The Catcher In the Rye Genuine or Phony Essay - 871 Words

J.D. Salinger published Catcher in The Rye in 1951. The main protagonist in the novel, Holden Caulfield experiences many conflicts and predicaments. It is common for Holden to hold opinions on characters throughout the book. His opinionated nature shows that human interactions mean a lot to him. Holden generally likes genuine people opposed to phony people. The comparison of genuine and phony is shown throughout the novel, especially when Holden meets new people. His true personality is shown to the reader when we see whom he respects and despises. Holden’s relationship with his own dorm room members while at Pencey Prep shows how Holden recognizes people who are genuine, while ignores or de -legitimizes people he feels†¦show more content†¦Within the 3rd chapter of Catcher in the Rye, we are introduced to Ossenburger who is a wealthy undertaker. He gave a long speech about his Christian ideals and how religion overwhelms him. â€Å"He said he talked to Jesus all the time. Even when he was driving his car. That killed me. I can just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs† (Salinger 16). Holden sees believing in a God all right, but the fact that it is flaunted and raved by someone who enjoys stocking up money is very hypocritical. Ossenburger discussed with Pencey Prep about how â€Å"you should talk to Jesus all the time† and â€Å"we should think of him as our buddy† (Salinger 16). Holden’s experiences in life have led him to believe divine intervention in our lives really is non-existent. His brother Allie died young and he is narrating his various adventures from a mental institution. He has no connection to the Mr. Ossenburger’s claims of the power of religion. Perceptually, he believes every claim Ossenburger says is false or phony. Ossenburger presents himself as a devout Christian by day, however by night he is embezzling himself in an undertaki ng business that is supposed to be something sacred. Someone genuine in his opinion would say that Christianity could be good, but that life can still be bad despite being a Christian. Throughout the novel Holden supports children’s endeavors because he cites their â€Å"innocence†. Holden has threeShow MoreRelated 1950s Culture Exposed in The Catcher in the Rye Essay1361 Words   |  6 Pages1950s Culture Exposed in The Catcher in the Rye    J.D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye is a remarkable book that gives readers a unique and perhaps gloomy perspective of the 1950s through Holden Caulfield, a cynical and peculiar teenager. Through The Catcher in the Rye Salinger describes important aspects of the 1950s. Salinger emphasizes several key characteristics of the 50s and criticizes them through Holden. In addition, Holden Caulfield is a very interesting character withRead MoreTheme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye1046 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"I’d just be a catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but it’s the only thing I’d really like to be.†( Salinger 191)) In The Catcher in the Rye, a harrowed teenager named Holden Caulfield can’t accept the fact that everyone has to grow up. He believes that every adult in some way is corrupted in a sense. He also believes that children are the only genuine thing in the world due to their innocence and their purity. Salin ger employs adult situations in Holden’s journey to emphasize that lossRead More Catcher in the Rye Essay1244 Words   |  5 PagesCatcher in the Rye Catcher in the Rye: A Coming of Age Tale This novel explores many themes that are commonly felt by teenagers. Salinger’s novel discusses Holden’s stand against phoniness. Another major theme running through the novel is self-loathing, and while it may not be quite that extreme in all cases, most teenagers go through the â€Å"awkward† stage. Loneliness is also expressed in the novel. Every teenager goes through a time were they feel like they’re alienatedRead MoreCatcher in the Rye776 Words   |  4 PagesResearch pap. Catcher in the Rye is a book of many themes of many different types of different things. The main character of the book is Holden Caulfield, this guy has major problems. He’s alone and he knows it, he hates everyone and judges them too. Some themes of this story are the sadness, the lies and deceit, and Holden’s youth. Every one of these themes describe Holden in different ways, mostly it describes what he’s like. SADNESS Sadness permeates The Catcher in the Rye. Main characterRead MoreTheme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye1185 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Catcher in the Rye, a harrowed teenager named Holden Caulfield can’t accept the fact that everyone has to grow up. He gets kicked out of his old school and sets of on a wandering adventure throughout a bunch of cities including New York and Agerstown, Pennsylvania. As we get to know Holden, we find out that he believes that every adult in some way is corrupted in a sense. He also believes that children are the only genuine thing in the world due to their innocence and their purity. SalingerRead MoreAmerican Literature And Ways They Cultivate Their Own Methods Of Survival Within Their Societies1484 Words   |  6 Pageschildhood and adulthood, the lonely adolescent navigates through a loss of innocence and disenchantment to come to terms with his own male identity, as well as establish his role in society and find purpose as an adult. J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye follows anti-hero Holden Caulfield through a seemingly innocuous trip in New York City. Throughout his journey, Holden tries desperately to interact with others but often finds himself alienated; in this way, Salinger portrays him more as anRead More Catcher in the Rye Essay: Themes of Society and Growing Up1366 Words   |  6 PagesThemes of Society and Growing Up in The Catcher in the Rye      Ã‚   In reading J.D. Salingers novel, The Catcher in the Rye, one is compelled to have a very strong reaction to the contents of the book.   Whether that reaction is negative or positive, it is unquestionable that the reader will give the novel a second thought after reading it.   There could be many reasons why this novel has such an impact on the readers.   It may be the use of Salingers catchy slang phrases, bitingly sarcastic andRead MoreSalinger s The Gifts Of Imperfection1142 Words   |  5 Pagesauthenticity, or â€Å"true self†. In J.D. Salinger’s fiction novel Catcher in the Rye, Salinger illustrates the double-edged effects of Holden’s beliefs on authenticity by his usage of the word, â€Å"phony†. The novel is narrated by a young adolescent named Holden Caulfield who becomes guilty of expulsion from school and embarks on a journey through New York City. There, he meets many unique people, a majority to which he assumes as phonies, im mediately questioning their authenticity. His character developmentRead MoreA Book Review on The Catcher in the Rye Essay787 Words   |  4 PagesA Book Review on The Catcher in the Rye This book is about a few days in the life of Holden Caulfield, At the beginning of the book Holden is expelled from his private school, Pency. This is just one of many schools he has been expelled from. Holden decides that, as the school term is about to break up, he would go to New York City for a few days until he is expected home. So off he sets one night wearing his hunting hat that Holden loves because it represents independenceRead MoreCatcher in the Rye Holdens Faliure in the Journey of Life1597 Words   |  7 PagesThe Catcher in the Rye, by Jerome David Salinger, reveals the hardships that teenagers endure as they mature and enter adulthood. In this novel, Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year -old who has been kicked out of several schools, undergoes a gamut of problems. First, at the beginning of the novel, it is clear that Holden has a difficulty accepting himself and others; he constantly defines people as phony. Secondly, as the novel progresses it becomes evident that Holden does not want to enter adulthood

