Abstract

The Catcher in the Rye has been a very popular book both among teenagers and adults since it was published. Holden as the leading role of the book raises many people’s interest and many literature have been done on analyzing Holden. This paper focuses on a new topic on discussing whether Holden has feminine tendency in his mentality. Through discussing the background culture of Holden’s time, Holden’s body image, the environment Holden in and Holden’s understanding of sex, this paper proves the possibility of Holden’s feminine tendency in his mentality. Then, this paper analyzes Holden’s character and mentality and compares the analysis results with traits that traditionally cited as feminine in order to tell whether Holden has feminine tendency in his mentality or not. Besides, this paper analyzes some plots in The Catcher in the Rye and gets some evidence on Holden’s feminine tendency in his mentality.

Keywords: feminine; character; mentality; feminine tendency

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction1

1.1 Literature Review.1

1.2 Paper Meaning.1 

1.3 The Structure of the Paper. 2

2. Feminine Characteristics3

2.1 Feminine Traits and Behaviors3

2.2 The Factors that influence Formation of Feminine Characteristics.3

3. Discussion on the Possibility of Holden’s Feminine Tendency.5

3.1 The Background Culture5

3.2 Holden’s body image.5

3.3 The environment Holden in.6

3.4 Holden’s Understanding of Sex.6

4. Discussion on Holden’s Feminine Tendency in his Mentality8

4.1 Analysis of Holden’s Character8

4.2 Analysis of Holden’s Mentality8

4.3 Analysis on Plots in The Catcher in the Rye9

5. Conclusion11