Morality in The Catcher In The Rye Essay

The Catcher in the Rye Essay

The novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Sallinger is about a sixteen year old named Holden Caulfield. He is a troubled kid that lost his brother Allie for leukemia. Since Allie died, Holdens life dramatically turned around. He has been expelled from many schools. The last school that he attended was called Pencey Prep. He cannot come home till after Christmas. Holden, has been trying many ways to turn his life from a lonely/depressed life to a happy/energetic life. An author named June Edward states that the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, that Holden respects his father and mother, because in Holdens point of view, Holden believes that family unity is a moral value. Also his family is the only way he can get through all this trouble. June Edward also states that Holden is a moral character and the novel is also a moral book. That is mainly what the book is about.

There are a couple reasons why people should think that The Catcher in the Rye is a moral book. Despite what the critics say, Holden is also a moral character excluding all the profanity he uses and how he acts. One reason that Holden is a moral character is because he respects those who are humble, loyal and kind. He might lie a lot, but all he is doing is trying to protect someone elses feelings. One example is when Holden hired a prostitute, all he wanted to do was to talk, but he is troubled by how young Sunny is and worries about her.

I agree with June Edward because she also states that Holden is a moral character. When she stated that, everyone should agree with that because it is not Holdens fault for acting so poorly. The reason why he is acting like this is because since his brother Allie died, his charisma changed. If you think of it, if you lost a younger or older sibling, you would probably feel the same pain as Holden. He is trying to change his life to make it better. That is why I agree with June Edwards.

The novel The Catcher in the Rye is about a teenager that has a troubled life that cant do anything about it. Holden has been trying to find many ways to make his life better in many ways. Since his brothers death, Holden has been expelled from many schools including his most recent one, Pencey Prep. The main reason about this essay is that Holden is a moral character and same with the novel. The reason why is because Holden never gave up when there were a lot of trouble going on. That actually paid off. When Holden took Phoebe, his other sibling, he was enjoying watching Phoebe in the rain. All the other parents went under a roof and tried to stay dry from the rain. The only person who was still sitting on the bench watching Phoebe was Holden. The reason why he was doing that was that was the only time that he was happy. He didnt want to ruin this moment. J.D. Sallinger says, Im sorry I told so many people about it. About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about. Even o;d Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. I think I even miss that goddam Maurice. Its funny. Dont ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody (Sallinger pg.214). I agree with June Edwards that Holden is a moral character and that the novel is a moral.