Themes in Catcher
The most prominent theme of The
Catcher in the Rye is alienation.

Alienation: is a withdrawal or
separation of a person or a
person’s affections from an object
or position of former attachment:
estrangement from the values of
one’s society and family.
Alienation is also a sociological
concept developed by several
classical and contemporary
theorists. It is “a condition in
social relationships reflected by
a low degree of integration or
common values and a high
degree of distance or isolation
between individuals, or between
an individual and a group of
people in a community or work
environment.” The concept has
many discipline-specific uses,
and can refer both to a personal
psychological state (subjectively)
and to a type of social
relationship (objectively).

Alienation

 Holden Caulfield's alienation is unique to the post-war, postmodern society. The New York City life that Holden narrates is
filled with encounters and opportunities for connection, and yet
through each confrontation he pulls away and apart into his
own negating mind. Specifically this novel connects with
young people who:
 Feel constricted by the rules and conforming nature of
society
 Struggle to make meaningful connections to people and
ideas – constructing meaning
 Struggle to find meaningful relationships and
companionship
Literary Focus
 Date of Publication: July 1951

 Genre: post-modern, coming-of-age
 Setting (Time): late 1940s – early 1950s
 Setting (Place): New York City
 Tone: negative, cynical, bitter towards
both society, self and relationships,
distrusting
 Point of View: First-Person Narration
from Holden Caulfield’s Perspective
Irony in Catcher in the Rye
Literary Technique
Irony

 Holden’s psyche wants to
connect and attach with other
people on an adult level,
especially in a sexual way.
 However, his character is ironic
in his contradicting need to
reject the adult world as
“phony,” and to retreat into his
own childhood memories.
 His internal conflict attempts to
create meaning and attach to his
present existence, rather that
detach into alienation and his
inner consciousness.
Symbolism in Catcher in the Rye
Literary Focus
 Symbolism
 Holden’s Red Hunting Hat

 The red hunting hat is one of the most
recognizable symbols from twentiethcentury American literature
 The hat symbolizes the very heart of
Holden’s character: his need for isolation,
to be unique, to be an individual versus
his need for companionship and
acceptance.
 The hat itself is distinctive (especially in
NYC), and it shows that Holden desires
to be different from everyone around
him. At the same time, he is very selfconscious about the hat and aware of
what others may think of it.
Themes in Catcher in the Rye
Literary Focus
Themes
 Alienation

 Attachment and Detachment
 Constructing Meaning
 Sexual Exploration
 Non-Conformity
 Hopelessness
 Feelings of Loss and Regret
 The Phoniness of the Adult World
 The Painfulness of Growing Up
 Nostalgia
Attachment Theory: Bowlby and Ainsworth
When a baby is born he cannot tell one
person from another and indeed can hardly
tell person from thing. Yet, by his first
birthday he is likely to have become a
connoisseur of people. Not only does he
come quickly to distinguish familiars
(familiar people) from strangers but
amongst his familiars he chooses one or
more favorites. They are greeted with
delight; and they are sought when absent.
Their loss causes anxiety and distress; their
recovery, relief and a sense of security. On
this foundation, it seems, the rest of his
emotional life is build – without this
foundation there is risk for his future
happiness and health.

 ~John Bowlby (1967)
The child described as
securely attached to an
adult explores her
surroundings with
enthusiasm, checking
back with her secure
base, (mother, father, or
primary caregiver)
periodically.
 ~Mary Ainsworth
Attachment Theory: John Bowlby
Attachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term
relationships between humans.
• Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop
a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for
social and emotional development to occur normally.
Attachment theory explains how much the parents’
relationship with the child influences the child’s
development.
• Attachment theory is an interdisciplinary study
encompassing the fields of psychological, evolutionary,
and ethological theory.
• Historic Context: Immediately after World War II,
homeless and orphaned children presented many
difficulties. Psychiatrist John Bowlby was asked by the
UN to write a pamphlet on the issue of child
estrangement which he entitled maternal deprivation.
Attachment theory grew out of his subsequent work on
the issues raised.
John Bowlby – Attachment Theory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D-9ylhnA7k

• Infants become attached to individuals who
are sensitive and responsive in social
interactions with them, and who remain
consistent caregivers for some months during
the period from; about six months to two
years of age (early childhood) this is known as
sensitive responsiveness.

• When the infant begins to crawl and walk they
begin to use attachment figures (familiar
people) as a secure base to explore from and
return to. The caregivers' response leads to the
development of patterns of attachment
(schema); these, in turn, lead to internal
working models which guide the individual's
perceptions, emotions, thoughts and
expectations in later relationships.
• Separation anxiety or grief following the loss
of an attachment figure is considered to be a
normal and adaptive response for an attached
infant. These behaviours may have evolved
because they increase the probability of
survival of the child.
In the 1960s and 70s research
developmental psychologist, Mary
Ainsworth reinforced the basic foundations
and introduced the concept of the “secure
base.” She developed a theory of a number
of attachment patterns in infancy: secure
attachment, avoidant attachment and
anxious attachment. A fourth pattern
titled, disorganized attachment, was
identified later.

