Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And Huckleberry Finn

A recurring problem for adolescents is the search for oneself, and often times this discovery is not an easy one. Both Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye and Huck Finn from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn struggle with the journey of self identification. Each character goes through their own journey of self-discovery and react to their journey with different behaviors. Holden is a young man who is struggling with the concept of maturity and entering the adult world, while Huck is struggling with finding his purpose and true morals. Huck Finn and Holden both go through a journey where they are tested along the way and have different outcomes. Through both Huck and Holden’s quest, one can see that self-discovery can be challenging,

especially during the transition from boyhood to adulthood.
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through a journey where he is struggling with losing innocence and being a part of the adult world. One of the main issues that Holden cannot seem to cope with is the concept of maturity. It seems that Holden is stuck in a false reality that the adult world is corrupt and full of “phonies”. Therefore, Holden is struggling with maturing because he does not want to lose the innocence of childhood. However, this is a confusing time for Holden because even though he says he hates “phonies” because of how they lie all the time, Holden himself is a huge liar. He even admits it and says, “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life” (Salinger 22). These conflicting attitudes that Holden has contributes to his feelings of confusion about self-discovery. In a way, Holden is a hypocrite. He says one thing but then his actions do not match up like when he says he cannot stand liars but is a liar himself.
Holden also struggles with what he wants.

Holden talks and fantasizes about having relationships and friendships, but in real life he doesn’t really have any. Holden always talks about Jane and how important she is to him, but he can never get the courage to call her. This shows that Holden is struggling with the idea of Jane because in his mind she is this amazing female figure yet is afraid of what reality might show. This goes back to the theme of reality versus imagination in which Holden is confused about where he is in life and growing up. Holden is very lonely and makes attempts to be social. However, every time he is with someone he always finds a way to ruin the moment by getting annoyed by their “phony” behavior. Holden victimizes himself and as a result isolates himself from society. Holden is lonely, but his behavior holds him back from reaching social fulfillment. It seems that he is protecting himself from the outside world through isolation because of his fears of growing up and reaching full maturity. A major part of maturating and development is sexual behavior. This is a subject where Holden struggles with the most because he is always thinking about sex but can never follow out the act. He even says that, “In my mind, I’m probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw” (Salinger 81). Holden truly believes that sex is meant for two people who are in love and is extremely bothered by the fact that sex can be casual. This shows Holden’s inner struggle with

maturity and entering adulthood because he cannot deal with sex being an unimportant and casual thing.
While Holden’s self discovery is a struggle of maturing, Huck Finn has a different battle. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck struggles with finding his purpose and his moral beliefs. Huck’s biggest issue in self-discovery is not knowing where he belongs and feeling out of touch with civilization. Huck is confused by the moral beliefs of a “civilized” society because he feels that being civilized means to goes against his conscience. Throughout the entire novel, Huck has contrasting feelings of what is right to him and what is right to society and because of that he does not want to be “civilized”. In order to get away from a civilized society Huck runs away. On his journey he befriends a runaway slave named Jim which adds to his internal moral conflict. Huck goes through a tough battle with self-discovery as he must decide whether to do right by society and turn in Jim, or to believe in his conscience and help Jim get away. This situation really tests Huck’s morals as he must decide what is truly the right thing to do.
Huck Finn goes through a tremendous transformation through his journey.

At first Huck is just a poor, uneducated boy struggling with following the rules. However, by the end of his journey Huck has learned to distinguish what is right from wrong. Yet, that didn’t come easy. Huck struggled with what is expected of him from a “civilized” society. A big issue for Huck is that society has failed him. For example, it is the rules of society that gave Huck’s father custody of him even though it put Huck’s welfare in danger. As a result, Huck always question how good society actually was which only added to his feelings of confusion. A difficult concept for Huck to grasp was the society allowed for slaves to be owned and how nearly everyone in town owned a slave. The townspeople are always so religious and telling Huck do be good and god-loving, but Huck did not understand how religious, “good” people could own slaves. This led to Huck’s realization that society is not always correct, and that he should listed to his heart when making moral decisions. At the end of Huck’s journey Aunt Sally had offered to adopt Huck, but Huck didn’t want to be adopted because he feared civilization. He said, “I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before”(Twain 293). This shows that Huck realizes the corruptnesses of society and doesn’t want to deal with the same moral battle

between what is right to society and what his own moral beliefs are.
Both Huck and Holden’s journey pushed them to look inside themselves and discover who they are. In Holden’s case, his struggle got the best of him and he was forced to check himself into a mental facility. His journey of self-identification led Holden to realize that he was very flawed and that he needed help. Holden’s realization shows that discovering oneself is not an easy task and it can be extremely painful. Holden could not deal with maturation and wanted to be a “catcher in the rye” so that he could save children from losing their innocence. Ultimately, it was Holden’s struggle with a false sense of reality throughout his journey of self-discovery that caused his downfall. Huck’s journey ended with him realizing that what he believes in his heart are the right morals. After much confusion about doing the right thing throughout his journey with Jim, Huck finally was able to understand and distinguish right from wrong. His experiences with Jim and also the conmen showed Huck that his conscience was actually good and as a result Huck now believes in his own morals.
Huck and Holden both experienced a journey in which they examined oneself. Even though they had different outcomes both Huck and Holden completed their journey and therefore have completed themselves. It was not easy, and both of them faced challenging obstacles that forced them to question themselves and find their true meaning. Without self-discovery, Holden would have never been able to get himself help. It was through his tough journey that Holden realized his unrealistic thoughts and his own hypocrisy. For Huck, his journey led him to realize the truth about society and how he should follow his own beliefs. Overall, self-discovery is a difficult journey, but it is necessary in coming to peace with oneself.