Catcher in The Rye Analysis Book - Free Essay Example

In the book The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, a young boy named Holden Caulfield is trying to find who he really is on the streets of New York City. Holden is a self-inflicted loneliness, judgmental, and obsessive 16-year-old who was kicked out of Prency Prep due to him not caring about anything. That was the case for the four other schools as well. He goes through a growing period throughout the book. He tries to force himself into adulthood. Holden constantly tries to do what he thinks an adult does (smoking cigarettes, drinking, and cussing). Holden tries to go to the club or bar and pick up older women. Due to Holden losing so much at a young age and the fact he never reached out for help he is mentally and physically damaged. Holden is going through the awkward period in which he is leaving childhood and entering adulthood. As I stated Holdenrs three main flaws they lead to him going on a downfall. He had to be psycho-analyzed. This is all directly contributed to his brotherrs death. The trauma is in which he got from that event causes his weaknesses to overpower his strengths. Holden is a judgmental character. Specifically, Holden is almost always criticizing someone. He generally targets adults who he believes are phonies and criticizes, and philosophizes about people who are boring, people who are insecure, and, above all, people who are phony.. Holden believes phonies are those who are too conventional or too typical†for instance, teachers who act like teachers by assuming a different demeanor in class than they do in conversation, or people who dress and act like the other members of their social class. While Holden uses the label phony to imply that such people are superficial, his use of the term indicates that his own perceptions of other people are superficial. For example, Holden says the following about ministers If you want to know the truth, I cant even stand ministers. The ones they have had at every school I have gone to, they all have these Holy Joe voices when they start giving their sermons. God, I hate that. I do not see why the hell they cant talk in their natural voice. They sound so phony when they talk. (Salinger #131) This proves how Holden see is the world. In this quote he is willing to criticizes a religious leader. Who else is he willing to criticize? In almost every case, he rejects more complex judgments in favor of simple categorical ones. Holden also is an obsessive kid. He primarily obsesses over sex. Holden is a virgin, but he is very fascinated by sex, and, in fact, he spends much of the novel trying to lose his virginity. At the same time, he feels greatly that sex should happen between people who genuinely care about and respect one another, and he is upset by the recognition that sex can be casual. This is demonstrated by the disgust that Holden shows when he says that personality didnt interest Stradlater, though. Only very sexy stuff interested him (Salinger #41). Stradlaterrs date with Jane doesnt just make him jealous; it angers him to think of a girl he knows well having sex with a boy she doesnt know well. Furthermore, he is disturbed by the fact that he is aroused by women whom he does not respect or care for, like the blonde tourist he dances with in the Lavender Room, or like Sally Hayes, whom he refers to as stupid even as he organizes a date with her. Lastly, he is agitated by the fact that he is aro used by peculiar sexual behavior†particularly behavior that is not respectful of the women he is doing it with, such as spitting in oners partnerrs face. Although Holden refers to such behavior as crumby, he admits that it is pretty fun, although he doesnt think that it should be. Besides being obsessive and judgmental, Holden has a special type of self-in? ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡icted loneliness. Most lonely people choose to hide away by themselves and are too shy to have a lot of human-interactions. Holden is the complete opposite. He makes it clear that he is lonely by blatantly making plans with other people every chance that he can get. He always ? ¬nds a ? ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡aw about them that he dislikes which leads to him being let down and wishing he never would have asked them in the ? ¬rst place. For example, Holden says this statement; almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad (Salinger #67). This reversal of a stereotype is much like a depressed person always acting happy to avoid being noticed. Holden states that he is lonely too many times to count in the book. He desperately interacts with other people to ful? ¬ll his longing for a person he enjoys being with. He seems to be lonely because he isolates himself from the world of pho nies which is basically everyone he meets. Overall, Holden Caul? ¬eld remains lost the entire novel and never ? ¬nds his true path in life. He does not have much of a future in store for him at this point in his young life. When Holden goes home and talks to his younger sister, Phoebe, he ? ¬nds a shining sliver of hope in life. He finally has something go his way. He makes a large stride into adulthood when he allows Phoebe to stay a child. When he lets Phoebe go on to the carousel. This exempli? ¬es a strong point in his character which is the never-dying urge to keep trying to ? ¬nd happiness. Though Holden has gone through many traumatic events he finds a way to fight out of it. One that sticks out the most his Alliers death. Unfortunately, his weaknesses overpower his strengths in the end, causing his life to spiral out of control.

