Free Essays - The Importance of Honesty in The Catcher in the Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

The Importance of Honesty in The Catcher in the Rye "`I'm just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?'"( pg. 15) In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year-old who is disgusted at all the phony people in the world. For example where artists sacrifice their art for fame and mothers cry fake tears in movies. The importance of not being phony and being honest is the theme that Salinger presents in this story. Holden had difficulty fitting in at school and around the real world. Holden had a tough time fitting in at his schools because he thought of almost everyone as phonies. "`It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is talk about girls and liquor and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these dirty little goddam cliques' (pg. 131)." He seems to have a history of expulsion and failure at various schools because of his lack of ability to cope with others. Ordinary problems of his had turned into major conflicts with other students. "I hate fist fights. I don't mind getting hit so much - although I'm not crazy about it, naturally - but what scares me most in a fist fight is the guy's face. I can't stand looking at the other guy's face, is my trouble. It wouldn't be so bad if you could both be blindfolded or something. It's a funny kind of yellowne ss, when you come to think of it, but it's yellowness, all right. I'm not kidding myself. (pg. 90)" Holden got into a fight with his roommate at school because he was going out with his ex-girlfriend. He's afraid that the guy is taking her from him, even though he's not with her anymore. These are problems that are normal, but Holden has trouble dealing with them. Holden's problems in the real world were too much for him, he had to make up things to make himself seem better than what he was.

A Character Study About An Enemy

  We all go through life meeting various people and learning how to handle the varying degrees of personality that are presented to us. Some of the people whom we understand and can identify with to a certain extent become our friends and acquaintances.While the others whom we cannot relate to or have a serious clash of personalities with become our enemies. The degree and extent of how we are enemy’s to a person will solely depend upon how we choose to handle our friction with that person.We can choose to ignore the person and try to avoid all contact with that person in order to avoid trouble. But, there are times in our lives when we simply cannot avoid those people or that person because the circle we move in is so small that we have no choice but to mingle and work with the person. This particular scenario is most evident during our growing up and maturing years in school.The school bully is the most typical enemy that an adolescent or teenager can have. An enemy can co me in any shape, form, size, and gender, so how we deal with that person depends upon the foundation of the relationship with that person.For starters, I have to point out that nobody ever sets out to meet people thinking of whom will be an enemy at the end of the day. A person sets out looking for friends and sometimes, it is those friends who eventually turn into an enemy.That is what happened to me and the person who has become my enemy. We actually grew up a few houses from each other and were friends during our early childhood. We spent our childhood as friends and playmates, even sleeping over when it was possible to do so. But one day, things changed between us. The parents of my friend divorced and my friend had a really hard time coping with the situation.Over time, I saw that my friend was slowly morphing into my enemy and I was helpless to do anything about it. The more I tried to help, the angrier the person got until it got to the point that I was told to back off any s tay out of this person’s personal business. After that, this person chose to go with some of the kids in the town who were deemed â€Å"the wrong crowd†. It was at this point where my friend turned into my enemy.Over time, our physical characteristics changed just   as this persons unexplained hatred towards me seemed to grow with every passing day. My enemy was now a person a full head taller than me, of a thinner build than I am, but with 4 times my body strength.I really did not understand what I had done wrong for this person to hate me so much that I had been turned into a virtual bully target every single day at school. The anger only seemed to reach a feverish pitch every time there was a parent-child activity in school where I participated on my parents nudging because it was a good social activity for all of us.The day after the activity was always the hardest part for me at school because this person seemed to be waiting with so much pent up anger that was just waiting to be released, usually upon me. I could not understand why this person was like this when we were so close before. It was only after careful analysis of the situation that I narrowed down the reason for the anger to envy and jealousy.This person had resented that my parents were not broken up and that we were still a happy family while theirs had fallen apart. The envy of having both parents there for me when I needed them was too much for this person to see so the only solution was to act upon the anger.I viewed the person as my enemy because of the hurt being inflicted upon me mentally, emotionally, and at times physically, while this person saw me as an enemy because I had what was now lost to him, a family unit.Such a problem was beyond my power to solve and so I had to accept the fact that my friend was gone and in his place was this person whom I no longer knew nor understood. Nothing was left of our original friendship, instead, what we had now was just bad bloo d and my hope that eventually, my enemy would once again be my friend.

