Holden Caulfield Becoming An Adult

One can see this because he clearly states in the dialogue that he felt like jumping out the window. Holden’s mental state of mind can literally visualizes his own suicide and how and where it would take place. This quote represents the extent of Holden’s depression and loneliness and how much of it consumes him.

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

Holden is struggling to become a young adult throughout the story.The first example is when he is fascinated thru the streets of New York.”my bags were there and all,and I figured I’d sleep in that crazy waiting room where all the benches are”.This quote shows that Holden is not ready for the adult world after getting kicked out of pency he chose these bad choices.He had to sleep in a waiting room of a subway and is going thru lots of problems.He had to sleep there because he does not want to tell his dad that he got kicked out of pency and does not want to accept his Consequences like a real adult.

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old boy, transitions from childhood to adulthood. The death of Holden’s little brother signifies the beginning his loss of innocence and growth of maturity. As he enters adulthood, Holden views society differently from his peers by characterizing most of his peers and adults he meets as “phonies.” Thus, Holden takes the impossible challenge of preserving the innocence in children because he wants to prevent children from experiencing the corruption in society. The Catcher In The Rye embodies Holden’s struggle to preserve the innocence of children and reveals the inevitability of and the necessity of encountering the harsh realities of life.

Holden identifies with, yearns for, and despises traits of the adult and child realms. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, fears becoming an adult who exhibits the characteristics that he holds complaints against. Throughout this Bildungsroman narrative, Holden searches for his identity. He tries to figure out his place either in the adult or child realm.

Holden alienated phonies or adults because of this. Holden believes that he cannot depend on adults because they are phonies like Principal Thurmer. Holden's inability to accept growing up causes much depression for Holden and makes Holden suicidal. At what time, Holden does in fact feel suicidal. "...what I really felt like, though, was committing suicide." This shows that Holden has not really accepted the fact that everyone has to grow up sometime no matter how much u don't want to because no one can stay a child forever. Holden suffers from depression due to his brother, Allie's death.

This self-destructive behavior is another one of the many created by his worldview of others as “phonies”. One example can be seen in page 75, where Holden states that life itself “makes [him] so depressed.” This shows us how his worldview that focuses on the negative aspects of everyone could be problematic, as it leads Holden on to develop depression. Another example can be seen in Chapter 7, where Holden states “I just didn't want to hang around any more. It made me too sad and lonesome.” (page 29) His motivation to leave Pencey Prep is shown to be one of having developed depression after seeing everyone there as phonies. Once again, this displays a prime example of how Holden’s idea of phonies can lead to self-destructive actions such as developing depression. A third example of this can be found towards the end of the book, where Holden straight up states that he “really felt like, committing suicide.” (104) By this point, we see the final phase of his depression created by his “phony” worldview, presenting an extremely self-destructive behavior and mindset in depression. Holden develops depression through his worldview of others as “phonies”, which shows how problematic his worldview truly

In a particular moment in the novel, when Holden is talking to Phoebe about what he wishes to do in the future, it becomes clearer to the readers, Holdens view towards the overall transition to adulthood. Holden vocalizes how he wishes to: “catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going…” (173). By talking about this “cliff’ Holden is comparing, the change required to becoming an adult, to death. He talks about how he hopes to save those who are about to fall over the “cliff’ but never discusses how he would go about things if he found himself at one point falling off the cliff as well. Holden is unable to confront his issue with change and why he feels a particular way towards those in society that have been impacted by change. Holden wants a world where everything is simple, but he eventually has to realize that life can not always stay the same

Holden's drinking and smoking habits are show throughout the book, his smoking habit was first told when he said “I have no wind if you want to know the truth. I’m quite a heavy smoker…(Salinger,5)” , another example of Holden being different from a normal teenager is his parents response to the drug, for example in chapter 23 when Holden's parents come home from seeing a movie Holden's little sister Phoebe has to explain why there was smoke in the room, through the smoke was caused by Holden, Phoebe takes the blame saying that she just wanted to try it, “Phobe, have you been smoking a cigarette in here? Tell me the truth, please, young lady.’ ‘What?’ old Phoebe said. ‘You heard me.’

Throughout the story Holden emphasizes his love for childhood innocence. In a passage he says “The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the golden ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything.” (Salinger 211) This immediately points to his affinity for innocence and not having the limits of being and adult. The

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

It takes many experiences in order for an immature child to become a responsible, well-rounded adult. In J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s main character Holden Caulfield matures throughout the course of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Holden is a juvenile young man. However, through his experiences, Holden is able to learn, and is finally able to become somewhat mature by the end of the novel. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story represents a coming of age for all young adults.

Holden doesn’t like to accept the fact that he’s growing up, so he remains the thinking ability of a child. In the novel, Holden said, “...I

Holden has a desire to stop change and preserve innocence throughout a majority of the book, which pushes him to run away in order to prevent himself from entering adulthood. As Holden visits the museum from his childhood, he states that “the

Holden is fighting against the whole concept of ‘growing up’ and becoming an adult but it is clear that he is the one falling off the cliff or in other words, turning into an adult. Although Holden is trying very hard not to become a responsible adult it is already happening and he can even be viewed as a phony for the way he acts around different people.