《麦田守望者》主人公霍尔顿人物形象分析An Analysis of Holden in The Catcher in the Rye.docx

1、麦田守望者主人公霍尔顿人物形象分析An Analysis of Holden in The Catcher in the RyeThesis: An Analysis of Holden in The Catcher in the Rye麦田守望者主人公霍尔顿人物形象分析School or Department: College of Foreign LanguagesGrade and Specialty: 2005, English EducationName: Chen BaiqiangAdvisor: Zhou Qingchi (Associate Professor)March 10

2、, 2009AcknowledgementsWith the composition of the thesis coming to an end, I have at last obtained an opportunity to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Chou Qingchi, who has not only given me her generous and instructive advice, and valuable materials, but also spent much time reading and correc

3、ting the manuscript of the thesis. Besides, teachers constant encouragement and help during my study here could not be underestimated for the fulfillment of this thesis.I am also thankful to other teachers of English Department, whose courses I have attended and from whom I have learned much.I would

4、 also like to acknowledge my deep indebtedness to my parents who spare no pains bringing me up.AbstractHolden Caulfield is the young leading character in The Catcher in the Rye with Salingers celebrated works which was praised in the American literary arena. He was the representative of US youths st

5、atue at that time to some extent. His individual character of cynicism and kind-heartedness deeply shocked generations of American readers.Holden is a man of marked individuality. The key point what this paper analyzes is his personal characters. Holden lives in the society with contradictions. “Pho

6、ny”, probably the most famous phrase from The Catcher in the Rye, is one of Holdens favorite concepts. It is his catcherall for describing hypocrisy and ugliness that encounters in the world around him. As a rebel, he is struggling with the world. Meanwhile he is in deep love with purity of his chil

7、dhood and innocence of children. More importantly, he defends childrens soul and keeps watch the bright ideal. This paper centers on two major aspects to analyze characters of Holden. One is his rebellious spirit; the other is his consistent pursuit of defending purity and seeking lofty ideal.Throug

8、h a in-depth study onthe personality of the leading character, this paper helps the readers understand the classical figure of Holden, the reality of American society after World War and the profound significance of this work.Key words: Innocence; Rebel; Phony摘 要霍尔顿是塞林格扬名美国文坛的名作麦田里的守望者的小主人公，他可以称得上是代

9、表当时美国青年的铸像。诚然，个性鲜明的霍尔顿深深地震撼着一代代的读者。霍尔顿的个性特征是本文分析的重点.主人公存在于矛盾对立的社会现实中。“假模假样”是麦田里的守望者这部小说中的经典语言，同时也是主人公惯用的词语。通过它足以把霍尔顿眼中世界的虚伪，丑恶诠释地淋漓尽致。作为社会的反叛者，主人公在孤独，踌躇中苦苦挣扎。叛逆的同时，他又对童年时光的纯真情有独钟,更重要的是他捍卫儿童心灵,守望美好的理想的形象更加发人深思。本文立足于霍尔顿矛盾性格对立的视角,分析其个性特征中的两大层面。一方面是透析他个性中的反叛性；另一方面是解读他捍卫纯真,守望美好的崇高理想。这篇论文通过对主人公个性特征深层次的解析，

10、以求能帮助读者更好地理解霍尔顿这个经典形象，理解第二次世界大战后美国现实社会，以及作品蕴涵的深刻思想意义。关 键 词: 纯真；反叛；假模假样Table of Contents Chapter One IntroductionJerome David Salinger is born in New York City, on January1st, 1916. He grew up in Newswire and later attended three colleges. As early as the age of fifteen he began writing. When he was

11、twenty one he published his first short story. After service as an infantry sergeant in Europe during World War he wrote more stories, most of which were published in Colliers, Saturday Evening Post collected papers and other journals. Salinger, a man of mystery and conscientiousness, aliens from al

12、l things connected with the society. In Salingers works, his protagonists are often sensitive and very aware of adolescents, or adults who, in either case, seek their own identity in relation to an external world with which they find themselves more or less at odds. And also, alienation or disenchan

13、tment with the so-called “adult” world figures largely exists in his writings.With the publication of The Catcher in the Rye in 1951, J. D. Salinger gained almost an immediate acceptance as being among the most significant post-World War American novelists. In The Catcher in the Rye, a 16 years old

14、middle-school student, Holden, was dismissed by Pencey School for the fourth time. Then he chose to be a tramp. The three days vagrant life vividly reflects his experiences and feelings. It manifests the American young peoples depressed and indecisive psychology. And also, it shows us the hypocritic

15、al and repulsive of the adult world. What Holden had seen and heard had aroused the innumerable contemporary peoples intense sympathetic chord. Many adults also had a better understanding of the younger generations through reading this book. Holden, as an incompletely sensible child as well as an “a

