Chapter 25 analysis

Chapter twenty five in essence, epitomises not only one of the most significant themes of the book, that being 'escape', but it also strongly signifies Holden's very nature and his views of life and the world around him. In this chapter evidence is given of Holden's conclusive vision of the world, it confirms what has been hinted at throughout the book; Holden believes the world is full of "phonies" and "bastards", ultimately this perception of the world leaves him wanting to escape life as he knows it, retreating to a world in which he does not have to speak, listen or interact in anyway with other beings by pretending to be a deaf mute. This could be seen as Holden shielding himself from the phony, 'adult' world, in fact, this could be seen as the route of Holden's apparent mental issues, he is trying to escape from something which realistically is inevitable; at a time where Holden is growing up physically and seeing the world in ways that contradict the view of the world he had as a child. Holden severely misses the innocence of childhood, constantly reminiscing over lost times from the past about Ali. This brings us on to the topic of pheobe, Holden's care for her is undoubtable in the penultimate chapter where he takes her to the carrousel, this is the climax of his happiness throughout the whole book. To an extent this could be due to the fact his little sister radiates the innocence that he longs for, but also it could be said possibly Holden has finally matured a little more and in fact, he just needed someone to care for other than himself in order to not get lost in his own, corrupted thoughts.

Chapter 17

chapter 17 is probably the most blatant reference to the theme of 'escape', it represents the theme in its most stereotypical form, escaping physically away from the monotoness, miserable life in which Holden lives. He suggests this idea by proposing that he wants to run away with sally and marry her, and escape from the 'phonies'. This chapter shows Holdens desperate state, in actual fact he doesnt really like her, shes a 'pain in the ass' yet hes still suggesting escaping society with her?

chapter 11

Chapter 11
in chapter 11 we learn many things about Holden's relationship with Jane. The reader learns of a deeper more loving side to Holden as he sadly reminisses the memories of a happier time of his life. When he describes this, the reader understands Holden's unhappiness about Jane's encounter with Stradlater, it is as though, in Holden's sad 'messy' life, Jane is the one person who truly makes Holden happy. Furthermore, again, Holden makes references to his family mentioning Pheobe. In essence this chapter shows us another side to Holden, one thats perhaps more 'normal', and a side in which he shows love, and most of all care, it could be argued Salinger is suggesting love is a certainty for every person regardless of their current situation.