Adolescence in the Bell Jar and Catcher in the Rye

Life is seen in a peculiar way through the eyes of teenagers. Often, teens are scared to enter the adult world because it means facing greater challenges that they might not yet be prepared for.The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a perfect example of a book that portrays the adult world through the eyes of a troubled but intelligent teenager. Holden Caulfield, the main character of the book has his own twisted views of the adult world and constantly criticizes it.

The Catcher in the Rye is one of J. D. Salinger's world-famous books about the disgruntled youth. Holden Caulfield is the main character and he is a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Navigating his way through the challenges of growing up, Holden separates the “phony” aspects of society, and the “phonies” themselves. Some of these “phony” people in his life are the headmaster whose friendliness depends on the wealth of the parents, and his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection. This book deals with the complex issues of identity, belonging, connection, and alienation. Holden senses these feelings most of the time and is guilty about many things in

There is only one experience that unites every single person in the world. Many people in the world can agree that it isn’t always the greatest experience, and many people have an extremely hard time getting through it, but every single adult goes through the act of ‘growing up’. For many, the transition can be very depressing, and confusing. When a child is young becoming an adult seems to be enjoyable and exciting, but it isn’t until that child is forced into the cruel, harsh world where the innocence of childhood can be appreciated and missed. The novel Catcher in the Rye explores how teenagers who are nearing adulthood see the adult world to be incomprehensible. J.D Salinger illustrates the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of transitioning into adulthood using Holden Caulfield.

Every human actions meets in nature and they find their own characteristic feature in a good or bad way. Not everyone can say it is a pleasant experiment, but no one can deny that it happened. This single event is ‘growing up’. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing, often uncovering questions that cannot be answered. During this time the adult world seems inviting and free, but only when we become members of a cruel, society can the happy ignorance of childhood be appreciated and missed. The novel Catcher in the Rye examines how adult life appears complex and incomprehensible to teenagers on the brink of entering it. Through the main protagonist Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenge of adapting to an adult society.

Adolescence is often a confusing time where people still have elements of childhood, but they are beginning to enter the world of adults. People end up stuck between two points in life and feel that they can not quite fit into either. In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, sixteen year old Holden Caulfield experiences the contradicting feelings of being a teenager while he is alone in New York City. He masquerades as an adult and his experiences represent various aspects of being an adult. He tries to act grown-up and engage in adult life, but at the same time he resists it and tries to hold onto the way things are. Salinger explores the image of adulthood using symbols. Symbols of adulthood hold for Holden a certain longing and resentment as he struggles with the turmoil of adolescence.

There is an only event that unites every single human being on the nature. Not everyone can say it is a pleasant experience, but no one can deny that it happened. This single event is labelled ‘growing up’. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing, often uncovering questions that cannot be answered. During this time the adult world seems inviting and free, but only when we become members of a cruel, society can the happy ignorance of childhood be appreciated and missed. The novel Catcher in the Rye examines how adult life appears complex and incomprehensible to teenagers on the brink of entering it. Through the main protagonist Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger captures the confusion of a teenager when faced

JD. Salinger’s 1951 book, The Catcher in the Rye, shows us how society treated their confused and changing teenagers during their transition into adulthood. The book’s main character Holden Caulfield is being pressured into growing up even though he doesn’t feel ready, to lead an adult life. He is still struggling socially and mourning for his deceased brother whose death turned Holden upside down and into a negative, hopeless person from a young age, which causes him to be distracted, indifferent and to flunk every school he goes to.

From its publication, The Catcher in the Rye gained widespread aversion from schools through its blatant profanity. But despite the time gap since the publication in the 1950s until now, the book explores immortal themes of adolescence and maturing still relevant today. Symbolizing the average teenage life, adolescents throughout the country are able to connect to Holden without question. As Holden agonizes over his purpose and depression, teens relate to this some intangible part of themselves. Holden frustrates over dating, drinking, low grades, switching schools, and life in general. Suddenly, in a second, as the adult world threatens the once serene childhood, as the weight of responsibility of being an adult crashes, Holden crumbles.

The transition between childhood into adolescence is an essential period in one’s life that shapes how individual feels about themselves. This transition can be difficult for some individuals because they are unable to find their self-identity. In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield neglects growing up and finds it difficult to search for his life ambitions. Similarly, in Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood struggles internally to fulfil her ambitions and conform to societal expectations. Eventually, this affects the psychological state of the protagonists and leads them to fall into depression. In J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, Holden and Esther lose their self-identity,

In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger uses literary elements such as tone, figurative language, and theme to create the overall effect of a teenager’s cynical and conflicted approach to dealing with the concept of adulthood. Salinger writes about Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year old boy, and his venture through New York City after he is expelled from his preparatory school due to academic failure. During his time in the city, emotional and mental problems surface, and his desperate want for companionship exposes his inability to connect with others.

Most teens seem to believe that they are more prepared for drinking, drugs, and sex than they actually are. This mindset is no different for 16 year old Holden Caulfield in the book, The Catcher in the Rye. As the novel's main character, Holden attempts to participate in adult activities, although he is inexperienced, because his brother's death stole his childhood innocence. Holden felt as though he was responsible for protecting his sister and other young children by pushing himself to become an adult. Although Holden thought forcing himself to grow up would help himself and others, it only resulted in his mental relapse. Since Holden's failed attempts at adulthood resulted in his insanity, the challenges of change are consistently reiterated

We live in a society where kids just want to be all grown up and young adults want to go back to the good old days where all the decisions were made for you. The loss of innocence is inevitable, eventually an event in life will unmask the world for what it really is, resulting in one growing up. Throughout the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, a 17 year-old who flunked out of Pencey Prep, is in stuck between being a teen and growing up. He fantasizes of becoming a savior of innocence, the catcher in the rye, yet he doesn’t save anyone in the novel. Innocence is a vital part of the novel, in terms of struggling against the idea of growing up. In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger presents the idea that innocence can only be preserved for so long before losing sight of who you are.

Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye has been pronounced a literary classic for its atypical portrayal of adolescence, to effectively convey the protagonist’s alienation and confusion. The introduction of The Catcher in the Rye is underpinned by disorder and confusion through a stream-of-consciousness narration, which digresses from one subject to another. Consequently, Holden’s multitudinous thoughts and feelings appear to lack a cohesive pattern. Additionally, Holden’s prevalent ascription of other students as “phony” (Salinger, p.3) alludes to his alienation and isolation as a form of self-protection; he rejects those he does not understand. Furthermore, the vocabulary encapsulates typical adolescence dialect of the 1940s, and resultantly, alienates contemporary reader. This is typified through Holden’s use of colloquial speech, in particular, his exclamation “that killed me” (Salinger, p.42) to express his amusement. Therefore, the introduction of Holden’s disjointed monologue in The Catcher in the Rye foreshadows Salinger’s unique interpretation of adolescence.

     J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has captured the spirit of adolescence, dramatizing Holden Caulfield's vulgar language and melodramatic reactions. Written as the autobiographical account of a fictional teenage prep school student named Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye deals with material that is socially scandalous for the time (Gwynn, 1958). As an emotional, intelligent, and sensitive young man, Holden puts his inner world to the test through the sexual mores of his peers and elders, the teachings of his education, and his own emerging sense of self. Throughout the years, the language of the story has startled readers. Salinger's control of Holden's easy,

A woman’s virginity was considered to be precious as pureness was really important for a girl. Women were only allowed to have sex after marriage; whereas men could have sex before marriage. According to Esther, her virginity is a big factor that is weighing her down. The conflict between losing her virginity before marriage or after marriage causes her to become confused about what would