The Catcher of Rye: Character Growth and Symbols - Book Report/Review Example

The Catcher of Rye: Character Growth and Symbols Stories of the great literature success have a number of stances which are considered as the basis of moral of the story. The authors give life to the characters which is totally different in the initial chapters of the novel. It is for this reason that a couple of symbols, attributes and symbols are introduced in the novel to help the readers understand as to how any character reaches its climax. The Catcher in the Rye is one of the modern English literature successes because the author of the novel J. D. Salinger has written a well-driven plot of the novel. The reason behind its success was the mere growth of the characters projected in the novel by the author. This paper aims to discuss growth of the characters in the novel considering the novel The Catcher in the Rye. A number of symbols will also be included in the paper in order to discuss the growth of the characters as projected by the author. The first character under analysis is of Holden Caulfield who is the protagonist of the novel. The growth of Holden throughout the novel is quiet exemplary and needs avid analysis of the audiences. As he is nineteen years old, a number of issues are conserving is personality which might show a little unpredictable yet mentally disturbed state of Holden. Also, the character of Holden can easily be related by readers because he is shown a bit eager person for being social with peers in the school. This attribute of him has been projected in the initial chapters of the novel. Later on, the author has shown spiritual awakening in Holden which is rather to stay isolated from the people who are materialistic and fake (Salinger). The next few chapters of the novel provide a clear indication of hospitalization of Holden. This is the instance of the novel where the readers need to understand that Holden is for sure in the psychotic ward of the hospital but seemingly is a fine man. With the passage of some more chapters, it also comes to understanding the Holden is down because of the death of his brother which has ultimately made him worried about his loved ones. It is because of this reason that he is not able to socialize with people because he has a pretty rough life. The author projects that the incidents in the life of Holden like failing from the school put a great deal of mental pressure on him. This shows the readers that the character Holden becomes quiet judgmental. However, initially, Holden believed that it was not wrong to associate with people at the school (Kellen). The author has helped the character of Holden get mature when the subject of sex is introduced in the novel. The author has set the plot to the point of having one’s virginity in discussion. Holden’s personality completely changes when he rather becomes jealous of his mate in the hospital because he was dating a girl and is having sex without actually knowing her completely. This shows the audiences that the character Holden is much mature and knows the true essence of having sex with someone. Holden has presented his philosophy that people must have sex when they really know each other and do give respect. Unfortunately, Holden gets to know that sex can casually do without giving any importance to feelings and respects (Bloom). Along with the character of Holden, another important character is of Phoebe Caulfield who is Holden’s sister and understands her brother more than the audience. The growth of the character Phoebe is quiet easy to detect despite she being younger than Holden. There is a difference of six years between both the brother and sister but she is seemingly much stronger in terms of her emotions. The author has shown that despite being a young girl, Phoebe continues to disagree with the viewpoint of Holden. The disagreement between both of them is clear from the following quotation, “I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all (Salinger 50)”. This is easier to note that both the characters have bitter view to life where one wants to add in the beauty of life by remaining innocent while on the other hand Phoebe claims that it is much significant to grow in this world (Salinger). There are a number of symbols which have been introduced by the author in the novel. For instance, one of the major symbols in the novel is the catcher in the rye which is the title of the novel itself. The symbol has been used in the form of serenity illustration. This comes when the siblings have had the conversation regarding the innocence of children. The symbol is rather to define the Holden’s point of view of a field where children would play and stay innocent. Another important symbol which also provides a clear indication of the attribute is the red hat which Holden wears. It can also be said that the hat has been used as a devise trying to claim the individuality of Holden in the novel. My experience with the context of the novel and the growth of the characters with respect to culture makes it easier for me to understand that every culture gives individuality to its member. In the case of Holden, it is much easier to note that his views are rather illustration of his culture and brought up. People who go beyond the culture can contaminate the whole society. There are no instances where I felt uncomfortable because the story is clearly illustrative of culture and society. Works Cited Bloom, H. Holden Caulfield. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2005. Published. Kellen, S. Understanding The catcher in the rye. San Francisco: Lucent Books, 2001. Published. Salinger, J. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Penguin Books, 2010. Published. Read More