Holden Caulfield Adulthood

Moving on and growing up is a part of life that everyone must experience. The pathway from adolescence to adulthood can be confusing and difficult, especially when one has experienced a difficult event in the process. The classic coming of age story The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger captures the life of Holden Caulfield who certainly did not have the easiest experiences. With evidence from “In Memoriam: Allie Caulfield” by Edward Miller and the Catcher in the Rye itself, Holden's struggles from past to present will be deeply focused on. Following a traumatic childhood event with a lack of parental support, Holden lost trust in adults and gained a negative outlook on the world, giving him an instinct to protect children, which was alleviated

through his interactions with Phoebe.

Although Allie Caulfield never made an appearance in the story, he plays the largest role in Holden’s thoughts over the course of the plot. He is at the root of many of his worries and decisions. Holden never seemed to let go of or recover from Allie's death. He was faced with a traumatic experience from an early age which shaped his future self. One argument states that “Because he was hospitalized, he was unable to attend the funeral, to witness the completion of the life process, but by injuring himself he received the attention and sympathy which were denied him during Allie's illness” (Miller 2). The author views that Holden’s current issues are caused by a lack of closure. He says many times throughout the story “It makes you feel so lonesome and depressed.” (Salinger 81) Holden is constantly talking about this because he lacks attention from close family and does not have stability in his life due to a constant change in schools.

Pointed out earlier in the article by Miller, was the fact that Holden’s parents do not give him the care and attention he needs. He does not receive mental health support after Allie's death which would have been very crucial. Holden mentions how Mrs. Caulfield is still grieving in which an article makes the point that “What we can deduce, though, is that it is an accurate appraisal of Holden's inability to accept loss, and that in his eyes his mother is so preoccupied with Allie that she continues to neglect Holden, as presumably she did when Allie was dying” (Miller 1). Going off of the Holden’s inability to accept loss, Phoebe has to point out to Holden that Allie is dead and he needs to focus on other things. She tells him that he does not show interest in anything and he responds with, "I like Allie," I said. "And I like doing what I'm doing right now. Sitting here with you, and talking, and thinking about stuff, and--" "Allie's dead--” (Salinger 171). This is a prime example of Phoebe opening his perspective on the world and helping him come to acceptance. Here, he sees that Phoebe already has a mature view and she cannot stay in the childish world like he chose to.
Holden seeks attention and comfort from others but does not know how to properly express himself.

His decision to break the glass was provoked by grief and anger from Allie’s death. He started to lose the connection between his thoughts and actions during this time and is not in a state of reality and realization until Phoebe opens up his eyes to the world. He still does not have the closure that he lacked due to missing the funeral because of his injury. However, Holden’s time in the hospital did give him the attention he never received from his parents when his brother was dying. This event was presumably the origin of Holden’s negative

outlook.

Another effect of Allie’s death on Holden was him feeling that he needs to preserve the innocence of children and guard them against the future world.

He tells Phoebe “I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going 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 173). Holden thinks children are pure and need protection, so when he sees a curse word written on the wall of the elementary school his reaction is “I kept picturing myself catching him at it, and how I'd smash his head on the stone steps till he was good and goddam dead and bloody” (Salinger 201). He is sure that a “pervert” has done this to the wall, as a result to his distrust in adults, but he does not come to the likely conclusion that it was one of the students who wrote it. He seems to be almost blind that children are also capable of making bad decisions too. Following this, Phoebe wants to go west with Holden. This is the time in the story when she turns from a mother figure to just his younger sister. He is going west to escape his problems but knows that she has to stay and face the

world.

Holden has not had very great experiences with the adults in his life. His older brother is supposedly out in Hollywood “prostituting himself” which Holden does not seem to support. He is constantly going out looking for the adult role model that he lacks. He stays over at his teacher Mr. Antolini's house but does not have a good encounter. He runs out saying “I know more damn perverts, at schools and all, than anybody you ever met, and they're always being perverty when I'm around” (Salinger 192). This is a prime example of Holden’s lack of trust and not wanting to ever become a “phony” adult. He idolizes children over adults for their innocence and authenticity. Holden tells his sister how he wants to be the catcher in the rye saving children from the deceiving adult word that he was forced to face so early on.

In the final chapter of the book is when Holden’s character transforms the most. He is with Phoebe at the park and she wants to ride the carousel. Holden is nervous for her to ride it but tells the reader “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab the gold 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” (Salinger 211). He is realizing that growing up is necessary and it has to happen anyway. Holden sees that he can not protect children from the real world, so he must come to acceptance and let them learn on their own. As the rain starts coming and Phoebe goes around on the carousel he says “I felt so damn happy all of sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy if you want to know the truth. I don't know why. It was just that she looked so damn nice, the way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all. God, I wish you could've been there” (Salinger 213). It is not revealed if this feeling lasts, but in this time he is in a state of happiness and acceptance. This is the only time in the entire novel that Holden says that he is happy and not “lonesome” or “depressed” like he usually is. Without this experience with Phoebe, Holden would not have decided to stay home and try to escape his problems. Instead, he faces them directly, loses his negative outlook that nothing matters, and begins a process of healing and acceptance. This scene was unquestionably left until the end for a purpose due to the fact that it resonates with the reader and shows the strong impact imposed on Holden.
As can be seen, the past incidents on Holden’s life deeply affected his future actions and mindset. Without his time spent with Phoebe, he would have never overcome his protective instinct and negative outlook. Holden had to handle the death of a sibling at a crucial, transitional time in his life. Teenage years are a challenging time, which would be unquestionably influenced by a tragedy such as death.