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Childhood In Catcher In The Rye

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The most critical transition in a person’s life is during childhood to adulthood, and this period also become one of the most mentally taxing part of one’s life. It is through The Catcher in the Rye, that J. D. Salinger uses this coming-of-age story to tell his audience about Holden Caulfield and his very own transformation. Holden, however, initially desires to remain as a child and keep his innocence; this wish goes to the point that he wishes to become the catcher in the rye and “catch” children from falling off the cliff of adulthood. However, the truth behind Holden wanting to become the catcher is not to protect the people he love, but to save himself from adulthood, soothe his ever-aching guilt, and ultimately, to avoid his past. From …show more content…

Throughout the novel, Holden does not find closure in many things: Allie, Pencey Prep School, and even Jane Gallagher. Holden is seen to never see how any of his problem ended, and simply removed himself from the area and never looks back. Allie’s death is a major event that Holden does not get a closure to in the novel. Due to being hospitalized during Allie’s funeral, Holden never saw Allie go, causing him to unintentionally avoid the fact his little brother passed away. Soon after Holden recalls Allie’s death, he packs and heads out of the school during the middle of the night (52). Despite his official expulsion still being a couple of days away, Holden does not bother to wait for the final day and simply leaves. Eventually, Holden turns to Sally Hayes for another form of escape. Despite not having any emotional attachment to her, Holden becomes hysterical, coming with ideas about running away together and begin a new life somewhere else from New York (132). Meanwhile, Sally stays grounded by stating that “You can’t just do something like that,” showing how much Holden avoids any past he wishes to forget. By the end of the novel, Allie has formed into a symbol of Holden’s past, and in Holden’s mind, becoming the Catcher is the only way to continue his remembrance of Allie and unconsciously deny the fact that Allie was dead, and was never

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Ever since Allie died he has been a mess. He talks about how after Allie died, “[His parents] were going to have [him] psychoanalyzed and all, because [he] broke all the windows in the garage” (Salinger 39). He develops a negative outlook on life. This is the cause of Holden’s continuous downward spiral. He becomes more and more disturbed and eventually ends up in a mental institution.

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Flashbacks In Holden Caulfield's Life

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Not only does Allie pass away, but Holden’s close friend, James Castle, jumped out of the window and committed suicide. “Finally, what he did… didn’t even go to jail,”

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Allie was Holden’s everything, he looked up to his brother and respected him. Holden never really had anyone to discipline him or tell him right from wrong. Even though Holden liked too seem as if he was already older then he actually is, he is still a young kid who needs his parents. Allie was Holden’s angel who took care of him while his parents couldn’t. Holden is a protagonist that has been through many harsh events throughout his

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Catcher In The Rye Holden's Journey Analysis

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The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was about the journey of a adolescent boy finding his way to adulthood. In the book Holden Caulfield was unsuccessful in finding his way to adulthood. Holden’s attitude in the novel throughout his journey was very immature. He also can't accept the fact that innocence can’t be forever protected. Lastly, Holden calls everyone a phony when in reality he is the real phony.

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People do not expect the death of a loved one to occur at such a young age, and so abruptly like Allie 's death. The smashing of the windows shows the huge impact that he had on Holden, and how upset he was that he no longer had his brother by his side. Holden was uncertain in how to deal with this upsetting change in his life, resulted in aggressive behavior. Holden was also exposed to another traumatic event in his life during his time at Pencey. After being introduced to one of Holden 's classmates Castle he states, ¨Finally, what he did, instead of

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Growing up and dealing with the stresses of entering the adult world could be the hardest past of one’s life, especially without the right guidance. In The Catcher in the Rye, author J. D. Salinger shows how Holden struggles during this time. On top of his brother Allie’s death, Holden’s inability to fit in causes him to unravel throughout the book as the novel progresses. As Holden narrates his point of view, we could truly understand why Holden’s mental state worsens. Throughout the novel, Holden has moments that lead to his inevitable breakdown because of his different struggles with Phoebe, and his inability to get along with others.

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Holden Caulfield Mental Illness

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In The Catcher of the Rye, Holden barely mentions his late brother, barely opening up to others and confronting his emotions. When Allie died to Leukemia at a young age, his emotions of grief are illustrated with how he reacts to Allie’s death with Holden saying, “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” (Sallinger, 44). With Allie’s death, Holden shows signs of grief with much aggression as he destroys his windows with his fists at 13 years old after Allie’s death. Allie’s death results in Holden forming mental illnesses of depression from loneliness as displayed when Holden sat by himself smoking cigarettes when he says how he starts talking outloud when feeling depressed.

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Holden likes Allie because he will forever be a child and cannot be corrupted by adult life and will never become a phony like everyone else. Phoebe calls out Holden’s unrealistic standards for what a person should be and challenges him to change his standards and realize that he has to accept the fact that no one in the real world is perfect enough to fit his standards. Moreover, Holden’s unrealistic standards get in the way of him making a connection although in this case with his former teacher Mr.Antolini. In this case Mr.Antolini does his best to connect with Holden and shares his genuine concern for Holden’s well-being. Then Holden wakes up to Mr.Antolini patting him on the head out of affection although Holden sees it as Mr.Antolini being “flitty” towards him.

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As a result, when Allie dies, Holden is locked in a deep state of long-term depression. When Holden finishes talking to the old lady at the school, she wishes him good luck. Just after she says this, Holden explains, “God, how I hate it when somebody yells ‘Good luck!’ at me when I’m leaving somewhere. It’s depressing.”

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From a logical standpoint, we certainly can assign a dollar value to anyone’s life. But from an emotional standpoint it can be and is extremely difficult to determine how much a person’s life is worth. Seeing that emotions often tend to get in one’s way while making decisions, it’s hard for people to decide whether to act with logic or emotions. It should be that everyone’s life has a base value and then what they do for a living and what kind of education or training they have is added on to that base value. Honestly, there is no right way to assign the value of a life and it will always come down to one’s own thoughts and beliefs.

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Catcher In The Rye Grief Analysis

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Throughout the book, Holden is struggling to get by. The death of his brother Allie has left him in a tough spot. Holden doesn’t exactly know how to deal with this. The different stages of grief are represented through Holden. Holden shows denial and anger when he flashbacks to one of his memories after his brother’s death.

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Theme Of Innocence In Catcher In The Rye

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Many people harbour a desire to accomplish something specific in life. Sometimes this desire stems from the background of a person, and sometimes desires are developed over time and with age. “The Catcher in the Rye” narrated by Holden Caulfield, who is an overly disturbed teenager, is about the change from childhood to adulthood. Holden, like many, has a burning desire to protect the innocence of children; this desire is tied to the themes of relationships, intimacy and sexuality which are carried throughout the novel. In a stroke of genius, the author, J.D. Salinger, sums up this desire in the title, which is taken from a poem by Robert Burns: Comin ' thro ' the Rye ( 1796).

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Holden becomes increasingly attracted to the idea and comes close to obsession, as his mind is flooded with thoughts of death and disappearance, as well as questions which are revealed throughout the novel. Holden experiences two deaths prior to the events in the novel that impact him profoundly. The most significant death was the death of his younger brother, Allie. Allie died of leukemia three years before the events of the novel.

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