Examples Of Adulthood In Catcher In The Rye

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

literal events in the novel such as the museum frozen in time, the fish and ducks frozen lakeside, and finally Holden's only true aspiration which is becoming the Catcher in the Rye.

In Holden’s eyes childhood is a time of purity, not only is it easy and simple, but also has few to no problems and an abundance of authenticity. Adulthood on the other end of the scale deals with the hardships of change and the burdens of conforming to societies norms, all problems Holden views as both dreadful and depressing. 

The museum and its clear glass cases are one of Salinger’s main ways to employ symbolism, through the idea that Holden often attends it both with his sister and alone throughout the span of the novel. Throughout his childhood Holden often visited the museum, enjoying the simple times and the memorable glass displays. What the reader later comes to find out is that Holden treasures the ideals that the museum brings along with it, especially that the displays will never change, when he admits, “The best thing, in that museum was that everything always stayed

right where it was. Nobody’d move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finishing catching hose two fish, the birds would still be on their way south, and the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole... Nobody’d be different” (135). Here, one of Holden's most significant conflicts, both the fear and inability to change shines through. Returning to the museum pleases Holden, because just as he remembered it, nothing had changed expect him. However in an unexpected turn of events that later comes to cause Holden grief he stumbles to find inappropriate signs plastered across the museum walls, when he says, “Another “F*ck You”. It was written with a red crayon or something , right under the glass part of the wall, under the stones” (224). The museum that he once associated with the utmost lack of change and comfort is suddenly diminished to the adult world, with the f*ck you signs at a child’s level view. The lack of authenticity and phoniness Holden sees in this singular moment just emphasizes his hatred of the phoniness adults often persuade onto the pure children of the world. The museum he once loved due to its stability and lack of development has been corrupted by the phony world of adulthood just as everything in his life has been, helping one to understand Holden’s resentment of adults.