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Inner Conflict In The Catcher In The Rye

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Inner Conflict The nature of an inner conflict can vary from culture to culture, but one aspect that we can all agree on, is that inner conflict is the emotional and mental battle one has with him/herself. Whether it be an ethical or moral dilemma, it is the tiresome and difficult struggle one has to face when battling his problems, queries and insecurities. The main purpose of inner conflict in the novel Catcher in the Rye, is to reveal to the audience Holden's insecurities and doubts he faces with himself and the complexity and harshness of the adult world. Firstly, Holden struggles to let go of the past and move on from his brother's death. In addition, he is extremely afraid of commitment, attachment and intimacy with the opposite sex and lastly, he has trouble …show more content…

To briefly summarize, in portraying these insecurities, the author wants to highlight the need to identify one's faults, so then they can work on rectifying them to become a better person, just as we see Holden do at the end of the novel. He wants to emphasize that becoming familiar with the struggles of the adult world isn't all bad, as we can prepare ourselves and adjust to the situation, before it becomes too much to handle. Lastly, he wants to pin point that we should not label the whole world based on a couple of people, but instead we have to broaden our horizons. To begin, the protagonist Holden Caulfield has an immensely difficult time getting over his brother's death and thus it is portrayed that he doesn’t possess the ability of letting go of the past and concentrating on the future. He instead harbors the anger, sadness and guilt of his brother's death inside him for so many years, causing him to battle with himself and blame himself for what happened. He can't admit that he has to move on with life and commit his full concentration on his schoolwork, instead of dwelling on the past. For example Holden says, “I was only

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He feels the saying “you only live once” is his motto (he doesn't say that but he acts like it). His immaturity is him growing up too fast. He thinks it's okay to act like a 21-year-old when he knows much better. A secondary source about the novel also has some words to say about Holdenss immaturity to where he says “While such positive interpretations of Holden correct reductive interpretations that simply dismiss Holden as an immature cynic, Duane Edwards's , “Holden Caulfield: Don't Ever Tell Anybody Anything,” advances an even more complex interpretation of Holde.

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He shows no sign of interest in things he should at least be motivated about, like his education. When he is speaking with his world studies teacher about flunking out of Pencey, he states, "I could shoot the old bull with Spencer and think about ducks at the same time. " This shows that he does not have to put much effort into talking with teachers, even with conversations concerning his grades. Instead of being focused, he thinks about insignificant things that have no relation to the conversation. He also says, "you don't have to think much when you talk to a teacher," which reveals the careless mindset of Holden.

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The Catcher in the Rye In the novel The Catcher in the Rye J.D Salinger writes about a teenager struggling to find his place within the existence of the reality of others. Salinger creates shocking events that lay out the foundation of the the main character Holden Caulfield’s life in the novel. Salinger uses Holden’s characteristics throughout the novel such as Holden’s stubbornness to establish a much bigger theme in the book along with many other symbols.

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Can one truly get over the death of a family member? Death is one of the promises of life, but it does not make it easier on the ones it affects. Holden Caulfield experiences not only the death of a loved one, but many other unfortunate events in his young life that greatly affects his emotional state. In the literary work, The Catcher in The Rye, by J.D Salinger, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is not over the death of his younger brother which leads to his current depressive state of chronically lying and his overall loneliness. Salinger illustrates to his reader that mental health, specifically PTSD, can strongly affect one's life overtime if not treated.

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The beginning of Holden’s journey starts with the innocence and naivety of childhood. Childhood is the stage that ignorance is bliss with no care in the world. Holden goes to a prestigious boarding school for boys and he believes that everyone in that school is a phony in some way. Holden is an observant character as he stays in the background, but he can also cause the most trouble. Like a child, he asks many questions and he is very curious to the point that he can be annoying.

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In The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is a rebellious and angsty teen who suffers from internal and external conflict. Holden continously tries to create a conflict where there is none. However, after he creates these issues he is unwilling to face them. Holden’s internal conflict is his inability to accept responsibility for his actions, while his external conflict is the tension between him and anyone who succeeds. In this manner Holden continually pushes people away and refuses to accept the existence of these conflicts until the end of the novel.

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