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Examples Of Adulthood In Catcher In The Rye

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Adulthood from a Child's Perspective
Throughout the novel, Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses symbols like the natural history museum. The confusion about where the ducks migrate during the winter and the poem "comin' thro’ the rye'' shows how Holden Caulfield is afraid of getting older because of the instability of adulthood. Catcher in the Rye is a well-known novel written about the journey of a 16-year-old after he flunks out of school. The novel teaches us that if one is not given a lot of guidance through one's life, the transition from teenager to adult can be frightening and confusing. In Holden Cauldiefs’s situation, life is terrifying. Because it's so scary, Holden has a few ways of showing the reader his fears without explicitly mentioning them. The ducks, the museum, and the poem—all of these symbols show how Holden is just a kid who doesn’t know how to grow up.
The Natural History Museum's exhibits never …show more content…

Holden Caulfield has a love for children and childhood in general because children still have their innocence. Throughout the novel, you can catch Holden being sweet to children and having an overall admiration for them. After sneaking into his parents' house, Holden fantasizes with Phoebe about his future and says, "I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do is catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going, I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all" (Salinger, 93). Even then, it's evident that he wishes he could keep kids from becoming adults and feeling the need to be "phony." Holden wants to keep children. Because he wants to keep them from feeling the way that he’s feeling as he gets closer to

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874 Words | 4 Pages

Towards the end of the story, while having a conversation with Phoebe about what Holden wants to do with his life, he tells her, “I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff…That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye” (Salinger 173). With this, Holden further reveals his childhood fantasy of being a hero and saving everyone. In his soul, Holden is an innocent boy who does not want to grow up.

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808 Words | 4 Pages

The loss of his older brother and the absent parents have really affected Holden’s behavior. He lives a life without any care but with exception of younger children. Holden has a fascination with younger children and their innocence possibly because he wasn’t able to enjoy his adolescent years and nor did his brother. Holden mentions “‘Every time I'd get to the end of a block I'd make believe I was talking to my brother Allie. I'd say to him, "Allie, don't let me disappear.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

I think Holden dosen 't mind children becuase they are not as complex and "lousy" as adults. Children mostly go where the wind takes them and that 's Holden 's mentallity. Adults think things too much through and make clear-cut plans, where Holden and children tend to just make it up as they go. Much more carefree. This shows Holdens mentallity

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438 Words | 2 Pages

This very philosophical, yet simple quote provides a great explanation as to why Holden shouldn’t die trying to save children from losing their innocence, but rather to devote his time trying to keep children from turning into what Holden has become. Holden’s ultimate desire near the end of the novel, is that he wants to be “the catcher in the rye” which theoretically means one whom catches young

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917 Words | 4 Pages

Just like a child he is curious and wants to know what happens to them. To Holden the ducks disappear some place and somehow come back. In a way Holden can relate to the ducks. He feels like he will disappear and this scares him. For example later on in the novel Holden says, “Allie, don’t let me disappear.

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858 Words | 4 Pages

This symbolizes Holden’s fearfulness about what he will do when he is his own. Entering adulthood is a substantial change and is approaching Holden rapidly; however, Holden is not ready for this change. Additionally, Holden is troubled when he discovers that to survive the ducks have to alter their lives. Judging by his reaction, he is disturbed by the fact that--similar to the ducks-- Holden will have to change his life to survive. Furthermore, when Holden watches his sister Phoebe ride on a carousel, he feels “so damn happy all of a sudden” (Salinger 234).

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593 Words | 3 Pages

The reason that Holden Caulfield is always trying to stop kids from growing up in the first place is because he want’s to protect them, and shelter them from the bad things in the world. By the end of the novel Holden realizes that he can’t protect kids all the time or save their innocence. Holden comes right out and say’s that you can’t protect kids, or their innocence when Phoebe is riding the carousel toward the end of the book, Holden says “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them". This quote is one reason that proves Holden was successful throughout his journey in the

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656 Words | 3 Pages

Holden says that all he want to do is be the catcher in the rye protecting children from falling. The whole novel Holden makes observation around him that are taking away from children's innocence. This is what upsets him the most the fact that everyone will eventually have to grow up. While he is trying to go get Phoebe he is reminded this in the following quote. “I went down by a different staircase, and I saw another "Fuck you" on the wall.

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969 Words | 4 Pages

The trouble is, you wouldn't” states Holden. In the Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger includes many different times when Holden is trying his best protecting the innocence of kids. Holden’s view on everybody as phony urges him to save the innocence of children because they have the qualities that most adults don’t have. In the novel, Holden loves children.

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1032 Words | 5 Pages

This connects to the theme of the story, which is that people should not force themselves to grow up when they are not ready yet. Throughout the novel, this theme is emphasized by Holden's love for the innocence of children. Overall, The Catcher in the Rye is an amazing novel to read, and very much deserves its position as a classic of American

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851 Words | 4 Pages

When Phoebe asks Holden what he wants to be when he is older, he says, “Thousands of little kids... What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff – I mean if they’re running and don’t look where they’re going…I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.” (173) Holden states that he wants to stand in the rye, and catch kids all day if they happen to run over the cliff. Keeping children sae is very important to him because he does not want to experience the death of a young child again, since it will bring back the sadness of Allie dying. Furthermore, the two people closest to Holden are both children, Phoebe and the late Allie.

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464 Words | 2 Pages

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is considered a coming of age novel. Throughout the novel, Holden, a confused teenage boy, matures and understands more about himself. Salinger conveys Holden’s increasing levels of maturity by using a variety of symbols. The ducks in central park, the red hunting hat, and the carousel ring symbolize the the development of Holden’s adulthood.

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358 Words | 2 Pages

Calvin from calvin and hobbes is actually a very intelligent gifted individual though the strip claims otherwise. This iconic comic strip is about a 1st grader in the 80’s and 90’s and his adventures with his imaginary friend. There are many facts and theres to support this and I want you to listen in and find out what I mean. calvin and hobbes finally is being uncovered.

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1851 Words | 8 Pages

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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830 Words | 4 Pages

He has trouble growing up and accepting life as it is. Holden thinks adults are "phony" which makes him hate the fact of growing up and staying innocent as much as he can while he is old enough to become an adult. He is frustrated with the world and people which makes him act with anger. His innocent childish dream is to be the Catcher in the Rye, to catch the kids before they become phonies like Holden says about adults. The moment he realizes that he cannot keep kids from falling or in other words, from growing up and becoming adults, he, reaches adulthood, and takes a big step towards it at the end of the novel.

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