In the 1980s, attachment theory was
extended to adolescence and adults. Other
interactions may be construed as including
components of attachment behaviour; these
include peer relationships at all ages,
romantic and sexual attraction, and
responses to the care needs of infants or the
sick and elderly. It is believed that those
who don't experience secure attachment
Mary Ainsworth
may develop a sensitivity to rejection in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
s608077NtNI
later relationships.
Attachment Theory Resources

In hatred as in love, we grow like the
think we brood upon. What we loath,
we graft into our very soul.
~Mary Ainsworth
 Bowlby/Ainsworth – Attachment Theorist
 http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/attachment-theory-definitioncriticism-of-bowlby-ainsworths-theories.html#lesson
 The Strange Situation -- Ainsworth
 http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-strange-situation-testainsworths-attachment-theory-for-infants.html#lesson
 Attachment Styles – Positive and Negative
 http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/attachment-styles-positivenegative-fearful-secure-more.html#lesson
Attachment Theory in
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by
Dan Kindlon, Ph.D and Michael Thompson, Ph.D

Boys generally are an active lot, and often impulsive. Their energy is contagious,
especially among other boys, and that physical energy can translate into a kind of
psychological boldness. They often are the risk takers, seemingly oblivious to the
potential hurt of a fall or sting of a reprimand. Whether their choices might
eventually prove to be brave they consider the consequences.
Boys are direct; they speak before the act and speak in simple terms. Their more
slowly developing their language skills are apparent in their often blunt and
unsophisticated humor or their preference for action over negotiation – grabbing
he box of markers rather than negotiating a turn for using them. Boy’s emotional
immaturity allows them to celebrate themselves unabashedly, strutting, boasting,
clamoring to be noticed. They’re not terribly concerned about pleasing others.
When the fabled little boy declared that the emperor wore no clothes, he spoke
with the candor characteristic of boys.
Raising Cain by Michael Thompson
Boys’ need to feel competent and empowered lead them to express a keen powerbased, action-oriented sense of justice, fairness, good and evil. Spiderman, Batman,
Ninja Turtle – heroic action figures dominate the landscape of young boys because
they want so much to be seen in heroic proportions – to be big instead of small, to
have power in the world instead of the role of powerless child, and to be the arbiters
of right and wrong rather than a negotiator or an observer (30)

Applications in Catcher in the Rye
 Attachment:
 Detachment:
“Anyway, I kept standing next to that crazy
cannon, looking down at the game and
freezing my ass off. Only, I wasn’t watching
the game too much. What I was really
hanging around for, I was trying to feel some
kind of a good-by. I mean I’ve left schools
and places I didn’t even know I was leaving
them. I hate that. I don’t care if it’s a sad
good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a
place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you
don’t , you feel even worse… If I get a chance
to remember that kind of stuff (memories of
his experiences) , I can get a good-by when I
need one – at least, most of the time I can. As
soon as I got it, I turned around and started
running town the other side of the hill,
toward old Spencer’s house. He didn’t live
on the campus. He lived on Anthony Wayne
Avenue” (pg. 4-5).
“When I was all set to go, when
I had my bags and all, I stood
for a while next to the stairs and
took a last look down the
goddam corridor. I was sort of
crying. I don’t know why. I
put my red hunting hat on, and
I turned the peak around to the
back, the way I liked it, and
then I yelled at the top of my
goddam voice, “Sleep tight, ya
morons!” I bet I woke up every
bastard on the whole floor.
Then I got the hell out” (pg. 52).

Attachment Theory in The Catcher in the Rye
How does this theory
appear in the text? What
is the situation? (citation)
Evidence/Citation
(cite)

What does this
emphasize or teach
about Holden?
Attachment
Holden is thinking about how is
about to leave Pencey, and is
trying to have a meaningful
memory of his experience there.
He remembers a teacher, and runs
to his house to say good-by.
“If I get a chance to
remember that kind of stuff
(memories of his
experiences) , I can get a
good-by when I need one –
at least, most of the time I
can. As soon as I got it, I
turned around and started
running town the other side
of the hill, toward old
Spencer’s house” (5).
Holden is trying to attach
and find meaning in his
experience through his
memories of a
environment that he
shares with others. When
he does, He does make an
attempt to attach, but it is
a labored effort for him.
Detachment
He leaves Pencey in the middle of
the night without saying good-by
to any of his roommates, and he
leaves in a rude and bitter
manner, shouting insults on the
staircase(pg. 52).
“I yelled at the top of my
goddam voice, ‘Sleep tight,
ya morons!’ I bet I woke up
every bastard on the whole
floor. Then I got the hell
out” (52).
Holden does have
repressed resentment
about not fitting in at
Pencey, and thus, being
asked to leave. He chooses
to express this emotion
negatively and
obnoxiously, possibly to
be revengeful. His
detachment causes him to
not care about others