An important theme in The Catcher in the Rye is Holden’s rebellion against society and the people who surround him.Holden won’t let himself become a normal person because of his rebellious nature. He doesn’t attend the football game, and can’t make friends. I think he acts this way because he is insecure. He is always lying about things for no apparent reason, and he tries to act like he is a different person than he really is. Holden believes he has been really close to having sex with women but never comes out to admit that he isn’t a virgin. He can never just be himself. He is also very critical of many other people. Holden criticizes a lot of people which in turn makes himself a stingy and sort of mean person. I don’t think Holden is confident with himself so he feels the need to bring others down with him. The effect this has on him is that he becomes even lonelier and more insecure. Being alone doesn’t settle well with him and after moving to New York it all comes back. However, I don’t think that his actions have a great effect on society. Holden is unfriendly and thinks about bad things rather than good things and lets that become his basis to be a bad person. He rebells against society so society will rebel against him. In this way, no one truly cares for Holden as his parents show.
Tyler, this is very true. I think Holdens problem all began with his parents. His parents did not give him the feeling of love. Because of this Holden does not know how to show other people love as well. This resulted in a very unhappy and negative attitude for Holden. Since Holden has always been so unhappy with his life, I do not think he ever truly found himself so that is why he can not express himself to others.This makes Holden very insecure and even more unhappy. He is a very lonely person and I think his only way of finding any joy is trying to bring other people down with him. Holden is not a very nice person and I do not think it is all his fault. Holdens situation is a very sad one.
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