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Examples Of Coming Of Age In Catcher In The Rye

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Authors often use their main character’s journey to highlight a character coming of age while learning something along the way. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is one case in which the main character goes on a coming of age journey. In the story The Catcher in the Holden is a 17 year-old telling the reader about his 16 year-old self. In the story Holden in dealing with the loss of his younger brother Allie as well as his parents not being very present in his life. The story shows Holden’s physical journey; from Pencey Prep to the carousel in central park, as well as his emotional one; which lands him in a mental hospital. Along his journey Holden is looking for someone that is truly authentic, not a phony like everyone else. Holden ultimately …show more content…

Holden has high standards for what a person should be and he sees the most authenticity in children, like his sister Phoebe. Holden breaks into his own house so that he can talk to Phoebe and possibly make an authentic emotional connection with her. While having their conversation Phoebe asks Holden what he truly likes, she says ““You don't like a million things. You don't.....Name one thing."...."I like Allie." "Allie's dead – You always say that! If somebody's dead and everything, and in Heaven, then it isn't really–" "I know he's dead! Don't you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can't I? Just because somebody's dead, you don't just stop liking them, for God's sake – especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that're alive and all." (Salinger 222 - 223) Holden says the one thing that he likes in the world is Allie whom is dead. 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. Later Holden realizes “he went to all that trouble giving me that advice about finding out the size of your mind and all, and how he was the only guy that'd even gone near that boy James

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1118 Words | 5 Pages

Arrested development works in more than one fashion for Holden Caulfield, as not only does he desperately cling to the past, but his five stages of grief are similarly slowly processed—namely denial. J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye follows Holden as he adapts to life alone in the city, and is forced to deal with the consequences of living in the real world. After projecting his issues onto others throughout the novel, only by accepting his own shortcomings does Holden finally start taking steps towards changing his life for the better. Holden’s little brother, Allie, passed away some years before the story takes place, and is one of the biggest factors in his refusal to let go of the past.

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705 Words | 3 Pages

JD Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is about a boy named Holden Caulfield and his struggle with life. As a teenager, he has one goal and that is to simply find his place in the world. Unlike an ordinary teenager he has a severe case of depression, and displays many signs to exhibit this mental illness. As we escalate through the novel, we notice that his depression seems to be getting worse and that he is feeling despondent more often.

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656 Words | 3 Pages

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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1022 Words | 5 Pages

Change Can Be Good As one grows up they may experience dramatic changes in their life that they wish had never occurred. In The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger, the main Character Holden Caulfield, goes through loss as his life begins to change right in front of him. His brother Allie who Holden was very close with, passes away, and his family and friends are all moving forward with their lives.

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2021 Words | 9 Pages

He feels very protective of his little sister Phoebe because she reminds Holden of Allie since they are both younger than Holden and have red hair. For example, when visiting Phoebe’s school, Holden becomes infuriated by the profanity written on the wall and is concerned that other kids, including Phoebe, may see the writing (Salinger 221). Not only does Holden want to prevent other kids from growing up, he wants to keep his own innocence so he does not forget about Allie. Holden notes that “the best thing [about museums] was that everything always stayed right where it was… The only thing that would be different

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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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592 Words | 3 Pages

Coming of Age Coming-of-age is difficult for both teens and parents. The parents often have trouble parenting when the teenager is disrespectful and confused. Teenagers do not realize that their parents have been in the same shoes as them and know what is best for them.. Coming-of-age involves recognizing different perspectives.

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1020 Words | 5 Pages

The Coming Of Age Many people struggle to grow up and, being adults, but many do grow up. Phoebe and Stradlater teach about coming of age to Holden. They teach him things like not being childish and growing up, and how it 's okay to grow up. In the book Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Stradlater, and Phoebe help develop the theme of coming of age by teaching Holden that he should himself and not be childish, accordingly how it 's okay to grow up. Holden struggles to grow up so Phoebe and Stradlater teach him some things about maturity and the coming of age.

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1378 Words | 6 Pages

The only motivator that Holden has to continue living is his younger sister, Phoebe, who is extraordinarily intelligent for her age. After he gets kicked out of Pencey, Holden is lost in life. He speaks to many people, seeking advice and comfort, but they are not able to help him find a human connection. Holden’s depression increases throughout the novel, almost to the point of suicide. He criticizes many people and ideas, labeling them as ‘phony’.

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779 Words | 4 Pages

Furthermore, Holden starts to hate all the adults or loses faith in them, calls them phony. Holden has a second thought of becoming an adult he loses hope in his future and it seems to him nothing in the world matters to him anymore. We can see that throughout the book. He smokes, gets drunk, and does daring acts like getting a prostitute in his room. He also tries to escape all this guilt and grief by wasting time with unnecessary people he calls phony.

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1462 Words | 6 Pages

What is coming to age? What exactly is coming to age and is Perks Of Being A Wallflower there a certain time and moment in someone’s life to grow up? In the book , Catch in The Rye by J.D Salinger , Holden a teenage boy goes through tough experiences that breaks him down mentally, psychically and emotionally. Throughout the book he shows resistance of coming to age /maturing. However, does show maturity in certain situations, but because of his resistance of maturing he falls back down into a hard state.

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837 Words | 4 Pages

Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the

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1230 Words | 5 Pages

A. Allie’s death causes Holden to become obsessed with death and this obsession makes him believe that growing up and becoming a “phonie” is like dying; this belief that is planted inside Holden’s head when Allie died is what sends him on a quest to preserve children’s innocence and save them from the “death” of growing up. B. Salinger includes the traumatic story of Allies death that happened years in advance to provide an explanation for Holden’s obsession with death and how he sees loss of innocence as equivalent to dying. Allie died with his innocence still intact, so Holden does not want other children to grow up and have their innocence “die”. C. Holden even admits to being mentally unstable after his brother’s traumatic death when he says, “I was only 13, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all

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2081 Words | 9 Pages

In this novel, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is the narrator that goes through a variety of problems. He has dilemmas, but meets/reconnects with people on his quest of life. This novel is more than just a simple story about a protagonist and his life events. This novel follows the structure of bildungsroman. There are four parts to it- character’s growth in social structure, a form of loss, process of maturity, and if the character ends in a new place of society.

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871 Words | 4 Pages

By, Holden has been able to change and will be able to change even more in the future. Phoebe was Holden’s push in the right direction. By directly asking, “name one thing [that you like]” (220), she is forcing him to think about changing his ways. While just thinking about change may not seem like a lot, it’s a lot more than he’s done already. While Spencer, Antolini, and Phoebe all give him virtually the same advice, he only listens to Phoebe.

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