People have always thought about what it’s like being a grown up, some love the idea, and others absolutely hate it. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden is a teen who fails all of his classes and drops out of school who then decides that instead of going home and facing his problems, he would try another adventure by wandering the streets of New York. Holden is an immature teenager who struggles with the idea of growing up and is stuck between adolescence and adulthood. Although Holden has plenty of immature moments in the novel, he matures by the end of the story because he takes action to change, faces his problems, and realizes the mistakes he’s done. Holden’s maturation is significant; as a result, at the end of the novel, he seems to be …show more content…
He starts changing the way he is. He considers getting himself into psychotherapy to help him go through the emotional phase of his life because of the loss of his brother which plays a role on his behaviour: “Supposing I went to your father and had him psychoanalyze me and all. What would he do to me? I mean what would he do to me?” (speaker:holden,pg num:164.) Although Holden doesn’t see a psychoanalyst, he knows that he needs help with going through the difficult phase. Holden tries to gain respect from people by faking his age so that he can be treated like an adult: “I ordered scotch and soda and told him to not mix it. I said it fast as hell, because if you him and haw, they think you’re under twenty one and won’t sell you any intoxicating liquor” (Speaker: Holden, Pg num:78) Holden thinks he is ready to take on adulthood responsibilities by copying what adults do. This proves that he is mature or at least trying to be mature by taking responsibilities for his actions and not escaping the, …show more content…
Holden drops out of school and wanders the streets of New York alone at a young age, causing trouble both for himself and to his family since they worry about him. After all the trouble he caused Holden realizes that he should go back home. He finds out that his sister considers him as her role model and therefore, might follow his footsteps, dropping out of school and moving somewhere else with her beloved brother. That idea disturbs Holden because he knows he is responsible for his sister’s actions and he wants her to have a great, joyful life unlike his depressing life: “My clothes she said I’m going with you. I’m going with you. Can I? Okay?, What? I said. I almost fell over when she said that. I swear to god I did. I got sort of dizzy and I thought I was going to pass out or something” (Speaker: Holden, Pg num: 226). “No shut up. I thought I was going to pass out cold. I mean I didn’t mean to tell her to shut up and all, but I thought I was going to pass out again.” (Speaker: Holden,Pg num:
phonies and all he hates. By being in the stage where he is, he manages to avoid change, control his world with his own hands, yet. creates a paradox between what he is, and what he wants to be. Possibly the main reason why Holden doesn’t want to become an adult. is his perception of ”phoniness” and hypocrisy surrounding adult.
Holden also has a negative perspective of life that makes things seem worse than they really are. In addition to Holden’s problems he is unable to accept the death of his brother at a young age. Holden’s immaturity, negative mentality, and inability to face reality hold him back from moving into adulthood. Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child.
Part of the irony in Holden’s story is that physically, he looks mature, but mentally, he is still very much a child: “I act quite young for my age, sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now … I’m six foot two and a half and I have gray hair ” (9). There is no middle ground, adolescence, for Holden. He can only be an adult, physically, or a child, mentally. Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tries to appeal to him by using a metaphor: “Life is a game, boy.
In J.D. Sallinger's Catcher in the Rye, is based on the sullen life of Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old teen-ager is trying to find his sense of direction. Holden, a growing adult, cannot accept the responsibilities of an adult. Eventually realizing that there is no way to avoid the adult life, he can only but accept this alternative lifestyle. What Holden describes the adult world as a sinful, corrupted life, he avoids it for three important reasons: His hatred towards phonies and liars, unable to accept adult responsibilities, and thirdly to enshrine his childhood youth.
I would like to discuss how Holden’s misinterpretation of the Robert Burns poem, “Coming Through the Rye”, sums up his deepest desires by taking a journey through his troubled adolescence and his journey to self–discovery that results in his breakdown. According to Phoebe, the original line in the poem is “if a body meet a body”. However, Holden’s misinterpretation of “if a body catch a body” removes all sexual connotations from the original poem. Holden is a deeply disturbed adolescent in search of a way to preserve his childhood innocence. His “red hunting cap” is a symbol of his uniqueness and his rejection to conform to society.
Childhood is an unusually hard thing to rid yourself of when it is time for you to pass into the intensified life of adults. Personally, I have yet to overcome that challenge. The Catcher in the Rye is a well developed story about a high school boy, Holden Caulfield, who is stuck between the stages of adolescence and adulthood, and is trying to discover his identity. All his life, Holden Caulfield has refused to grow up, and as the book progresses, he is on the fine line of leaving innocence and adolescence behind and passing into adulthood, but what gives him the needed shove into the realm of adulthood was getting over his brother, Allie’s death. To Holden, Allie is the main definition of innocence. Eventually Holden comes to the decision to be the catcher in the rye. After this decision he tries to follow through with his plan and ultimately decides that he can’t keep anyone from growing up. This seems to be his breaking point in the book where he finally overcomes all his negative emotions towards Allie’s death and accepts it for what it is, knowing that he has to move on.
