Catcher in the Rye Essay: Powerless Holden :: Catcher Rye Essays

Powerless Holden   In The backstop in the Rye, Holden views the world as an evil and corrupt place where thither is no peace. This perception of the world does not tack prodigiously through with(predicate) the novel. However, as the novel progresses, Holden gradually comes to the realization that he is powerless to change this. During the short period of Holdens life covered in this book, "Holden does succeed in devising us perceive that the world is crazy1. Shortly afterward Holden leaves Pencey Prep, he checks in to the Edmont Hotel. This is where Holdens turmoil begins. Holden spends the following evening in this hotel which was " integral of taints and morons. There were screwballs all over the place."2. His situation hardly deteriorates from this point, as the more he looks around the world, the more depressing life seems. Around every recession Holden sees evil. He looks out on a world which appears completely shocking and unscrupulous. The th ree days that the novel covers place a distressed Holden in the vicinity of Manhattan. The city is decked with decorations and holiday splendor, yet, much to Holdens despair "seldom yields either occasions of peace, charity or even genuine merriment."3. Holden is surrounded by what he views as drunks, perverts, morons and screwballs. These sentences that Holden hold waver very momentarily during mavin particular scene in the book. The scene is with Mr. Antolini. After Mr. Antolini patted Holden on the dot while he was sleeping, Holden jumped up and ran out thinking that Mr. Antolini was a pervert as well. This is the only time during the novel where Holden thinks twice about considering soulfulness a pervert. After reviewing Mr. Antolini, Holden finally concludes that maybe he was not making a "flitty" pass at him. He wonders if he just alike patting guys heads as they sleep. This is the only time in the novel where Holden actually considers a positive side to something. However, this event does not constitute a significant change. As Holden himself says, "Its not too bad when the suns out, but the sun only comes out when it feels like coming out."4. The sun, of course, is a reference to decency through the universal association of light and goodness. His perception of the world remains the same. The one conviction that does change during the novel is Holdens belief that he can change the world.