The Adolescent Crisis of The Catcher in the Rye Essays

In this excerpt Salinger was able to highlight the “loss of innocence” as Holden Caulfield struggled with the realization that his roommate Stradlater may have taken away the innocence of his long term childhood friend, Jean Gallagher. Holden is in a mindset believing that he can remain innocent indefinitely as well as allow his childhood friends, if they continue to be behave similarly to children. He is unwilling to accept the fact that he must one day reach adulthood which contradicts from Stradlater’s ideology. Stradlater is more than willing to advance into adulthood and uses women as tools to gain experience; in hopes of reaching it sooner. This is supported by Holden’s comments to Stradlater “ I told him he thought he could give the time to anybody he felt like. I told him he didn't even care if a girl kept all her kings in the back row or not, (....)"You don't even know if her first name is Jane or Jean, ya goddam moron!”, showing that Stradlater valued a woman's body rather than her name or ethics and values. Holden believed that Jean was a girl that “kept all her kings in the back row” meaning that she preferred the security of playing safe. Thus, Holden is shocked and even nervous by the possibilities that could have occurred within Ed Banky’s car making him hostile to Stradlater. He is unwilling to comprehend that Jane Gallagher, the girl who always played it safe, may have transitioned into

To make an understatement, Holden Caulfield is the driving force behind The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger. Salinger comedically tells the story in Holden’s perspective, and depicts a condensed version of his life story. Because of his life experiences including loss and depression, Holden is a very reserved individual; his inability to express his feelings keeps him from reaching his full potential. He is too emotionally inept to keep strong relationships with people and this results in him struggling with loneliness and waves of sadness. Though this book was written in 1951, the character traits and problems that Holden embodies are still relevant to teenagers of today. Not only do they feel in excess the struggles of everyday life, but all teenagers can relate to Holden on the varying severities of self-isolation, recurring depression, and dealing with the consequences of the

When Holden comes home, he stops and buys "Little Shirley Beans" record for Phoebe (p 114). Even though it breaks, he still gives it to her. She loves it just as much as if it were not broken. Holden remembers Allie by his baseball mitt with the poems on it (p. 39). When Holden tried to bring meaning into the adult way of things, he was outcast. After he told Maurice to send up a prostitute, he did not score with her but he tried to talk to her (p. 95).  He tried to make something meaningful out of it but Sunny did not understand. It does not matter if Stradlater gave Jane the time on their date, but whatever they did meant absolutely nothing to either one of them. Stradlater could not even get her name right (p.31). The three girls Holden meets in the bar may be the worst of all. They could care less about anybody, but would die to get with a movie star (p. 72). These memories show thought and love which are a lot stronger than these empty sexual conquests.

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

Regardless of the time, place, or culture, every generation has unique challenges they must face in order to adapt to the environment around them. While specific situations may vary, the internal conflicts and negative thoughts that one may address during their transition to adulthood are universal. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the story revolves around the difficulties of Holden Caulfield and his reactions as he navigates through New York City in the 1940s or 1950s. As the novel progresses, the author uses the personal struggles and uncertainty in the life of an adolescent boy to spread awareness about the dilemmas of humanity and the darker perspectives of the world. The consistent cynical outlook combined with the briefly

were they feel like they’re alienated. In a lot of ways, Holden also literally wants

Holden’s date with Sally Hayes exhibited his difficulty at cooperating with others. At first he gives us a dire impression of Sally, “I wasn’t too crazy about her, but I’d known her for years.” (p. 105) Later, he wants to marry Sally and says he is in love with her. The biggest mystery of all when it comes to women is with Jane Gallagher. Constantly mentioning Jane, Holden recalls playing checkers with her before he got sent to boarding school. When his roommate, Stradlater, has a date with Jane, Holden asks him a peculiar question, “Did you ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row?” (p. 42) Holden, jealous of Stradlater’s date with Jane, longs to see Jane but never has the courage to call her. Interactions with other people especially women perplex and overwhelm Holden. He therefore resorts to isolation, illustrating a characteristic of his mental state.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger reveals an unappealing side of the adult world. The main character and narrator of the book, Holden Caulfield, goes through the obstacle course that is the adult world, thus ruining the innocence he had previously possessed. Throughout the book, Holden struggles and slowly descends into the darkness. While he descends into the darkness, he still tries to search for happiness. One of the causes that allows Holden lose his innocence is the desire for sexuality, which makes it impossible for him to be innocent again.

The main character talks about the lives of the guys he goes to school with and the typical teenage behavior that they all partake in. For example, Holden has been expelled from multiple schools, been in fights, smokes, swears, and talks about the stereotypical conversations between teenage males. Holden’s roommate, who he calls Stradlater, is the quintessential example of a player in the novel. Holden says that Stradlater has been with many girls and never truly cared about it until Stradlater mentions the name Jane Gallagher.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is a story about growing up. It explores the obstacles we all face during our transition from child to adulthood. The tragedies and triumphs, the breakthroughs and setbacks, the happiness and heartache. As you follow the book's protagonist, Holden, through his journey into adulthood, you learn about his life, but more importantly, you learn about your own. You grow to sympathize with the young rebel, and you begin to see traces of yourself in him.

As Holden enters the Museum of National History, his fears change into difficulty. He likes everything easily understandable. He is afraid to admit fear but only admits it in a few instances such as “Sex is something I just don’t understand. I swear to God I don’t.” Instead of facing adulthood, he traps himself in his own little childhood world thinking about his dream job, catching little kids that are about to fall off a rye cliff.

“I don’t like any shows very much, if you want to know the truth. They’re not as bad as movies, but they’re certainly nothing to rave about. In the first place, I hate actors. They never act like people. They just think they do. Some of the good ones do, in a very slight way, but not in a way that’s fun to watch. And if any actor’s good, you can always tell he knows he’s good, and that spoils it…If an actor acts it out, I hardly listen. I keep worrying about whether he’s going to do something phony every minute.” He finds the theater phony because instead of demonstrating reality as it is, the emphasis is placed on polishing it theatrically. Holden feels anger towards his brother because “he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute.” He considered that D.B. was selling himself to Hollywood, which is why he called D.B. a prostitute. He considers the movies phony and hates them so much that “… I don’t think I could ever do it with somebody that sits in a stupid movie all day long” when Sunny the prostitute was in his room. When he dances with Bernice Crabs/Krebs, he considers her a moron partially because she was on the lookout for actors at the bar because she had seen an actor the previous night. Also, it depressed him that they were planning on waking up early the next day to see the first show at Radio City Music Hall. Holden’s criticism towards the phony things in society is the most important part of his personality because it shows that

     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,

Everyone goes through the mysterious stage of life known as adolescence. Here, “most adults value exploration, growth and pain” (Spacks 3). For some individuals, its all about finding where you fit in society or choosing to stand out. Will you conform to society’s expectations? Or become individualistic? Because of these distinct paths, young adult literature has taken on two competing models in order to tackle the adolescence stage. In a entwickhungsroman novel, you see the protagonists’ general growth rather than their introspection. In a Bildungsroman novel, however, the plot involves the moral and psychological growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood. The Catcher in the Rye is a primary example of this type of genre. Despite trying everything in his power to not grow up, Holden Caulfield finally realizes that its inevitable and must be done. Appropriately written in the 1950s, Salinger does an excellent job of bring in the “teenage rebellion” culture to life. Getting kicked out of numerous schools, fighting with roommates, smoking cigarettes, and disobeying parents are some of the events Holden has done during his adolescent years.