Holden Caulfield Vs. Peter Pan Character Analysis

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There are many things that one can control, unfortunately for many; time is not one of them. J.D. Salinger’s character Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye and J.M. Barrie’s protagonist Peter Pan in Peter Pan, are two of the most notorious examples of the fear of adulthood in literature. So much so that there has even been a disease named after Pan used to name people that are unable to let them selves grow up, this is known as the Peter Pan Syndrome. Although both Holden and Peter show characteristics of the Syndrome in their respective novels, Peter is unable to overcome childhood while Holden finds a way to move on.
In Peter Pan by J.M Barrie, the main character Peter Pan proves the fact that he would like to remain a young boy forever. …show more content…

One of Peter Pan’s most well known characteristics is his ability to fly. At the end of the novel, Wendy explains to her daughter her reasons for why she can no longer fly. Wendy says that she is no longer able to fly back to Neverland “Because [she is] grown up,” and “When people grow up they forget the way.” The main reason for this is “Because [when people grow up] they are no longer gay and innocent and heartless. It is only the gay and innocent and heartless who can fly” (Barrie). Being gay and innocent is a key trait of youth and the Peter Pan Syndrome. The fact that Peter is still able to fly proves that he is still gay and innocent even after all these years. In the story, Wendy is obviously able to move on in life and let herself grow up by leaving behind her “innocence and gayness”, but Peter would rather leave his friends and families and live alone just to escape …show more content…

Salinger’s Holden Caulfield is afraid of growing up, not only for him, but for others as well. On the other hand, unlike Peter Pan, Holden looks to his future and realizes that there is nothing that he is able to do against the real world and having to, at a certain point, decide that it is time to grow up. This moment comes to Holden at the end of the novel when watching his little sister on the carousel at the zoo after making the attempt to run away from his family much like Peter Pan did. Yet, as opposed to Peter’s actions, Caulfield decides to stay because he sees that family is much more important than not growing up. In between rides, Phoebe asks her older brother if her “[meant] what [he] said”, if “[he] really [isn’t] going away anywhere” and if “[he is] really going home afterwards” (Salinger 210). And Holden says to himself that “[he] meant it […] [he] really did go home” (Salinger 210). By facing adulthood rather than run away and hide from it, Holden proves that he has indeed overcome the Peter Pan Syndrome and is ready to grow

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