Catcher_in_the_Rye

Critical Essay- The Catcher In The Rye A novel in which one of the main characters is not in harmony with his society is the ‘Catcher In The Rye’ by J.D Salinger. Holden Caulfield is portrayed as a troubled teenager that’s not quite in sync with his surroundings and we know this immediately from the start as he tells his story from the mental institute in which he is currently residing. He seems to show a lot of frustration towards society and the way the world works. His lack of understanding in life is due to the death of his brother, Allie. Holden refuses to acknowledge his emotions with regards to Allie, who died of Leukaemia three years before the story takes place. In reaction to this death, he hides his true feelings about change, death and relationships with other people, from himself and so makes himself an outcast in civilization. Allie was a lot different from Holden and this difference was feared by him. He discusses Allie in great depth and details his talents and values. He was very smart and sporty and was more mature for his age that he should have been. This is the basis for Holden’s fear of growth and change. The more you grow, the closer to death you find yourself, and death is the ultimate change. This made Holden an outsider of his own right. He did not want to grow up and he didn’t want to change. At one point, Holden talks about how much he loves the museum. He says that the museum is great because everything just stays in its place, behind glass, and never differs. Something’s should not change. He is really saying that he does not want to change the way Allie changed. Also, he says the only thing that is different about the museum visits is he himself and this he cannot stand. He does not want to go inside the museum because of this. This shows that he does not want to see how much he has grown and he especially does not want to see how much he has grown apart from Allie. Also, how different the two are from one another. Holden won’t admit to us, or himself, that his feelings towards the changes society provides are to do with Allie and so he won’t deal with them. As Holden has a fear of changing, growing up is a major issue he worries about. This immaturity he poses makes his problems with finding harmony in society that much worse. He revels in innocence and perfectness and for Holden this is a comfortable place, but for his surroundings it does not fit. An example of this in the book is in Chapter 5 when Holden is waiting for Ackley, his roommate, to get ready to go to town. Holden sees it’s snowing outside and so packs a snowball from the window ledge. He begins to throw it at a parked car but doesn’t as the car ‘looked so nice and white’. He then aims at a fire hydrant, but stops again because that also looks ‘too nice and white’. Finally, he decides not to throw it at anything and closes the window. To me, this shows that Holden sees through the window a visual picture of what he unconsciously desires: a state of living which is separate from the unrest of this world of corruption, violence, noise, decay and ultimately death. This is how Holden admires to see the world and this shows he is not intact with society and he wishes it to be easy and simple, similar to the life of a child. In chapter twenty-four, Holden visits and plans to stay with Mr. Antolini. After hearing about Holden's expulsion from Pencey, Mr. Antolini approaches the situation with Holden. He tells Holden what he fears will happen if he continues on the path he is taking. As Mr. Antolini stated, ‘I have a feeling that you're riding for some kind of terrible, terrible fall’, 187. By this, he means that Holden should learn more about the "human condition" and confront or accept it, not just run away from it. I believe that Holden becomes defensive and starts to argue this idea because, in a way, agrees and doesn't want to accept the truth. The truth is that Holden would rather point fingers at society and every imaginable person, rather than himself. This is typical for a teenager. A teenager is not meant to be open to such a decision that Holden tries to make, whether to exclude himself from society or not. Holden Caulfield is a terribly disillusioned teenager who is disgusted with the adult world he sees around him. His plan to run away from school is the result of his desperation to escape the realities of his oncoming adulthood. Through the innocence of his youth Holden views the world as hypocritical and corrupt. These views have a great impact on Holden and his ability to be in tune with society and have ultimately destroyed his harmony with himself and the world around him.