Catcher In The Rye Bildungsroman

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Recommended: The various aspects of coming of age that the main character experiences in The Catcher in the Rye

People don't just grow up. Throughout their life they go through many changes in thoughts and feeling which could either be in a positive or a negative way and there must be events that make them consider to change and hesitate what they are doing. The book Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger published in 1951, should be classified as a Bildungsroman since it shows the transformation of Holden throughout the book. From a kid who did not open up for anything, to a kid who starts to hesitate about what he's doing, and finally to a kid who acknowledges that no matter what he does, he will not be able to change everything. After the death of Holden’s brother, Allie. Holden did not open up to anyone, didn't seem to care what is happening …show more content…

However, nothing really changes his thought until he gets to talk to his sister, Phoebe. When she asked him what Holden really wants to do with his life, he explained to her saying “I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all” ( Salinger 191).This shows how he wants to protect the innocent and keep that innocence forever in each of the kids same as himself. Nonetheless, He now realizes that keeping innocence for the kid is not possible. One day when he was walking down the staircase he said “ I saw another ‘Fuck you’ signs on the wall. I tried to rub it off with my hand again, but this one was scratched on, with a knife or something. It wouldn't come off. It’s hopeless, anyway. If you had million years to do it in, you couldn't rub out even half the ‘Fuck you’ sign” (Salinger 222). This perfectly shows how its not possible to cover everything in the world and so Holden must let the kid grow up and see everything because it is not possible to keep the innocence inside of them their whole life and by not letting go of that innocence, it might be a danger to the kid

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    Which is the kind of world he wants to live in. Holden expresses his desire to preserve the innocence of others when his sister Phoebe tells Holden that he doesn't like anything, and that he has no ambitions of what he wants to be when he is older. Holden then explains that he wants to be the catcher in the rye. He says that he imagines little children playing on top of a hill and that his job is to protect children from falling of the hill. This symbolizes catching children from losing their innocence and falling into the adult world. Holden tells Phoebe, “I know it crazy, but that is the only thing I’d like to be” (172). This unrealistic desire is contributes to why Holden is struggling to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Critics of the novel have said Holden would like to suspend time stating, “Holden's desire to protect children shows his desire for suspending time, for inhabiting a space of young people conserved endlessly” (Yahya 3). Not letting go of childhood memories or accepting the harsh realities of adulthood are damaging when transitioning from

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