Holden's Childhood

The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood exists as a complex path, which often uncovers questions that cannot be answered. J.D. Salinger explores Holden’s transition into adult life and how he copes with modern society’s cruel and unforgiving face. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s traumatic experiences directly explains his immaturity and unhealthy obsession over the preservation of the fragile childhood state; although some instances highlighting Holden’s maturity may suggest otherwise, flashes of these instances do not outweigh his immature ideology and opinions. Holden’s dysfunctional family life stemming from the death of his brother Allie and his inferiority complex clearly explains Holden’s unhealthy obsession

Motivated mainly by his own distorted perspective of society, Holden highly treasures innocence of childhood. Holden realizes that his own childhood has been stripped away from him and strives to preserve other children’s childhood, especially Phoebe, as long as he can by becoming a “catcher in the rye”. In Holden’s supposed ideal world, children would be free of the evils of adulthood. Holden’s urge to shield children from danger and allow them to play endlessly exemplifies his desire to suspend time. He wants to inhabit a space of youth preserved indefinitely. For example, Holden reveals this through his adoration of the ten-year-old Phoebe and his attachment to the Natural History Museum, where “everything always stayed right where it was”(Salinger 121). As Phoebe exists as Holden’s epitome of innocence, Holden desperately longs to hold onto her, to convince himself that genuity and purity exists. Because of this, Holden violently lashes out when he perceives a threat to Phoebe’s innocence. After reading distasteful messages etched into the Phoebe’s elementary school wall, Holden angrily recites, “That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write "Fuck

In his literary criticism, The Fallen Idol: The Immature World of Holden Caulfield, Peter J. Seng, writes, ‘His mental breakdown is a direct result of his inability to come to terms with adult reality. Consequently he invents other fantasies, tinged with paranoia”(Seng 3). Seng claims that Holden’s immaturity is the direct result of rejecting adulthood. However, the main reason for his immaturity is best explained by the past events that shaped Holden into the cynical and damaged teenager. Seng claims that “What disturbs Holden about the world in which he finds himself is adults and adult values. He sees that the world belongs to adults, and it seems to him that they have filled it with phoniness, pretense, social compromise”(Seng 4). On the other hand, true reason Holden is unable to “come to terms with adult reality” stems mainly from the parental neglect that Holden faced as a child. Following Allie’s death, Holden’s mother refused to see Holden and regularly sent away to boarding schools, as it was painful for her to be reminded of Allie. When Holden pulls his red hunting cap over his eyes and exclaims, "I think I'm going blind. ... Mother darling, everything's getting so dark in here. ... Mother darling, give me your hand,"