What A Lot Of People Do Not Know - 2305 Words

What a lot of people do not know is that a lot of famous literary pieces that readers find so relatable were actually based off of instances in the author’s own lives. A lot of times authors will take experiences from their personal lives and incorporate them into their work. Although the characters are fictional, the events that happen and the feelings they experience are not. Rather, the stories are based off something traumatic that has happened to the author, and the writer is also making up characters that secretly parallel people from his/her life. A lot of times authors â€Å"use fiction to tell the truth,† meaning that the characters and some events might be made up, but the themes, emotions, and outcomes are not. Authors like Edgar†¦show more content†¦To begin, a better understanding of Poe’s work can be made possible by relating his work directly back to the events in his life. Some critics say that the central figure of a lot of literary work s, however disguised, tends to be the image of the â€Å"romancer† himself. This indicates that a lot of well-known writers, including Poe, tend to parallel the protagonist to themselves. There are many events that have happened in Poe’s life that have had a significant impact on him and that have been exemplified through his writing. Poe led a troubled life, premiering when both of his parents died before he turned three, his mother dying of tuberculosis. After being adopted by a wealthy family, Poe studied at the University of Virginia. His adoptive father refused to pay his bills, which resulted in Poe being removed from the institution. Within a few years, Poe’s adopted mother died of tuberculosis as well, and Poe eventually married his thirteen year old cousin, Virginia. She coincidentally acquired tuberculosis and died as well. After the three most important women of his life died, Poe began to drink heavily, forming an alcohol addiction. From this small s ummary of Poe’s life, it is clear that he has suffered many devastations that are hard to deal with. Following these troubling

