The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher In the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye looks at adolescence through the eyes of sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield. Holden never, at least in this book, ceases to be at adolescent. His immaturity is shown through his judgmental ness towards those around him and his misunderstanding of what it means to be an adult. This lack of maturity exemplifies adolescence.

The story opens at Pencey, a prep school that Holden is preparing to leave after having been kicked out on account of his bad grades. We subsequently learn that this is the third prep school that Holden has been kicked out of. Holden’s subsequent narration leads us through his trip home to New York during which he tests the waters of adulthood. He drinks, smokes, and attempts to hook up with a prostitute. After spending a lonely night in a hotel room, Holden attempts to connect with people he knows to give him a sense of security.

Holden’s attempt to connect with people he knows fails because he is judgmental of the actions of those around him, even going so far as to tell his girlfriend, “You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth” (Salinger 133). Many of the behaviors that Holden scoffs at and refers to as “phony” are the same behaviors he exhibits towards his girlfriend and others around him. He lies to Sally and says that he loves her and proceeds to make out with her, and yet he previously stated he thought it was wrong to fool around with girls if you aren’t serious about them.

After Holden was finished testing what he believed was the extent of adulthood, and not enjoying himself, he attempts to mentally revert back to his childhood. Holden wishes that everything would always stay the same, as it did in the wax museum he frequented as a child. He also entertains vivid, childish imaginations of living by himself out in the wood like a hermit.

Holden