Catcher in the Rye †Study notes as a related text for Belonging Essay

The catcher in the Rye is set roughly the 1950s and is narrated by a young man named H dis murdericeden Caulfield. H aged(prenominal)en is not specific more or less his location piece of music hes telling the story, but he makes it clear that he is undergoing treatment in a mental hospital or sanatorium. The events he narrates take place in the few days between the give notice of the f t let out ensemble check term and Christmas, when Holden is sixteen years old.Alienation as a Form of Self-Protection Throughout the novel, Holden waitms to be excluded from and victimized by the domain of a function about him. He continu e realy attempts to find his way in a world in which he knows he doesnt die. As the novel progresses, we begin to perceive that Holdens alienation is his way of protect himself-importance. He uses his isolation as proof that he is better than e actuallyone else nigh him and therefore above interacting with them. The truth is that interactions with other people usually mortify and overwhelm him, and his cynical sense impression of superiority serves as a character of self-protection.Holdens alienation is the cause of most of his pain. He never addresses his have got emotions directly, nor does he attempt to discover the parentage of his troubles. He desperately demand human contact and love, but his protective wall of bitterness prevents him from tone for such interaction. Alienation is both the source of Holdens strength and the source of his problems.Belonging to the School Community/ a group The school friendships collective allegiance to the football team enables them to choke to each(prenominal) other Anyway it was the Saturday of the football game with Saxon HallIt was the utmost game of the year and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didnt win. Pg. 2 (Pencey Prep is a school the briny character, Holden went to)The use of the verb, supposed, presents the expectations of the community. Th e high modality of the verb, suicide highlights the strength of their fellowship Holdens sarcastic tone mocks their sense of be, thus segregating him. in that location was about three inches of snow on the ground (at Pencey Prep after dinner party one night) and coming down alike(p) a madman. It looked sensibly as hell, and we all started throwing snowballs and horsing just about all over the place. It was very(prenominal) childish, but all(prenominal)body was sincerely enjoying themselves. Pg. 31This anecdote demonstrates a sense of belonging to peers in the school community. Plural pronoun, we and the adjective, all demonstrates the all-encompassing sense of belonging across the group.It wasnt allowed for students to borrow faculty guys cars but all the acrobatic bastards stuck together. In every school Ive gone to, all the gymnastic bastards stick together. Pg. 37The conjunction, butRepitition of athletic bastardsThe adjective and cast out bastardsThe repeat of the adv erb, togetherDemonstrates the way in which individuals are connected by dint of a common interest. Whilst, the ostracise connotations of, bastard, elucidate Holdens negative view on this group of people and suggests that he does not belong to this group.Holdens Absence of BelongingPractically the plainly school keep out me was there. Pg. 2 Adjective, entirely, in relation to the noun, school, juxtaposes against the own(prenominal) pronoun finished the use of the conjunction, except. This highlights Holdens isolation from the community.Id honourable got back from New York with the fencing teamI left all the foils and equipment and stuff on the fiendish subwayThe whole team ostracized me the whole way back on the train. Pg. 3 Verb, ostracized, demonstrates Holdens exclusion and the use of the adjective, whole, exemplifies the full extent of his exclusion.I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead.Boy, did I feel rotten. I felt so damn lonesome. Pg. 42 R epetition of the countermand noun, lonesome highlights Holdens sense of isolation. The verb, wished and adjective, dead suggest the negative implications of a bereft sense of belonging.It was even depressing out in the street. You couldnt even hear any cars any more. I got feeling so lonesome and rotten, I even felt like waking Ackley up. Pg. 44 The adjectives, depressing, lonesome and rotten convey his disconnection from his environment and his sully sense of belonging.Everybody was asleep or out or home for the hebdomad end, and it was very, very quiet and depressing in the corridor. Pg. 45 The pronoun, everybody is all-inclusive and the repetition of the adverb, very emphasizes the loneliness and sense of solitude Holden is feeling, implied by the adjective, depressing.In fact, nobody was around my age. They were mostly old, show-offy-looking guys with their dates. Pg. 62 The combination of the pronoun, nobody, the personal pronoun, my and the crochet noun, age convey Holdens absence of belonging in that he is ineffective to find commonalities or connect with the people around him.Lack of Belonging- the distaste for his environment (Mostly Place)It was a horrible school (Pencey Prep), no matter how you looked at it. Pg. 2 Adjective, horrible, illustrates Holdens aversion to his surroundings.They kicked me out (of school)I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all. They gave me frequent warnings to start applying myself.but I didnt do it. So I got the axe Pg. 3 Adjective, frequent and noun, warnings, demonstrate Holdens awareness of the situation. The conjunction, but and the negative, didnt demonstrate his lack of action. Thus, illustrating Holdens role in the lack of belonging that he isexperiencing.Pencey was full of crooks. Pg. 3The negative connotations of the noun, crooks, to represent the students at Pencey highlight Holdens distaste for those around him and the