Matt Bruns
10/11/05

The Process of Knowing: Holden Caulfield
     In The Catcher In the Rye, Holden Caulfield lives a life that exemplifies The Process of Knowing. Holden is a teenage kid at a boarding school in New York who doesnt see his education as important.(1) The world around him, in his perspective, is "phonny" and dangerous to little kids.(2) He labels people he sees or knows as "phonny" too.(3) He tells his former teachers that he is mistaken by alot of people as a dumb guy, but he really isn't.(4) But, when he gets in an argument with his sister and takes her to the Zoo and carrousel afterwards, he realizes that his idea of what the world is is wrong.(5)

(1) When Holden views his education as not important, he is evaluating. He has a weak subjective desire for education so he values his education as trivial.
(2) Holden's view of the world as "phonny" and dangerous is an example of his mind perceiving. Holden perceives the world subjectively, and puts his own bias on his view of the world.
(3) When Holden labels people as "phonny", he is categorizing them. These categories result in stereotypes and prejudices towards these people.
(4) Holden being mistaken for a dumb guy is an example of symbolizing. He beleives that he is a smart guy who just doesnt try. Others dont know this and, according to him, think he isnt that smart. This shows the confusion between Holden and others.
(5) An example of Holden testing his beliefs is when he realizes that his view of the world being completely dangerous for kids is wrong. We also see that he didnt test his beliefs much, if at all, prior to the scene at the carrousel.

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