There is one event that unites all human beings. This event is the process of growing up and becoming an adult. The transition into adulthood from childhood can be very long and confusing. As a kid most of them can not wait to become an adult but once you experience adulthood you miss your childhood. The novel Catcher in the Rye shows how a teenager on the break of entering adulthood can get scared. Through the main protagonist Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of adapting to an adult society. Holden is faced with many problems as some teens are now a days of not wanting to grow up,immaturity, and his struggle of romantic relationships. When the audience first meets Holden he …show more content…
Holden has a limited number of emotional relationships with anyone his age, revealing his struggle to connect with the rest of the world. Ergo it is surprising to the reader to discover that when Jane was upset Holden started ‘kissing her all over’ suggesting that in certain situations, he is able to empathize with people and knows the ‘socially acceptable’ way to react. The reader is given valuable insight into Holden’s mind, which exhibits signs that he is in fact maturing. Holden also knows that one of the aspects of adulthood is having physical relationships with people. During his time in New York, Holden pushes his personal boundaries regarding the degree of social interactions he is comfortable with. He feels that if he fulfils the sexual component of adulthood, he will become one step closer to finding the place he belongs. Unfortunately his encounter with ‘Sunny’ in the hotel did not go as intended and consequently Holden found himself out of depth in an awkward situation. He admits that ‘sex is something I don’t understand too hot,’ which exposes Holden’s weakness as being unable to cope with intense emotion. He oscillates from one extreme to the other- trying to remain a child and trying to reach a level of maturity he is currently not capable …show more content…
Throughout the duration of the book, Holden seems to make little progress in his personal growth, although for brief periods of time it appears he is closer to adulthood than what the reader is lead to believe. When visiting Phoebe’s school he discovers crude language written on the wall. Holden immediately thinks of ‘Phoebe and all the other little kids’ and how he would hate them to see the foul words. This proves that Holden has a natural protective instinct and symbolically takes on the persona of ‘catcher in the rye’ as he wipes the words off the wall. Holden wants to shield the children from seeing the obscenities of adulthood prematurely, just as the catcher wants to protect children from falling off the ‘cliff’. At the end of the novel Holden appears to have more acceptance of the idea of growing up. As he watches Phoebe on the carousel he deduces that sometimes you ‘have to let them fall’ (referring to the children on the carousel.). Holden now understands that growing up is inevitable and fighting it is useless. However, regardless of this new found clarity, he still obsesses about living in an uncomplicated world. He delights in the fact that the carousel goes ‘round and round’ because it continues to fuel his fantasies of staying in one place forever. It would seem that even though he has made progress, Holden still struggles with
Holden’s childhood was far from ideal, with Allie dying, his dysfunctional parents and the revelation that he had some “perverty” stuff happen to him when he was a kid. Due to this, he isn't ready to step into adulthood and leave his childhood behind. This is why Holden is mostly alienated from adults and connects more to the innocence of children like the girl at the park and his sister, Phoebe. However, Holden is disillusioned with both adulthood and childhood. He already knows how it feels to be an adult; drinking alcohol, being independent, living by himself and caring for Phoebe, but isn’t ready to immerse himself in it.
Holden wants to shelter children from the adult world (Chen). In Chapter 16, the catcher in the rye finally appears. This is also a symbol for what Holden would like to be when he grows older. He pictures a group of many kids playing in a field of rye, where it is his job to catch them from falling off the cliff. This shows Holden’s love for childhood and his need to preserve it in any way he can. According to Alsen, “The way Holden explains why he wants to be the catcher in the rye shows the kindness and unselfishness of his character. However, the surreal nature of the metaphor also reveals his unwillingness to face the real life choices he needs to make now that he is approaching adulthood.” By the end of the book, Holden realizes in order for kids to grow, there can’t be protection from all of potential harm. “He therefore gives up his dream of being the catcher in the rye and is ready to make a realistic choice of what he wants to do with his life” (Alsen). Holden’s dream world, that doesn’t involve change, is unrealistic. He is terrified by the unpredictable changes of the adult world, but there is no way for Holden to avoid the experiences and changes that the
We see during the novel that Holden wants to be able to protect innocence in the world, however by the end of the story he lets go of that desire. This is a point of growth for Holden. He finds that it is impossible and unnecessary to keep all the innocence in the world. While with Phoebe Holden says, “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye...I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (173). In this moment Holden wants to be able to preserve all the youth and innocence in the world. He doesn’t accept that kids have to grow and change and that they can’t stay innocent forever. Later on in the story when Holden is with Phoebe at a carousel again he thinks, “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” At the end of the novel Holden realizes and comes to terms with the fact that kids grow and lose their innocence. He moves from his want to be the “catcher in the rye” to...
When Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to do with his life he replied. This reveals Holden’s fantasy of an idealistic childhood and his role as the guardian of innocence. Preventing children from “going over the cliff” and losing their innocence is his way of vicariously protecting himself from growing up as well. Holden acknowledges that this is “crazy,” yet he cannot come up with a different lifestyle because he struggles to see the world for how it truly is, and fears not knowing what might happen next. Holden’s “catcher in the rye” fantasy reflects his innocence, his belief in a pure, uncorrupted youth, and his desire to protect it. This fantasy also represents his disconnection from reality, as he thinks he can stop the process of growing up, yet he
It takes many experiences in order for an immature child to become a responsible, well-rounded adult. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story represents a coming of age for all young adults.
