Catcher In The Rye Holden's Journey

“‘I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.’” (Salinger 173), ... Indubitably, The Catcher in the Rye is a staple novel in every high school literature course. Author, J.D. Salinger enchant his audience to read between the lines of Holden Caulfield’s troublesome life. As a child Holden is hit with an adult situation that ultimately affect the rest of his teen years. Unfortunately, Holden has to go through his days without his younger, brother Allie. For three years, now Allie has been dead, but it is evident that Holden is still distraught by his death. This arduous journey of grievance proves difficult for Holden as he struggles with authenticity, death and innocence. Holden’s lawyer father and grieving mother make this journey no easier.

Allie’s tragic death opens the door of adulthood for Holden. With age Holden learns that adulthood is filled with sadness, responsibility and unknownness. The death of his childhood, and change is something Holden very much fears. With this Holden becomes very denial of his situation. By the means of Susan Heitler, Holden’s immature defense of denial is a sign of emotional childness (Heitler). "I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it it was very stupid I have to admit, but I hardly didn't even know I was doing it, and you didn't know Allie (Salinger, 39)." Holden breaking the windows and not admitting why is a perfect example of his denial and struggles with the death of his brother. Furthermore, Holden’s impending fear of adulthood becomes more prominent with James Castle’s “suicide” at Elkton Hills. In comparison, Holden’s brother died of innocence, while Castle’s life was lost to the world. Castle’s death causes Holden to fear death by society and want to delay his transition into

Allie’s young death unquestionably plays a role in Holden’s resistance to adulthood, his preserved innocence may be the very reason why Holden wants to be the Catcher in the Rye. Physically Holden is approaching adulthood and with this wants to play the part, but this proves difficult due to Holden’s psychological age. When Holden brings a prostitute to his room he refuses to have sex with her. Instead Holden insists on having a conversation with her in order to fill his void of loneliness. Indubitably this is a prime example of Holden’s emotional age, not to mention his impulsivity. Another sign of emotional childness is impulsivity (Heitler). “Adults pause, resisting the impulse to shoot out hurtful words or actions. They calm themselves. They then think through the problem, seeking more information and analyzing options . Similarly, instead of listening to others' viewpoints, they impulsively interrupt them.” (Heitler). Emotionally Holden is not ready for a sexual relationship, in spite of what he may tell his readers. Holden does not take the time to think the elevator operator’s offer through. Anxious, Holden views the offer for sex as a void to fill his