and departs early because he has no one to be with. When Holden gets off the train, he goes to a phone both thinking of calling someone, but he cannot think of anyone to call. Holden says, "So I ended up not calling anybody. I came out of the booth, after about twenty minutes" (p.59). Holden has no one to call because of lack of friends. Holden's solitariness is clearly shines through by the way he misses his brother Allie, who dies of leukemia. Holden deeply misses his brother and even talks to him loud when he feels aloneness and depressed, wishing that Allie was still alive. Holden says, "What I did, I started talking, sort of out loud, to Allie" (p.98). Holden is solitude and that makes him talk to Allie, who is dead, he holds on to his brother to minimize the pain of loneliness. By not letting go of Allie, it is visible how lonely Holden is. Holden talks to strangers and asks them to for a drink. He is force to do that, as he is companionless. When Holden takes a taxi; he says to the driver, "Would you care to stop on the way and join me for a cocktail" (p.60). Holden is so alone, he even asks stranger to accompany him. Holden's solitariness is exposed through his lack of friends, his longing for his dead brother and the ways he tries to talk with strangers.
Secondly, Holden reveals himself as a compulsive liar by kept on lying throughout the whole novel. Holden lies to hide his identity, he feels insecure. When Holden meets a schoolmate's mother on the train ride to New York from Holden's school; he says that his name is, "Rudolf Schmidt" (p.54). Holden lies because he does not want to expose himself to others, he is distrustful. Holden lies when he gets confused and scared. When Holden lives in a hotel for 2-3 days; he calls for Sunny, a prostitute to have sex with her, but he gets scared and anxious. When Sunny comes into the room, Holden becomes very nervous and lies to her that he just had an operation. Holden says, "She made me so nervous, I just kept on lying my head off," he says, "I am still recuperating" (p.96). Holden tries to cover-up his nervousness and fear by lying to people. Holden is a terrific liar, he lies sometimes just for no reason. Holden takes pride in saying that he is very good at lying. Holden says, "If I'm on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I'm going, I'm liable to say I'm going to opera" (p.16). Holden has an obsession with lying which he thinks is quite remarkable. Holden's ability to lie is one the traits that he discloses about himself in this novel.
Holden's one of the personality traits expose as he shows compassion towards other people. Holden is a very soft-hearted person; he even cares about the people, he does not like. Holden does not like Ackley, a fellow whose room is next to him in the hostel. Holden reveals his feelings for Ackley as he says, "I wasn't too crazy for him" (p.19). When Holden and his fellow decide to go to see a movie, he asks him to take Ackley out despite his dislike of him. Holden says, "The reason I asked was because Ackley never did anything on Saturday night" (p.36). Holden wants Ackley to do something entertaining as he always stays in his room. Holden is very kind, even though, he does not share a friendly relationship with Ackley, but he still cares for him. Holden is a very empathetic person. He feels pity for people who do not enjoy the status of a rich person. When Holden sees two nuns in a hotel; having toast with coffee, and he is having an expensive breakfast, he feels really bad and sorry for them. Holden says, "I hate it if I'm eating bacon and eggs or something and somebody else is only eating toast and coffee" (p.110). Holden feels very pity for them because he is a very commiserate person; he does not like to see the class difference as he is rich and the nuns are poor. Holden is a very sympathetic and soft-hearted person. When Holden stays in a hotel, he hires a prostitute, Sunny to have sex. When Sunny comes in and gives Holden her dress to hang, he feels very sad and sorry for her. Holden says, "I thought of her going in a store and buying it, and nobody in the store knowing that she was a prostitute…It made me feel sad as hell" (p.96). Holden has respect for woman and when he thinks of Sunny as a prostitute, going for shopping just like an ordinary girl he feels pity for her. Holden feels sorry for Sunny because she is a prostitute. Holden's compassionate nature is portrayed by the way of his behavior towards other people.
In conclusion, this novel shows that Holden Caulfield; an adolescent who struggles to find his identity as he suffers from the fakeness of the world. His loneliness is portrayed through the way he is solitude; he does not have any friends, he is deeply devoted to his brother Allie, who is no more and the way he asks strangers for a drink. Moreover, Holden's habit of lying which he uses to keep his identity from being observed, he lies to hide his fear and nervousness around people, and he is very proud for being a very good liar. Furthermore, Compassion is one of Holden's characteristics that displays in the novel. He is a very sympathetic and pitiful person. He cares for people, he does not like, people who are poor, and he has respect for women, as he even feels sorry for a prostitute. The novel displays Holden's personality a very complex one, as he is entangled between adolescence and maturity.
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