RE: The Catcher in the Rye help with homework
- How important is sex to Holden? Is his messed up attitude toward sex a symptom of his problem, or is it more like a cause?
- If Holden is so obsessed with saving children’s innocence, why doesn’t he worry more about his own? What does “innocence” mean for him? To him?
- Typically characters grow and develop as the novel progresses. Analyze the transitions that Hold goes through in the novel. Does he change from the beginning to the end? If so, analyze three ways in which Holden changes. If not, analyze how Holden stayed the same throughout the novel
- What does the last line of the book mean? What does it indicate has happened or will happen to Holden?
- The whole novel is Holden’s narration of this long story. Who is he telling this story to (besides the reader) and what can we then conclude about Holden’s fate?
What does the last line of the book mean? What does it indicate has happened or will happen to Holden?
“Don’t tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (page 214) seems like a very depressing outlook to have on life. I think that Holden is telling the readers not to make connections with people, because if you do it will cause you suffering. In his experience, at the young age of thirteen, Holden lost somebody he truly loved, his dear brother Allie who was only ten. That loss is what ignited his depression and every new loss that Holden had gone through (being kicked out of 3 schools, failed friendships and romances that were never seen through) lead him into a deeper depression. Holden has been through so much in three years. Getting close to people, in his experience, leads to pain.
