Achieving Set Goals the Catcher in the Rye

Everyone has personal goals, whether it is losing twenty pounds by Christmas or passing English with 80 %. Goals and expectations set by others need to be accomplished or at least attempted. People do not always live up to what is expected from them, and they must cope with letting people down. Some goals set by others may not correspond with the personal goals and expectations set by the individual. In this case the individual must decide what to do. Numerous people in society have standards, expectations, and goals that are placed upon others, sometimes unwillingly. Neil Perry from “Dead Poets Society” by Peter Weir and Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger are both faced with the difficulties that arise when trying to accomplish these goals set by others. The boys are not always successful in accomplishing the goals and fulfilling the expectations set. Neil and Holden have goals and expectations to live up to, set by the schools they attend, themselves, and the teachers who teach them. It is difficult to disappoint the people who try to help the boys on their journey in life.

Neil Perry’s teacher, Mr. Keating, and Holden’s teacher, Mr. Antolini, have many similarities and differences in their teaching methods. Both teachers try to convey the greater reason for being in school other than to just teach the boys. They connect to Neil and Holden on a personal level and help the boys outside of just the academics of school. Mr. Antolini knows Holden’s family and is a family friend as well as his teacher. He tells Holden “I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of a terrible, a terrible fall…This fall I think you’re riding for - it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself fall” (Salinger 186-187). Mr. Antolini is afraid that Holden has no goal in life, he will soon end up dead or taking a great fall in his life mentally, and he won’t even know it is coming. Mr. Antolini sees Holden “Dying nobly, one way or another, for some highly unworthy cause” (Salinger 188). Mr. Antolini sees no goals in Holden’s life that he is willing to attempt or accomplish, so Mr. Antolini tells Holden that once he has an idea of where he is going, he will need to apply himself in school. Holden after all is a student and must learn first and foremost. Mr. Antolini tells Holden he is not the only one with confused morals and many others before him have left record from which he can learn from. Mr. Antolini encourages Holden to grab hold of his life and educate himself so he can leave something meaningful behind. Holden now has a goal set by Mr. Antolini that he should apply himself in school; Mr. Antolini is trying to help him out and hopes that he will follow his advice and achieve the goal in the end.

Mr. Keating, a teacher at Welton Academy, does not know Neil Perry, like Mr. Antolini knows Holden. Neil comes to Mr. Keating after class one day because of the lesson he taught in class. Mr. Keating said “Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary” (Weir). Neil comes to talk to Mr. Keating about carpe diem, seize the day, because Neil and his father have different views on his school career. Neil is at the top of his class and wants to participate in extracurricular activities meanwhile his father is against the extracurricular activities because he believes it is cutting into Neil’s study time. Neil’s father wants him to go to Harvard and become a lawyer; this is his goal for Neil. Neil comes to Mr. Keating with the matter and tells him that it isn�t his goal but he does not want to disappoint his father. Mr. Keating does not tell Neil to disobey his father, but to tell his father what he told him. Mr. Keating says “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world” (Weir). Mr. Keating encourages Neil to follow his goal but not to disregard his father’s wishes. Neil needs to talk to his father and tell him what he thinks. Mr. Antolini and Mr. Keating are different because Mr. Antolini sets a goal for Holden to achieve and reach for, meanwhile Mr. Keating helps Neil accomplish his personal goal and not to disappoint his father’s wishes. Both teachers just want what is best for their students, they want them to achieve their goals and progress on in their life journey.

The schools both Holden and Neil attend have a big impact on their goals and what is expected of them. Holden has been kicked out of many Prep schools due to the fact that he is failing most of his classes and he does not apply himself. The latest school he was kicked out of was Pencey Prep, he attended many including Elkton Hills. Neil is a very good academic student and is at the top of his class, he has