Catcher In The Rye Holden's Journey Analysis

Holden Caulfield’s journey begins near the end of the fall school term. Holden is a sixteen year old boy attending Pencey Prep, which is Holden’s fourth school. Holden arrived at Pencey after attending three other schools in which he has flunked out, attesting to the fact that he is a very troubled person. Holden has experienced two traumas in his life, the death of his beloved brother, and the suicide of a friend at school. At Pencey Holden was failing all classes but English, which leads to Holden receiving an expulsion note. During his stay at Pencey Holden exhibited mental instability. Holden would constantly comment about how “phony” people are, and carried around a pessimistic outlook about life in general. Holden also displays poor

Holden is very critical of others, such as his roommates Stradlater and Ackley for their personal routines; however, he also has habits that continue to hinder him. Holden fails to wear his coat during the winter , “I kept worrying that I was getting pneumonia with all those hunks of ice on me, and that I was going to die” (Salinger 20.41) , this shows Holden’s irresponsibility. Another harmful aspect of his life is his diet, he barely eats, and his main source of food/drink is beer which he drinks way too much of. Also during his stay in New York he failed to take showers regularly. All of these factors influence not only his physical health, but also his mental health. I advise for Holden to seek help from a life coach. A life coach would be beneficial for him because he needs guidance in his personal habits, as well as personal responsibility. Furthermore, his mental habits are also crippling to his wellbeing. Holden is constantly stuck in a negative mindset of low self- esteem. Holden fails to appreciate the talents that have been bestowed upon him “I’m the only real dumb one.”(Salinger 76) and he fails to look for the good in people. Also he never gives himself time for reflection, while on dates with girls he relies on his impulse instead of really thinking about he feels. I recommend that Holden receive therapy from a physiatrist. I think that therapy would help him deal with

Holden finds adulthood scary and confusing. He is searching for answers from a lot of people, such as his friend Luce, who he meets at a bar. He tries to ask Luce about adulthood, but he is not able to carry a mature conversation. Holden also discusses with Mr. Antollini, but Holden fails to take his advice. He is failing to recognize the beauty of adulthood. “You’d know what I’d like to be? I mean, if I had my god dam choice? I’d just be a catcher in the rye and all.”(Salinger 173) Holden constantly talks about being the “catcher in the rye” referring to his vision about children running off a cliff to adulthood. This vision is very unrealistic because Holden depicts growing up as a bad thing. Many people want to grow up and mature, meanwhile, Holden is stuck in a twelve year old mindset as a 6’2 man with gray hair. His little sister phoebe even tells him to grow up and get it together when he stops by to visit her. Holden’s quest to preserve innocence stops him from moving forward in his life. I recommend for Holden to talk to an adult who will listen to his questions. If Holden takes some advice from adults hopefully that will relieve some of the anxiety that Holden has towards