adjective, full, highlights the abun bound of these people, he is u nable to connect with.One of the biggest reasons I left Elkon Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. Pg. 12 The use of the noun, phonies, to cast the students at his previous school and the use of the adjective, surrounded, implies that he feels detain in a world in which he does not belong and with people whom he does not connect with.I hated that goddam Elkon Hills, Pg. 12The verb, hated and negative connotations of the adjective, goddam, illustrate Holdens horror towards his environment.For one thing the room was similarly damn hot. It made you sleepy. At Pencey, you either froze to demise or died of the heat. Pg. 19 The juxtaposition of froze to death and died of the heat, demonstrates Holdens discomfort and lack of connection and contentness in the world around him. The incorporation of the noun, death and verb, died, conveys the severity of his distaste for his environment.Holdens explore for a Sense of Belonging What really knocks me out is a moderate that, whe n youre all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. Pg. 16 The verb, wish, used with the noun, friend, suggests Holdens enthusiastic to set a connection with someone.But finally after I was riding for a while the cab driver and I manner of struck up a parley. Pg. 74 Would you bang to stop off and have a discombobulate with me somewhere? I said. Pg. 75 The noun, conversation and the question within the direct speech imply Holdens count to belong with aiming to establish connections with people.I damn near got my coating back and went back to the hotel, but it was too early and I didnt feel much like being merely. Pg. 77 The noun, being and adjective, alone demonstrate Holdens wish to fulfill his sense of belonging.What I did do though, was ask the waiter to ask old Ernie if hed divvy up to join me for a drink. Pg. 78 Throughout the novel, Holdens loneliness and abse nce of a sense of belonging is conveyed however so are his attempts to establish connections with people. He asks cab drivers and waiters etc. if they would care to have a drink with him. This is illustrated through the noun, waiter, the verb, join and the personal pronoun, me Boy, I felt miserable. I felt so depressed, you cigarettet imagine. What I did, I started talking, divide of out loud, to Allie. I do that sometimes when I get very depressed. Pg. 89 (search for belonging through family) The repetition of the adjective, depressed highlight the issues within Holdens emotional and mental well-being. The verb, talking and noun, Allie conveys Holdens search for belonging as he is aiming to communicate with his deceased familiar Allie, whom he divided a connection with.Belonging To OneselfThey gave me this crumby room, with nothing to look out of the window at except the other side of the hotel. I didnt care much. I was too depressed to care whether I had a genuine view or no t. Pg. 54 The adjective, crumby conveys Holdens affliction to his environment and absence of belonging to place. Holdens inability to belong to himself is also highlighted through the adjective, too and abstract noun, depressed.I cant sit in a corny place like this cold sober. Cantcha stick a little rum in it or something? (Holden asks the waiter).. Pg. 62 Holdens opinion on alcohol is evident here as he is unable to connect with people or his environment and does not have a well-established and stable sense of belonging to himself. This is achieved through the pronoun, I, adjective, corny and abstract noun, sober.In the first place it was one of those places that are very terrible to be in unless you have somebody good to dance with or unless the waiter lets you buy real drinks instead of just Cokes. There isnt any night club in the world you can sit for a long time unless you can buy some liquor and get inebriate. Pg. 68 Holdens absence of sense of self is exhibited here, which h as an impact on his ability to find belonging through place, through his reliance on alcohol. This is demonstrated through the adjective, terrible, the verb, dance and noun, drinks. The adjective, drunk.Belonging to FamilyI certainly wouldnt have minded snap the give with old Phoebe (Holdens younger sister) for a while. You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and so overbold in your whole life. Shes really smartAs a matter of fact, Im the only tedious one in the family. Pg. 60 The use of the colloquial phrase, shooting the crap, demonstrates Holdens attempt to connect with his sister. The repetition of, so used in conjunction with the adjectives, pretty and smart, demonstrate Holdens adoration of his sister. The adjective, softened used by Holden to describe himself juxtaposes against those used to describe his sister, while the adverb, only creates a divide between Holden and his family, thus implying his absence of belonging.When she (Phoebe) was a very tiny little kid, I and Allie used to take her to the park with us, curiously on Sundays. Allie had this sailboat he used to like fool around with on Sundays and we used to take old Phoebe with us. Shed bring out white gloves and walk right between us, like a chick and all. Pg. 61 The anecdote evokes Holdens sense of connection with members of his family, his brother Allie and sister Phoebe.Belonging through FriendshipI know old Jane like a book-I still couldnt get her off my brain. I knew her like a book. I really did. I mean, besides checkers, she was preferably fond of all athletic sports, and after I got to know her, the whole summer long we played tennis together almost every morning and golf almost every afternoon. Pg. 69 The repetition of the simile, like a book, conveys the connection through friendship that Holden has with Jane. The adverb, together and repetition of the adjective, every, further emphasize this connection and achievement of a sense of belonging through friend ship.