Positivism And Classical Criminology - 1069 Words

In Criminology there are two main approaches when talking about why criminals commit crime: positivism and classical criminology. Throughout the decades there have been many criminologists that debate this subject like positivist Cesare Lombroso who believed that criminals were less evolved than non-criminals and believed they had a more primitive mind. Whereas Bentham viewed all people as rational decision makers and created the pain-pleasure theory. In the Sage Dictionary of Criminology the definition of Classical Criminology is â€Å"An approach to the study of crime and criminality which is underpinned by the notion of ration action and free will. It was developed in the late 18th century and 19th century by reformers who aimed to create a†¦show more content†¦Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) is probably most well known as the founding father of the school of classical criminology. He protested against the current legal system and pushed for those in power to see that indivi duals are rational beings and deserve rational repercussions. In his most popular work; Essay on Crimes and Punishments, he protested against the cruel punishments and suggested that they must only be equal to that of the crime itself and revolutionised the criminal justice system with his ideals on how to make the most effective punishment, without maximum damage of the individual. He believed that â€Å"Punishment is only justified to the extent that the offender has infringed the rights of others or injured the public good.† (Newburn, 2013) Although Beccaria viewed crime as an act of free-will and rational choice he did see that some individuals were pre-rational (meaning they were unable to be rational), for example children and also that there are sub-rational people (individuals with some rationality but not a full rational mind), this for example can be people with mental afflictions or diseases. Moreover he did not see that there can be a cause for crime which is due to situational problems, i.e. a big change in a person’s life which can cause them to commit crime, like death, financial problems, and birth of a child, family altercations and much more. Although Beccaria was not always right with his beliefs he was theShow MoreRelatedThe Criminal Justice System1700 Words   |  7 Pagescriminal behaviour. In the 18th century criminologists such as Jeremy Bentham, Cesare Bonesana-Beccaria and Cesare Lombroso all established criminological theories, in an attempt to achieve this goal. The most influential theories are known as the Classical and Positivist perspectives. Both of these theories have had a long-term influence on the current Criminal Justice System. Which were so significant throughout the 20th and 21st century because they introduced effective new strategies for the systemRead MoreClassicalism vs. Positivism1546 Words   |  7 PagesClassicalism vs. Positivism What is crime? What makes people commit crimes and how can we stop it? These, and many other questions similar to these, are asked by criminologists everyday. Criminology is an ever growing field, mainly because there is more and more research occurring and new theories linking people and crime coming out everyday. 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This is a generalised explanation of what â€Å"Criminology† involves as it is too difficult to create an exact definition because the topic is so complex from continuous growing historical roots and evolving theories which will be explored within the main body of this essay. It is said by SutherlandRead MoreBiological Determinism And Crime Of Criminology1595 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the history of criminology, each theory dominates and gains support than others though different period of time. This essay will first discuss the argument for biological determinism which mainly focuses on phrenology. The idea of D arwinism also links to Lombroso’s idea that a person’s bad behavior can be predicted and should be eliminated will also be discussed. The second part of the essay will emphasis the classical theory and how in contrasts with the positivism approach centralizing onRead MoreThe Classical School Of Thought889 Words   |  4 Pagesof rational choice led to the development of the Classical school of thought, which sought to deter and prevent crime by making the fear of punishment worse than the gratification attained from crime. However, while free will and rational choice sought to explain criminality, other theorists began to consider that some individuals are biologically predisposed to criminal behavior. The development of the Classical School of thought in Criminology was a direct result of the Enlightenment period, whichRead MoreThe Lost Boyz Analysis1047 Words   |  5 Pagesclassicism and positivism (Newburn, 2017). Classicist criminology, or the classical approach to criminal behaviour is centred around the idea of free will and rational thinking, defining the criminal as â€Å"someone who exercises free will and rationality† (Newburn, 2017:125). Rollins’s attributions to classicism are concentrated around the works of Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham (Carrabine et al, 2014), more specifically, on Bentham’s pain-pleasure principle (Newburn, 2017). Positivist criminology on theRead MoreFunctionalist Criminology And Positivist Criminology Essay1525 Words   |  7 Pages Evaluation of Classicism and Positivism are two theories that assess the mind and different approaches to human nature; classicist is a rational act and liberty. This method was industrialized between the 18th and 19th Century, it was created in order to process the criminal justice system and make sure everyone was treated equally (Classical Criminology is connected with Cesare Bonesana , Marchese de Beccaria). Positivism Criminology Is a an theory that is established by the concept of scientificRead MoreCriminology And The Main Schools Of Thought, Classicism And Positivism971 Words   |  4 PagesThe study of criminology has emerged during the last two centuries and it is, as such, one of the youngest social sciences. This essay will explore the history of criminology and discuss two of the main schools of thought, classicism and positivism. While humanity has always been concerned with philosophical questions such as â€Å"Who am I?† (Plato) the search for answers has become more concrete and accessible during the era of Enlightenment. As society began to gradually turn away from the churchRead MoreCesare Lombroso s Role As A Criminology Thinker1115 Words   |  5 PagesCesare Lombroso was a significant contributor the subject of criminology. Some even make stipulations that he is the father of criminologist. His studies at the University of Pavia contributed greatly to his eventual role as a criminology thinker. His works attracted both positive and negative reception, and Wolfgang considers it a name most eulogized and attacked (Marvin. 1960, p.232). He is the flag bearer of biological positivism and was mainly influential in Europe and North America. His proposition