Holden Inadaptable Essay

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Catcher in the Rye Essay
Holden Caulfield belongs somewhere in this world, just not in the world he invented, where childhood and adulthood are separated. The Catcher in the Rye is a famous novel written by J.D. Salinger. It revolves around the life of Holden Caulfield, a pessimistic teenage boy who lives in the grand city of New York. He considers the world and the humans who inhabit it to be “phony” or artificial. He views all adults as corrupt by materialistic desires whereas every child, including his siblings, Phoebe and Allie, is good intentioned and innocent. However, he refers to himself as a part of neither of the two. Holden has a negative perception of life, because he is unable to adapt to modern society.
One way that proves Holden as inadaptable is the fact he is unable to complete school. When Holden is faced with difficulty, he merely gives up. The most recent school Holden attends, Pency Prep, is a symbol of his laziness and lack of motivation. Spencer, one of Holden’s teachers, says to him, “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules,” in which Holden replies, “Yes, sir. I know it is. I know it.” He then annotates, “Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game.” (Salinger 32) This represents Holden’s pessimistic outlook on life because he shows no desire to complete school, a necessary requirement in order to transfer into adulthood. He comments on the “game of life”, considering it to be a game for the privileged. Holden believes that a chil...

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...an be a reason as to why their innocence starts to fade. Holden is petrified at the fact that innocence isn’t ever lasting.
Some might think that Holden is just an unhappy person, and that he could adapt to society if he really tried. If Holden could adapt to society, he would’ve showed intentions to do so. He is forever unhappy with the world, and isolates himself because of it, thus viewing the world in a negative light. The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger is a story about his adventures as being a teenager just shy of becoming an adult. The change of becoming an adult mortifies Holden, so he does everything possible to hold on to his child innocence. Throughout the book, many challenges face Holden that keep him from holding onto this innocence. As he sees the adult world is “phony” and superficial, Holden believes that the world is a corrupt place.

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