He begins to own up to his mistakes and starts to build stable relationships with his peers. In a conversation with Phoebe Holden mentions that he wants to be a catcher in the rye, and save children from falling off the cliff. Being a catcher in the rye is a metaphor that represents Holden's dream of saving people and leaving a lasting mark on the world. “ 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. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy”(186). When we enter this point in the book we can really get a feel for how much Holden has matured as he has begun thinking about others and not just focusing on himself. Although Holden has progressed in his track towards maturity he still tends to sway away from maturity. Holden continues to impolitely disagree with others and argue his way to the top in order to achieve what he desires, “Daddy's going to kill you.” Phoebe suggests, then Holden comes right back and states “I don't give a damn if he does” (186). This example shows that Holden still has a fixed mindset on his ideas and doesn't allow for new thoughts to persuade him to change his opinions. This forces us to view him as immature as we do not see a man who is incapable of interchanging ideas with others and therefore unable to interact with his
in all but one of his subjects. He does not like to talk about his
Holden never seems to have a pleasant time interacting with the adults and the world they've created. Holden describes the hotel he was staying at as being "lousy with perverts (Salinger 62).” At the hotel, Holden characterizes every adult he sees as a pervert. He does not know any of them but because they are grown up he sees them strictly as perverts, despite who they truly may be. However, Holden does try to fit in amongst these alleged “perverts” but later in the novel his inability to engage with a prostitute demonstrates how despite his efforts to belong in the adult world he is still childlike. Salinger uses Holden's childlike ways along with his inability to conform to societal normalities to express how he views the adult world as something he doesn't want to fully commit to. Salinger puts Holden is suspended development in order to prove how hard it is to fully belong in the adult world, especially if its occupants are already corrupt in their own ways. Throughout the novel Holden prefers the company of children over the company of adults as he believes adults to be fake and perverted. While at Ernie’s bar one of D.B.’s old acquaintances, Lillian Simmons, strikes up a conversation with Holden. Lillian hasn’t uttered the words to Holden when he prematurely deems her “strictly a phony (Salinger 86).” Holden wants nothing to do with
In the Catcher in the Rye, there are many ways Holden shows reader that he is immature. Holden is afraid of the responsibility that comes with being adulthood. He acts childish and the and asks immature questions to
The Catcher in the Rye revolves around Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the novel, and his disillusionment. Holden’s disillusionment illustrates that he has a problem accepting such. Aforesaid is based upon multiple factors, most which have brought Holden lasting traumas. A remedy is required for Holden to accept his disillusionment and enable an improvement of his situation. For Holden’s remedy, the consultation of psychologists, and additional specialized health professionals would be the core of an apt remedy for Holden’s psychological and physiological state based upon the numerous causes of such and the everlasting trauma of some of the determinants of aforesaid situation. The origins of Holden’s disillusionment revolved mainly around the death of his younger brother Allie three years ago, of which he still experiences the trauma to this day. His disillusionment is caused by both
Holden is not just abnormal, he has problems that other teenagers, including the students at Pencey, experience going through adolescence. An example of this is Holden's jealousy towards Stradlater when he finds out he is going on a date with Jane Gallagher, “Boy,was I getting nervous” (42). Every teenager has bouts of jealously especially about the opposite sex, and Holden is no different. Holden's rebellious nature, to an extent, is typical for a teenage boy. His rebellious nature of smoking when it is not allowed, “You weren't allowed to smoke in the dorm...I went right on smoking like a madman.” (41-42). Holden is also anxious about change, which again to an extent is normal, “Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks...”(60), and he has the right to be; change,especially during adolescence, is a terrifying but exciting ride into the unknown, and similar to other adolescents Holden is afraid but intrigued about the unknown.
Holden appears at her Phoebe, his old school as well, to communicate a message to her. As he continues, he realizes the writing of inappropriate language in a school of young students. “It drove me damn near crazy” (201). Holden's reaction is standing up for his moral beliefs. Kids in Phoebe’s age group should not be exposed to such lurid content. “... if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them” (166). Holden puts the responsibility on himself to protect the concept childhood. He finally reveals what he identifies to have yearn
Holden is a seventeen year old dealing with life in a tuberculosis rest home and he is writing about everything that has happened to him. Holden is scared to grow up, he does not like adults like how he likes children because he thinks that some adults are phonies,”I was in the rye and their was nobody else but a whole bunch of kids and him and he had to catch the kids from going off the cliff… I was the catcher in the rye.” The catcher in the rye has a lot of symbolism like Holden’s red hunting hat which represents that he is attracted to unusual stuff. “Is The catcher in the rye relevant to teenagers today?”, I say yes because the Catcher in the Rye discusses how Holden does not want to grow up at all to stay a kid so he won’t end up a phony
Holden and the Complexity of Adult Life What was wrong with Holden, the main character in The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D.Salinger, was his moral revulsion against anything that was ugly, evil, cruel, or what he called "phoney" and his acute responsiveness to beauty and innocence, especially the innocence of the very young, in whom he saw reflected his own lost childhood. There is something wrong or lacking in the novels of despair and frustration of many writers. The sour note of bitterness and the recurring theme of sadism have become almost a convention, never thoroughly explained by the author's dependence on a psychoanalytical interpretation of a major character. The boys who are spoiled or turned into budding homosexuals by their mothers and a loveless home life are as familiar to us today as stalwart and dependable young heroes such as John Wayne were to an earlier generation. We have accepted this interpretation of the restlessness and bewilderment of our young men and boys because no one has anything better to offer.