Relationship between Abraham Lincoln and William Tecumseh Sherman - Free Essay Example

William Tecumseh Sherman was a Union general during the Civil War, playing a crucial role in the victory over the Confederate States and becoming one of the most famous military leaders in U.S. history. The logistical brilliance on fiery display during Shermans March to the Sea from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, then north into the Carolinas, helped end the bloody war. But the devastation wrought by Shermans March remains controversial, with Sherman still loathed by many Southerners today. Sherman remained in the U.S. Army after the war. When Grant became president in 1869, Sherman assumed command of all U.S. forces. He was criticized for the role he played in Americas war on Native Americans in the West, but he himself was critical of U.S. mistreatment of the native population. War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over. Abraham Lincoln, a self-taught lawyer, legislator and vocal opponent of slavery, was elected 16th president of the United States in November 1860, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. Lincoln proved to be a shrewd military strategist and a savvy leader. His Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for slaverys abolition, while his Gettysburg Address stands as one of the most famous pieces of oratory in American history. In April 1865, with the Union on the brink of victory, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. His untimely death made him a martyr to the cause of liberty, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history. Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln meets with Union generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman at City Point, to plot the last stages of the Civil War. as part of the trip, Lincoln went to the Petersburg. Once he sat down with Grant and Sherman , Lincoln expressed concerns that Lee might escape Petersburg and flee to North Carolina, where he could join forces with Joseph Johnston to forge a new Confederate army that could continue the war for months. In march 1861, Sherman went with his younger brother John to visit Mr. Lincoln. (Sherman is speaking) He walked into the room where the secretary to the President now sits, we found the room full of people, and Mr. Lincoln sat at the end of the table, talking with three of four gentleman, whos soon left. John walked up, shook hands and took the chear near him,. John then turned to me, and said, ?Mr. President, this is my brother, Colonel Sherman, who is just up from Louisiana, he may give you some information you want. ?Ah! said Mr. Lincoln, ?how are they getting along down there? I said, ?They think they are getting along swimminglythey are preparing for war. ?Oh well! said he, ?I guess well manage to keep house. I was silenced, said no more to him, and we soon left. Shermans attitude toward President Lincoln varied throughout the war. General William T. Sherman had Mr. Lincoln respect-but not his friendship as we can see in the quote. They met briefly once in the spring of 1861 before Sherman returned to the Union Army and once again that summer. For the next four years, however, they did not cross paths, until shortly before the end of the war. In their first meeting, Sherman was disgusted by the Presidents naive attitude toward the Souths secession. Although the Union army was defeated during the battle, President Abraham Lincoln was impressed by Shermans performance and he was promoted brigadier general August t, 1861, ranking seventh among other officers at that grade. So Sherman really start liking Mr. Lincoln, because in May 1864 Sherman wrote to his brother I think Mr. Lincoln is a pure minded, honest and good man. I have all faith in him. In Congress the cabinet there is too much of old politics, too much of old issues and too little realization. I think it is a great mistake to stop enlistments. There may be enough on paper, but not enough in fact. As commander of the West, Sherman led the march to Atlanta which culminated in its siege and capture on September 1864, literally saving President Lincolns re-election. When he captured Savannah, Sherman telegraphed President Lincoln: I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah In his reply, Mr Lincoln expressed many, many thanks for you Christmas gift and admitted he had been anxious, if not fearful of Shermans success. So on December 21, 1864 Sherman wired Lincoln to offer him an early Christmas present: the city of Savannah with the message, I beg to present you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton . I think that was really nice and generous of Sherman and on the other hand he was trying to make Lincoln like him even more, because he wanted his friendship not just respect and at that point he was on the good way to get that. Sherman met with President Lincoln outside Richmond a few weeks before his assassination but never again. After the city point conference in late March 1865, Sherman wrote to his wife: Grant is the same enthusiastic friend. Mr Lincoln at City Point was lavish in his good wishes and since Mr. Stanton visited me at Savannah he too has become the warmest possible friend. Lincoln had been murdered April 14. The Johnson administration immediately rejected Shermans terms and sent Grant to relieve Sherman of command, though on arrival Grant opted simply to inform Sherman his terms had been rejected. So what was wrong with Shermans initial terms? Firstable, they were silent on slavery, second, they opened the way for legal challenges to loyal governments, like those in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, not to mention the new state of West Virginia and third, they left open the possibility of paying the Confederate war debt. All pretty bad right? How had Sherman, the terrible swift sword himself, come to offer such light terms? Sherman would later claim that he had offered only what Lincoln told him to offer.