The Theory Of Self Orientation

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 has matured in many ways throughout the novel. He had grown from an immature child who only cared about himself to a mature adult who wanted to make something of his life. In the beginning of the story we are introduced to

Holden Caulfield is the protagonist in the novel “The Catcher in the Rye”. In the book Holden hears a quote “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he want to live humbly for one” (Salinger 188) which he embraces as he matures throughout the story. Holden’s opinions of childhood and adulthood change as he grows through experience.

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

Throughout the novel, Holden attempts to find the true from of himself as he struggles with the social interactions around him. Due to the struggle and confusion that arouses from it,

He may still be a young boy but he is very independent and basically lives on his own for the entirety of the book, but his negative outlook transforms independence into isolation. He is incredibly lonely but also pushes people away when he has a chance to get close to them. Such as his date with Sally Hayes which was going very well until he pushed her away with his harsh words, “You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth” (Ch. 17 pg. 173). Just because Sally wouldn’t run away with him and be independent with him he pushed her away. Holden may think he wants to be free and independent but his negative outlook just feeds his loneliness and

Everyone jokes about having an existential crisis, but in reality, the root of the problem is the unspoken existential anxiety that affects all people. Existential anxiety is the anxiety caused by the morality of a person’s life span. This causes them to think about what purpose they have in life, or how they are significant to society. In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, a young man named Holden Caulfield, recalls his memories of a weekend alone in New York. During this time, Holden attempts to cope with his existential anxiety through immature, childish impulses, causing Self-Hatred, but becomes Self-Compassionate due to his growing awareness of the effect he has on people around him.

Holden could not really accept the truth about growing up; death for the most part. After already facing his younger brothers Allies death, he is unwilling to see other children grow up, and become closer to their fate. Holden Caulfield is the only character in the novel that is affected by the pain of growing up. Holden resents the thought of growing up and struggles to deal with the fact that it is a process that everyone goes through. Holden shares with us about his thoughts about the natural history; Holden expresses how much he desires the museum. He uses the museum as an example of fear of change. He talks about visiting it as a child. Holden expresses that he does not know how to deal with the upsetting truth of having to grow up and changing his perspectives on life. “Sex is something I just don't understand. I swear to god I don’t”.(PG.56) Holden says this because sex is apart of growing up into the adulthoods world and reaching a growth of maturity, but he is afraid to grow up. Holden feels like he going to be like Ms. Spencer; a phony and a liar. He is stuck between both worlds, adulthood and childhood. He sees the adulthoods world as a phony and a fake, but he also see the childhoods world as a innocent and honest living. He wants to live a simple

Holden is attracted to the privileges that adulthood offers. Drinking, Sex, Independence and Smoking represent aspects of adulthood that Holden is not averse to and is genuinely excited by. After arriving in New York, Holden attempts to act as an adult, but his attempts fail miserably. He tries to order a scotch and soda but is carded and must settle for a coke instead. Holden is content with childhood right up until it forfeits him an opportunity to get a drink. He wants to be an adult, but also wants to be a kid. He seems excited with the freedom but fears the loss of innocence and responsibility that

Holden’s attitude toward life in general is perplexed. He pretends to be an adult by drinking heavily, yet he complains like a child. Holden's thoughts aren't what an average sixteen year old boy would think about. He describes death in a peculiar way and he pretends to be injured often yet he hasn’t been in that position before. He is a bit violent and sexual for a kid his age. He lies about his age to certain people he meets. He tries to lose his virginity to a prostitute but he doesn’t go through with it. Holden isn’t a straightforward guy because he shys away with his lies. In other words, Holden tries to act like an adult at times, but he is actually extremely terrified of the adult life.

Holden would dress in atypical clothes and would flunk out of all his classes in hopes to get the attention he lacked from his parents. His desperation for attention ultimately causes him to be seen as an outsider, and isolates him from his community. He tells his professor, Mr. Spencer, that he feels as if he is “trapped on the other side of life” and how he is trying to fit into a world where he doesn’t belong in. In my opinion, Holden’s alienation is also caused by his fear of becoming an adult. However, instead of admitting to his fear, Holden denounces it by stating adulthood is phony and fake. In the novel, he portrays childhood as a time of innocence, learning, and happiness; while adult hood is denoted as a dark, phony, and unhappy time. He constantly is criticizing adults of being “phony”, when in reality he is the phony one. Holden uses phoniness to represent all of the bad things in the world and uses it as a reason to isolate himself from the world to deal with his loneliness. Holden also isolates himself due to his craving for stability. Holden’s life had been constantly changing; changing boarding schools,

Throughout the novel Holden is rejected and exploited by the society around him. As he is conflicted with himself to find a purpose in life he constantly tries to connect with a superficial society. The ongoing failure and fake personas he meets adds to his depression and cynicism. But instead of facing the problems by growing up and to move on Holden uses this negativity and isolation to protect him. Holden tries show that he is better than everybody else as this is the little stability he has left. When in reality Holden is just scared of the interaction of people because they just submerge him with complications he doesn 't know not yet how to deal with. Holden not being be able to cope with the idea of growing up adds to his loneliness which is the core of his pain. When his encounters first interaction in the novel, Holden Caulfield is an uncaring outcast who sees no motivation in life. As he says to Mr. Spencer, he feels trapped on “the other side of life” (Salinger). Holden constant attempt to fit into society is hidden because of his detachment to people. His only stability right now is to search for his own individuality and to face adulthood himself. That is why

Holden’s biggest fear of change is becoming an adult. He feels all adults are “fake” or “phony.”

Unfortunately there are things Holden is attracted to that comes adulthood. These snares are cigarettes, booze, the idea of sex, and a kind of independence. These things are what makes Holden's body want the change unto adult hood, his flesh desires. But the bad is what turns him away from the idea of changing. He despises absence of integrity, loss of innocence, and loss of authenticity in the new adult world.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J. D. Salinger in 1951. The protagonist Holden Caulfield tells us of an episode in his life where he finds himself utterly troubled and lost. The odd thing about Holden is that he seemingly has a “good life” nevertheless he is severely negative about almost all of his surroundings, mostly of the people he surrounds himself with, in addition to those he meets along his way. This essay will discuss why Holden Caulfield can be seen as a ‘rebel without a cause’. OK