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
He complains about his school, saying that it is just like any other school and uses language that makes him sound very obnoxious. Holden seems to focus on girls quite a bit, just like any other teenage boy. He seems to focus on one girl in particular, a girl named Jane. We soon learn that Holden’s personality is not your average personality. Holden does seem to have some friends but he does not fall into many peer groups with the type of personality he has. Holden isn’t able to read social cues like most teenagers learn to do. For this reason, he seems to play around a lot in the wrong situations. Even his friends have matured enough to recognise that Holden needs to ‘grow up’. Holden’s resistance to emerging adulthood is the cause of many of the problems he is faced with during the
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s vision of nature of childhood and adulthood are not as separate as Holden believes them to be. Holden tries to battle through the pressures of adulthood while staying in his childish frame of mind. He feels that if he acts childish, he can go back to that. He also feels the need to be an adult and do his own thing. Holden is at war with himself trying to see what he really is- a child or an adult. Although, Holden thinks he is being an adult by drinking and smoking, he is actually becoming more childish.
Holden does not want to enter adults world , but he is doing all the phony stuff which an adult want to do. From smoking to dancing with girls in the club. He once waned to have sexual relationships.” If you want to know the truth, I'm a virgin. I really am”.(Salinger ).Holden never had sex before .Sunny ,the prostitute whom was invited by Holden .Although , he was not able to do sex “Sexy was about the last thing I was feeling. I felt much more depressed than sexy”( Salinger ).It is hi conscious mind which prohibited him from making a sexual relationship , but Holden uncoious desires always absorbs him to negative path. Thus, Holden toy of his own
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
Upon introduction, Holden Caulfield gives the impression of being a textbook teenage boy. He argues that Pencey Prep, the all-boys academy at which he studied, is no greater than any other school and is “full of crooks.”(Salinger, 7) His harsh language only further argues that he is situated in an all-male environment and has no apparent filter for when swearing is inappropriate. Despite all of the indications that Holden is typical, it soon becomes evident that Holden’s personality does not conform to the teenage stereotype. Although he appears to have some friends, namely, his roommate, Stradlater, and ‘Ackley kid’, it is clear that he does not integrate well with his peer group. Holden’s inability to read social cues leaves him in the dust when all of his “friends” have matured enough to recognize his need for improvement. He is constantly making jokes out of everything without any thought as to how h...
Salinger knows that having maturity is equally as important to growing up. Holden wants to stop kids from losing their innocence, but it is impossible for him. In essence, he wants to be the catcher in the rye. The catcher in the rye is a job where children who fall down the slope of lost innocence are saved by somebody at the bottom. While Holden is in Phoebe’s school he notices “Fuck you on the wall. It drove [him] damn near crazy” (Salinger 201). Holden is disgraced by the fact that is written on the walls of an elementary school. He wants to erase it to protect the children, especially Phoebe, but he cannot do it as it would take too long. J.D. Salinger shows that, despite how we, as the readers, want to prevent kids from losing their innocence, we cannot. We may try our hardest, but we cannot stop children from reaching for the golden ring. Kids “want to grab... the golden ring, [and] you have to let them do it” despite how concerning it might be (Salinger 211). In the novel, the golden ring on the carousel that Phoebe is trying to reach for represents maturity. Children are going to try to “grab” maturity and they will eventually succeed. J.D. Salinger believes that we should let children do that because it will eventually happen. The Catcher in the Rye teaches us that children will still grow up no matter how hard we try to stop them from doing
Adulthood by definition is the act of being fully developed and mature, relating to, or intended for, befitting adults. Children and teens around the world often marvel on the newfound independence and vast acceptance that comes along with diving down into the depths of the adult world. Except one 16-year-old teen, by the name of Holden Caulfield. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by author JD Salinger, the use of explicit hints towards the fear of creeping adulthood is used to express the protagonists most significant internal conflict; the fear of change. Throughout the story it is clear the bold views on change Holden supports through his actions time and time again and the innocence that is often taken when a child enters the abyss that is the adult world. This fear and reluctance to grow up is displayed through both symbolic and
The number of ways this song can be interpreted and connected to Catcher In The Rye is almost endless. The lyrics to “Jumper” showcase suicide, depression, and mental health, all of them being major factors in Holden’s life. When I read through the lyrics to this song, a couple of questions came to mind. What does the ledge represent? Who is being pushed off of it? What is causing them to want to ‘jump’? One theory I have is a situation in which Holden is the person who is writing the song and he is reflecting back on his own life. Within the first chapter of Catcher In The Rye, we learn that Holden is telling the entire story as a flashback narrative after he has been check into a mental health clinic, or something of the sort.The lines “
Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye reveals to the reader that growing up requires a loss of innocence during childhood as well as an occasional reality check, as displayed through the events of Holden’s meeting with a prostitute, Allie Caulfield’s death, and riding the carousel at the zoo. Throughout the course of the novel, the main character experiences many sudden and unexpected events, which subsequently cause him to undergo a long and painful change of character and of thought, and which force him to lose whatever innocence he had retained from childhood. It is though these actions and events that the novel conveys the harsh reality of growing up, and showcases the amount of sorrow, mystery, and pain that is usually required for it to occur, as well as the fact that it is inevitable, no matter how hard an individual tries to prevent it. Just as many people in today’s world undergo a dramatic metamorphosis from child to adult, so to does Holden, and it is only after which that he realizes the necessity of growing up, and truly realizes its value, just as people in modern society do today. Like Holden, most people come to appreciate their newfound intelligence and maturity, and yet, they seem to desire to return to their prior states, as they can never again be in the state of bliss and care-freeness that they were as children. While most books and novels try to sugarcoat growing up, and display it as an incredible journey of exclusively wonder and excitement, The