Two main antagonists stand between
Holden
and his goal of connection: society, and Holden himself. Holden feels antagonized by much of society, which to him is filled with inauthentic people following arbitrary rules.
Who is the protagonist and antagonist in Catcher in the Rye?
Holden Caulfield
is the protagonist throughout the book. He is the main character and the novel is given from his (first person) perspective. Since the novel is told by Holden directly to the reader, the antagonists are presented from his perspective. And the antagonists are quite simply the “phonies” of the world.
Is Holden the protagonist or antagonist?
Holden Caulfield is the
protagonist
of The Catcher in the Rye. He is also the novel’s narrator, which means that he tells his coming-of-age story from his own perspective.
Who is the main protagonist in Catcher in the Rye?
Holden Caulfield
is the 16-to-17 years old protagonist of author J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye.
Who or what are Holden’s biggest enemies?
Holden’s enemy is
the adult world and the cruelty and artificiality that it entails
. The people he admires all represent or protect innocence. He thinks of Jane Gallagher, for example, not as a maturing young woman but as the girl with whom he used to play checkers.
What does Holden’s wound symbolize on page 150?
What does Holden’s wound symbolize on page 150? It symbolizes
the pain that Holden is going through yet he puts on a separate face and makes it look like he is perfectly fine with everything in his life
.
Why is Holden so hostile towards other people?
Holden feels antagonized by much of society
, which to him is filled with inauthentic people following arbitrary rules. Nearly every adult Holden meets either disappoints him or thwarts him in his attempts to make connections. To the adults, Holden is just a teenager, and they treat him accordingly.
Who disappoints Holden?
Holden is disappointed when
Faith Cavendish
refuses his invitation to meet him. Holden is disappointed by many other characters in the novel (such as Lillian Simmons) because he considers them “phoneys.” Holden is disappointed by his encounter with the prostitute and by its violent aftermath.
How does Holden reject society?
The way that Holden rejects becoming part of society and adulthood is
by creating a set of personal rules, axioms, and ideals that represent his resentment against both
. These ideals and rules are also ways for Holden to protect himself from possible loss and/or rejection of his peers.
Who does Holden call phony?
Holden expands his definition of phony to
include anyone who is not 100% genuine at all times or that he doesn’t like
. People who are charismatic, wealthy, attractive, friendly to others, or superficial are phonies according to Holden.
What is wrong with Holden Caulfield?
Holden Caulfield suffers from
post traumatic stress disorder
. The fictional cause is the death of his beloved little brother, Allie. The reason that The Catcher in the Rye is so powerful is that it is a true book (I don’t say that it is a true story). … Salinger, himself, and Holden’s PTSD is Salinger’s PTSD.
Is Holden in a mental hospital?
Holden (despite the confusion of the Harcourt Brace executive) is not crazy; he tells his story from a sanatorium (where he has gone because of a fear that he has t.b.),
not a mental hospital
.
Why did Holden have to leave Ernie’s?
Why does Holden leave Ernie’s? Holden leaves Ernie’s
because Lillian is becoming annoying
. He would rather leave then spend more time talking to her.
How did Holden lose his innocence?
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden loses his innocence at the age of thirteen, when his brother, Allie,
dies of leukemia
. This strips away his sense that the world is safe or fair.
What words do Holden hate?
Holden hates the word
“grand”
with a passion. To him, it’s the epitome of everything that’s false, fake, and—his favorite word—phony. It’s the kind of word that always seems to be used as a euphemism, to make something seem much better than it really is.
Who does Holden hate?
Holden also dislikes his older brother, D.B., who sold out to write movies in Hollywood instead of continuing to write short stories. Holden also seems to dislike
Sally Hayes
, who he feels is superficial, materialistic, and rather annoying. Michael Stultz, M.A. 5.
