Holden Caulfield Character Examination Essay

Character Examination Holden Caulfield is a figment of author J.D Salingers imagination, Holden is the exclusion to all rules, and the rule to all exceptions. He is in an unclassifiable category, and his material traits give no clue on how to enravel this enigmatic young man. Holden is caring banely cold, timid yet bold, passive that aggressive these atomic number 18 three of perhaps hundreds of antonyms describing his psyche. Holden is the protagonist in J.D Salingers only acclaimed impertinent The Catcher in the Rye. The bill centers around the adolescence of this rebel with and without a theoretical accounts life. It is narrated from the point of view of a cynic, with most secondary lineaments be valueless, trite yuppies with little integrity or worth. Holdens internal travel is triggered by his expulsion from Pencey, a boarding school in upstate New York.Holden Caulfield is a tall, solidly built teenager. Holden has short dirty towheaded hair which he wears in a cr ew cut. He has a pale complexion and has a tendency of getting red in the face. Salinger does not concentrate on the visible traits of his protagonist more thanover quite a he thoroughly describes all facets of his psyche. What struck me as odd rough Salingers style is that with many secondary and supporting characters in the novel, he paints a very detailed physical analysis from head to toe. possibly Salinger made this decision in order to show the reader the complexity of Holden as a human, and that while supporting characters can be brought into the story by external traits, Holdens complex character transcends mere physical description.Holden Caulfield is a cynic by nature and is a self title judge of others. Holden has no respect for other peoples positively charged traits, and he adamantly believes that people put on a faade, foregather a part and have no self worth or moral barometer.It can be said that Holden is a bipolar character, for example Holden is nave yet cynical simultaneously. One might say that it is unsufferable to be nave and cynical at the same time but with Holden it is evident on a regular basis. Holden is definitely cynical, Holden gulls impetuous accusations and prime generalizations of people and ofttimes he is mistaken in his judgment because he shows no form of acceptance to the positive value of the human spirit. Holden is similarly nave, not in the pure sense of the word but Holden is nave of himself and his thoughts. Holden has strong deep-rooted beliefs of the world beingness against him and the world being out to get him, but he is mistaken. Holden Caulfield radical belief of his deliver beliefs makes him nave and gullible. The sad part of Holdens terrible attitude towards life, is that to few extent he himself is a fraud, by becoming an arrogant infidel of human worth, he is, in his mind justifying his own mistakes and moral flaws.Holden has feelings of danger and a fear of loneliness and alienation, hi s fear plays a large exercise in his actions during his time in Manhattan. From the moment of his departure from Pencey, Holden was trying to bring down his old girlfriends at first he called his old friend Jane Gallagher. by and by striking out, he was lonely and his way of dealing with his rejection was hopping from bar to bar and from nightclub to nightclub. After Holden recovered from his misadventure with Jane, he called another ally named Sally. Sally and Holden ended up meeting up for a matinee, but Holden, spotted a lunt (phony) and it made him wreck the date.Holden is fickle and impatient, this is exemplified by his hopping from mend to hangout at night in New York. Holden would make potentially dangerous decisions on impulse. He was not methodical or prudent at all, his impulsiveness could be labeled as recklessness. An example of the dangers of his impetuousness is when subsequently a tough night, he hired a prostitute from the face lift man, Maurice. Holden didnt even think about the consequences of his actions and in the end Holden was in a dangerous situation with Maurice. Holden Caulfields secondary characteristics are what make the plot of the novel so interesting to the reader.Holden Caulfield is a truly enchanting character. In writing this essay, the complexity and the inconsistency of his character traits became more and more evident to me. Holden is a great example of many negative qualities often associated with teenagers such as, impulsiveness, recklessness and various other negative traits not connected with teenagers such as cynicism, and a lack of faith. Holden is the most intriguing character I have encountered in my literary experience. In two days from now when rereading Salingers novel The Catcher In The Rye, I applaud how my thoughts and opinions of Holden Caulfield will change. With further insight to Holdens complex character, I may well appreciate him more and more.