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Coming Of Age In The Catcher In The Rye

1426 Words6 Pages

Book: The Curious Incident the of the Dog in the Night-Time
Author: J.D. Salinger
Intro:
Hook: Thesis: In the novel The Cather In the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden’s journey can be seen as a coming of age story through Holden’s point of view and the order of the novel, due to the loss of his brother and therefore his innocence.

Summary/paraphrase/specific details/quotes
Body 1 (relating to coming of age): The coming of age genre can be taken back to late 18th-century German novels. These novels were called formation novels, or bildungsroman. One example of a bildungsroman is Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship by Johann Goethe. The coming of age genre is defined by the protagonist, usually a child, he or she undergoes a troubled search to find their adult identity. Usually by the process of different trials, experiences, and revelations. The Catcher in The Rye perfectly relates to this type of literary genre. Throughout the novel the protagonist, Holden is trying to understand life as an adult, he goes through this by putting himself in different situations …show more content…

Throughout the novel Holden deals with mortality, isolation, sexuality and sexual identity, sadness, wisdom, lies and deceit, madness, and religion. When he is so determined to become an adult, he does not know what he is doing. He is losing his innocence, which is ironic because he wants to be the catcher in the rye which protects the innocence of children. During the novel, you can see that the people Holden look up to are the people who protect the innocence of others. The death of his brother, something he could not control definitely takes away from his innocence. Usually the most death a person at his age as to deal with is maybe a grandparent or two. Holden losing a brother who was close to him takes a hit at his innocence. Other ways he loses his innocence in the

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