16、dult”just as a know-it-all, struggles to find the right path into adulthood. He finds the hypocrisy and ugliness of the world around him surprisingly unbearable. And through his visual angle he tried to protect himself from the pain and disappointment in the adult world. However, he is constantly di

17、stressed that he is keeping falling into adulthood and he finally realizes the aim of life that he is seeking for.This paper focuses on the study of protagonist “Holden”, especially trying to further elaborate and analyze his classical image on the basis of his rebellious and innocent spirit. It hel

18、ps readers to have a better understanding of the growing pain of this cynical and precocious boy. Meanwhile, it excavates the ideology and connotation of this classical work. Chapter Two The Hypocritical World in Holdens Eyes2.1 Hypocritical WorldThe society where Holden lives in is complex and mode

19、rn. It is no longer the society which Thoreau or Adams lived in. People are surrounded by the hypocritical, indifferent, lowly and degenerated conditions. The Catcher in the Rye not only reveals the leading characters living conditions, furthermore it demonstrates the so-called “the adult world” tha

20、t makes someone to be afraid or to be sick.In the novel, hypocritical, ugly scenes are displayed in every aspect. The advertisement for Pencey School would disturb you; the picture of horse jumping over fence gives, in his opinion, a false image of the school. In Holdens judgment, Pencey is a home f

21、or dishonest, spoiled children, and not for idealized horsemen-to-be.The great majority of moviesforeign, as well as Americancreate an unreal world that Holden finds unacceptable. The story of the particular movies recounted by Holden is a glorification of material success in typical soap opera fash

22、ion. False sorrows and happy endings are strewn about with a lavish hand.Meanwhile, mass media is always glorifying the sensational and ugly things. All of the people surround him dont do serious affairs. Instead, they are always talking about money, gamble, women, swindle and so on. In the society,

23、 people are willing to seek “conspicuous consumption”. The novel illustrates the entire process of jockeying for a superior materialistic image in our society. It is not actually necessary to own things; the appearance of ownership suffices. People who could not afford Cedillas (the status symbol pa

24、r excellence) were buying tail fins to make their Chevrolets look like Cedillas. People who dont own television sets were putting dummy television antennas on their roofs.Everything is hypocritical in the eyes of Holden who is pursuing natural innocence. He detests it very much.2.1.1 A Byword of Soc

25、ietyPhonyWe find that one of the most often-used words in Holdens lexicon is “phony”. It appears in the entire book more than 40 times. And also it is the most sensitive word for protagonist. He is constantly detecting sham motives in the people around him. At the beginning of the novel, the author

26、tells the main reason why Holden left Elkton Hills middle school. It is said that “Because I was surrounded by phonies. Thats all. They were coming in the goddam window. For instance, they had this headmaster, Mr. Harsh that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life. Ten times worse than old Th

27、urman (the headmaster of Pencey School). One Sundays, for instance, old Haas went around shaking hands with everybodys parents when they drove up to school. Hed be charming as hell and all. Except if some boy had little old funny-looking parents. You should have seen the way he did with my roommates

28、 parents. I mean if a boys mother was sort of fat or corny-looking or something, and if somebodys father was one of those guys that wear those suits with very big shoulders and corny black-and-white shoes, then old Haas would just shake hands with them and give them a phony smile and then hed go tal

29、k, for maybe a half an hour, with somebody elses parents.” (The Catcher in the rye, 13-14) From this part we may feel the meaning of phoniness.Through reading more and more chapters, we get deeper understanding of “phony”. The situation in Pencey School is the same as Elkton Hills middle school. Pen

30、cey declares that it has cultivated innumerable outstanding and intelligent youths from 1888. The big words for Holden are of no use whatsoever. Strictly speaking, they are for the birds. “They dont do any damn more molding at Pencey than they do at any other school.” (The Catcher in the rye, 2) In

31、fact in anywhere persons and the matters are gaining fame by deceiving people. For the weekend evening meals, students have beefsteak or other food as usual. But this good food is taking for students by no means, because many students guardians always come to school on Sunday. The school authorities

32、 are afraid that the mother of child may ask the question about the dinner. The fraud concerns with beef made Holden to be extremely nasty. He tells the younger sister Phoebe, “It was one of the worst schools I ever went to. It was full of phonies. And mean guys. You never saw so many mean guys in your life.” (The Catcher in the rye, 167) “Even the couple of nice teachers on the faculty, they were phonies too.” （The Catcher in the rye，168）Even that the cautious and prudent teacher Mr. Spencer was not an exception. Therefore, Holden believes, the students who