English Essay

     In the novel “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger Holden’s lifelong goal of being the catcher in the rye is a reasonable goal for him because he wants to protect all the children from a world which is full of “phonies”. Becoming the catcher in the rye will help him prevent kids from going down the wrong path and also help kids grow up in a safe and friendly environment. The Catcher in the Ryes job is to save children that fall off the cliff in the literal sense but metaphorically speaking he just wants to protect the innocent minds of the children and “catch” them from falling off the cliff and guard them from the world which is “phony”.
            One of the factors that often prevent Holden from achieving his goals is his anger and violent temper issues. After an unusual conversation with his big and strong roommate Stradlater he attacks him and tries to make his toothbrush go through his throat just because stradlater says he gives Jane the time and than ends up getting beat up. He gets angry and then violent for no reason whatsoever, he cannot control his actions once he gets angry even though he thinks he is protecting Jane. He cannot achieve his goal if he is going to be angry or violent just the slightest bit.
            Holden being  kicked out of school for failing four of five classes is not an optimistic start to being the Catcher in the Rye because he will get nowhere in life without finishing his education. He then leaves the school early because he is lonely and is trying to avoid all the phonies that are in his school. The funny thing is he becomes a phony because he meets Ernie’s mother in the train and tells her his name is Rudolph Schmidt and then tells a whole bunch of stories about her son. He says that he despises phonies but at the same time says that he is a compulsive liar which is practically the same exact thing so he’s acting like a hypocrite. How can he protect children from the world of phonies and fakes if he himself is...