Moral Truth Free Essays

Moral Truth What is Moral truth? In Sam Harris’ book â€Å"The Moral Landscape†, he explains his ideas on moral truth. He explains that moral truth is so complex because of personal whim, and cultural influence. He explains his ideas of moral truth through science, objective and subjective, and consensus and consciousness. We will write a custom essay sample on Moral Truth or any similar topic only for you Order Now With these ideas Harris is able to define moral truth to his best ability, because it is such a difficult subject to understand. In the chapter on moral truth, Harris explains moral truth with the use of science. He states in the book â€Å"science can, in Principe, help us understand what we should do, and should want-and, therefore, what other people should do and want in order to live the best lives possible. â€Å"In other words, He believes that like science, there are right and wrong answers to moral truth. He then explains that science should help us answer moral questions. His other idea is that science is based on our best guess of what it is and moral truth is the same. Moral truth is also just our best guess of what is right and wrong. Harris is trying to say that moral truth, like science, can have a framework in which we believe is correct, but can always change. Harris explains in the book that the terms â€Å"objective† and â€Å"subjective† are very different. Objective means that a person is using to bias when they are making a statement. He uses the example of having a ringing in his ear. This is a subjective statement, however, is objective because he is not lying. From this idea of the ringing in the ear, he explains that this is a way that we can study depression. We can determine brain states with reference, to person’s subjective thoughts. Finally in the chapter, he explores the ideas of consensus and consciousness. He explains that scientific consensus as scientific controversy that work needs to be done. For example, â€Å"moral controversy proves that there can be no such thing as moral truth while moral consensus shows only that human beings often harbor the same biases† this idea is basically saying that often people will think differently than others and this creates bias among people. Harris explains that truth has nothing to do with moral consensus, because often one person can be right, while a crowd is wrong. Harris then goes on to explain his ideas on consciousness. He explains that people have moral truth because they are conscious creatures. His understanding of a conscious being is that â€Å"consciousness is only intelligible domain of value. † All in all, Harris believes that moral truth is similar to science because it must be backed up by evidence and often consists of educated guesses. He explains that objective and subjective are very different, however; can often be used in the same ways. Finally, consensus and consciousness outline the basis of moral truth, because without them moral truth would not exist according to Harris. He believes that consensus means that only humans can have the same bias, and consciousness shows that only people with consciousness can have moral truth. How to cite Moral Truth, Papers

Is Google Making Us Stupid free essay sample

After reading the article I become even more aware of my lack of concentration but on the other hand I still believe in many positive effects that use of Internet have. The Internet is a machine designed for efficient and automated collection, transmission and manipulation of information, which are nowadays main source of knowledge. Google’s mission is â€Å"to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful†, which makes our lives easier in the way of faster gathering of the information that we are looking for. But at this point we should not forget about all the false information that can be found on the Net, so we must become more critical and be able to selectively look for correct information. Nowadays, in the time of information flood, is even more important to find the right information as fast as possible, than to have all of them memorized in our brains. We will write a custom essay sample on Is Google Making Us Stupid? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Moreover, we are not necessarily losing our ability to remember things. Rather, the internet is changing how we remember. Our information recalling ability might have declined but our ability for remembering where to find forgotten information is increasing. It is also true that multitasking is making our memory worse, since our short-term memories while multitasking impairs over time, but there are still certain types of memory that are improving. On one hand, I could totally agree with the title, but on the other hand, not using Google makes us stupid, too. The Internet and Google offer us enormous amount of information, which, if only used with right and critical approach, can significantly contribute to our knowledge and make our lives easier and smarter. Is Google Making Us Stupid free essay sample Well many do believe so. And even though Google has been thought to make us stupid in a sense. It has also benefited us tremendously. We are provided with a searching mechanism where pretty much anything can be explored in the matter of a click or two. For instance, your research paper can be done much faster simply because Google provides you with all the necessary information. You can have an article in the length of a two pages minimized down to a couple of brief paragraphs. So does Google make us stupid? It isn’t an easy answer. Google has provided us with a copious amount of resources. Although the reality is that, because of the Internets â€Å"shortcuts† we have become lazy readers. If we notice the Internet has been chipping away our capacity of concentration. The more we use the web the more we struggle to stay focused. A lengthy article has to be read and we simply skim through it, rather than reading the entire article. We will write a custom essay sample on Is Google Making Us Stupid? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Google and the whole Internet media have been the causation of these dilemmas. Fewer books are being read; the web has become our societies prime resource. We rely on the web for everything. It’s our map, our clock, our printing press, our typewriter, our calculator, our telephone, our radio, and our TV. The web is pretty much our life in other words. The almighty Google has changed our lives. We have allowed it to take over us. As Stanley Kubrick dark prophecy is mentioned, â€Å"As we come to rely on computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into intelligence.