Holden

Holden? Hmmmmm..CHILDLIKE much?
Describing Holden and what I truly think of him can't be told one word and not even a few,but I'll try my best.
Holden Caulfield is a terribly disillusioned teenager who is disgusted with the adult world he sees around him. His plan to run away from school is the result of his desperation to escape the realities of his oncoming adulthood. Through the innocence of his youth Holden views the world as hypocritical and corrupt. His fondest memories are of playing checkers with Jane Gallagher and dancing with his sister Phoebe. Among his many cynical views is his attitude about sex. He is disgusted that people can have sex casually rather than it being an expression of love. He is traumatized when he perceives that people are ruining his sense of purity and righteousness. An example is his hatred of the profanity used in graffiti, most especially when it’s within the view of young children. Holden fools himself into believing that he can stay young forever and his attempt at running is his means of doing so. He has temper tantrums, he smokes in his dorm room even though he knows it is against the rules. He doesn't study. He likes to sit and pretend he cannot see, and calls to his mom for a joke. He does this to annoy Ackley, and he says he does childish games like this all the time for his own amusement.I'd say he is disrespectful to his roommate, and neighbors his dorm building. He starts a fight with his roommate over a childish crush he has on an old female friend and neighbor. He rides ackley about how his roommate was right in saying he does not brush his teeth.

“I took my old hunting hat out of my pocket while I walked and put it on. I knew I wouldn’t meet anybody that knew me, and it was pretty damp out” (Holden Caulfield – CITR). Holden’s red hunting hat from the book Catcher In The Rye, is one of the most recognizable symbols from twentieth-century American literature. It represents his individuality and need for security, while also representing his mixed emotions on acceptance, alienation, conformity.Holden's red hunting hat appears frequently throughout the book but one of the most significant appearances is in chapter 13.Honestly, I could go on and on about him,but overall, I must say Holden represents an average teen of his decade that is put in similar situations with the same reactions.Period.