How Does Holden Fear Change

Yet another demon that Holden avoids is the process of having to grow up. Throughout the book, he seems hesitant to develop any real ambitions or goals. He is a perpetual failure at school. He refuses to associate himself with mature ways of living, and so isolates himself from anyone his own age or older. This is all directly connected to Holden's picture-perfect image of his childhood. He sees this particular period of his life as his own personal paradise. He does not want to finalize the fact that he has to concede it's innocence in the end. Towards the end of the book, Holden shows his desire for life to remain as it was by saying, "...certain things should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone." Holden does not want to join a world of phonies and greed, a world lacking in carelessness and irresponsibility. He won't, whether consciously or not, accept the fact that he has no choice.

Holden’s immaturity causes him many problems throughout the story. Although he is physically mature, he acts more like a child. “All of a sudden I

Change is inevitable and is a constant phase that Holden cannot conceptualize. Holden's fear of change can be exemplified by the Museum of Natural History. Like the museum, he wants everything to be unchanging and as simple as possible. He talks about the immutable statues by saying, "Certain things they should stay the way they are... I know it's impossible, but it's too bad anyway" (Salinger 122). By admitting his fear of change, Holden also reveals another important aspect of his life: his loss of childhood innocence. The only thing he can talk about without contempt is kids. Allie, his deceased brother, is continuously mentioned in the book, as well as the many interactions Holden has with Phoebe. Although he is continuously deriding others around him, he humbly admits to his sister that the only thing he could envision doing is saving kids, "What I have to do - I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff [...] I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd like to be" (Salinger 173). Holden's love for kids is the only

What does change in Holden during the course of the book is his idea that he can somehow change the world and help it to move out of its corrupt state. Holden is also moved to the eventual realization that not only can he not change the world but he is also unable to hide

The coming of age phase in a young person’s life is a transitional phase which prompts the idea of individualism, decision making, acceptance, moral challenges, disappointment, and individual needs. These years are essential for the overall learning and growing-up part of someone’s life. Coming of age characteristics transpired in the novel The Catcher in the Rye and The Absolutely True Diary of a part-time Indian pertain to, but do not exclude, the acceptance of the complexities and “grayness” of the world, confrontation with the adult world, and the individual needs and desires vs. external pressures/expectations/norms. In both novels, young boys are faced with tough choices that will later help them in the overall transition from

The lost of innocence can totally change the way people view the world. A person who illustrates this can be found in J.D. Salinger’s novel, the Catcher in the Rye. The story happened during the 1950s, in a small town in Pennsylvania called Agerstown. A teenage boy named Holden, who witnesses the death of his older brother Allie when he was only 13 years old. Then consequently, he blames himself all his life for the death of Allie. As time went by he starts to search for a sense of innocence that was lost in the beginning of the novel. Throughout the course of the novel, the author conveys that Holden is continually stuck in between childhood and adulthood. The author uses Holden’s struggle to convey that in reality often times people who

The goal that that Holden has to try so hard to fulfil is symbolic of his need to differentiate himself from the "phonies" around him. Holden’s image of people is pretty bad because he believes no one acts how they truly feel. Growing up scares Holden because it leads to adulthood. In his eyes once he hits adulthood, it'll eventually lead into the same phoniness as the rest of the adults. His constant avoidance and dodging of people and situations causes him to become more and more distant from normal society and social stability.

In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy who has recently expelled from school, had lost his younger brother to Leukemia and witnessed the suicide of one of his peers, struggles in his journey of coming of age. He isn’t fond of the idea of having to mature and be exposed to responsibilities and problems of the real world. As a result, he tries to preserve the innocence of his younger sister, Phoebe. One way in which he aims to accomplish this goal is through a Little Shirley Beans record which he buys in hopes of giving it to Phoebe. Salinger utilizes the symbol of the broken record to develop Holden’s loss of innocence and deteriorating character.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger that occurs around the 1950s. The story’s protagonist and narrator is Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old white male, who journeys to various places as he mourns over the death of his little brother, Allie. As a white male in a capitalist society, he has tremendous amounts of privileges that allow him to get. However, as the novel progresses, Holden describes his society as a place where honored human qualities are suppressed and capitalist ideals are embraced. Throughout the novel, we see that capitalism, “the social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned”, destroys the overall society for Holden and his generation (Rand).

In Catcher in the Rye Holden’s fear of change is symbolized by the Museum of Natural History. The museum’s interests Holden because it never changes. For example, “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything stayed right there where it was” (135). This is a prime example of Holden’s fear of change because he knows that the museum will not change and the things will stay where they are, that is why he likes the museum. Holden says, “I knew that whole museum routine like a book.” (133). Holden says that he knows the museum like a book which shows that he went there frequently, and hopes when he goes in there that it is all the same. Holden does not like things that change. It also shows that Holden wishes that everything would

This only adds to his frequent fear of change in his own life as well as that of others. A major fear of Holden’s is for himself to change, he gets disgusted by the idea of himself being as phony as he claims everyone else is. The main symbol of Holden Caulfield is his narcissism that does not change throughout

American literature is full of classic novels containing heroic protagonists; Holden Caulfield of The Catcher in the Rye is not one of these classic heroes. The article Some Crazy Cliff by Arthur Heiserman and James E. Miller Jr. provides one interpretation of the novel suggesting that the protagonist is unique compared to others commonly found in American literature; most heroes are seeking acceptance while Holden is seeking something within the society he is trying to leave. The novel follows Holden Caulfield, a young boy who recently flunked out of high school, over the course of three days. During this time, the protagonist returns to New York via train, but does not want to be with his parents until they have already learned of his

He chooses to not acknowledge this and he wants to keep his innocence like the children in the field of rye. Once Holden leaves Pencey and heads into New York, he must face many scenarios where he must confront the good, the bad, and the ugly of life. At one point he encounters a man and a woman spitting water into each others faces. When seeing this he unexpectedly enjoys it and is confused why. He goes on to talk about how “[sex] is something I just don’t understand. I swear to God I don’t” and how he is unaware of the complications of what comes with it (pg.63). Holden exhibits that he still has his innocence and still has not realized the complicated things that come with adulthood such as sex. Another instance of Holden not being able to come to grips with adulthood is when he marvels at the timelessness of the Museum of Natural History. Holden discusses how “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. . . . Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.” (pg. 121). Holden is afraid of the idea of time changing things and he is scared of change. He is scared of the responsibilities that come with change and how things may change around him while he is left behind. At this point in time, when Holden’s journey through New York is coming to a close, he starts to realize

Holden is overwhelmed by change, and it leads him to prefer things that stay the same or do not change. We see that when Holden goes to the museum that he realizes that the only thing that ever changes is the people. At the museum the exhibits never

able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them