An Analysis of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye

In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is portrayed as a young, troubled individual. He tells us his story from the mental institution where he is currently residing. Holden is a 16 year old going through many different adolescent changes. He is expelled from his prep school for flunking too many subjects. He drinks, smokes, sees a prostitute, is punched by her pimp, goes on dates, spends a great deal of time in the park, and really does not do a great deal else. Holden is a very hard person to figure out and analyze. Throughout the whole book, Holden constantly changes his mind about things and has various conflicting thoughts. The experiences that Holden goes through illustrate the divide between adults and†¦show more content†¦Adolescents today are afraid of change for many different reasons. One of the biggest reasons is the fearing of growing up and getting older because getting older means you are closer to death (Hennessy, 2010). T he death of Holden’s brother, Allie, is what caused Holden to not want to grow up and to keep his childhood adolescence. He states that people live for a while but will eventually just die. Holden decides to â€Å"numb himself† to his feelings about life to the point where it seems like he is no longer truly living but is just going through the motions day by day. Going through adolescence can be a difficult time. At some times it may feel like everyone is against you. This is similar to what Holden experienced in Catcher in the Rye. He continuously tried to alienate himself from society; he suffers from a self-imposed delusion that he is different. Throughout the story, Holden realizes that growing up indicates that he should assume responsibility in a world where he thinks only superficial and insignificant issues occur (Abdulatif, 2010). Holden is caught in the transition of his life- from the state of childhood into adulthood. According to the article †Å"Alienation in Adolescence in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye,† alienation is a feeling that inflicts adolescents due to certain reasons. As they grow up, adolescents tend to face certain psychological disturbances. They somehow feel indifferent to theirShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Movie Holden Talks With Mr. Spencer Essay1569 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis: This quote is from the part when Holden talks with Mr. Spencer. Since Holden failing all his classes except one, Mr. Spencer is advising Holden about the importance and the impact of his actions in his life. Holden’s perception of adults is depicted when he curses Mr. Spencer in his mind. By nodding silently to Mr. Spencer’s words, Holden actually disrespects adults. 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