In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger portrays the central idea through Holden Caufield’s conflicts with himself, others, and society. Caufield narrates his life from the moment he gets expelled from Pencey, a private school, to when he travels back to his hometown. Through his encounters with other students, a prostitute, his old professor, and Phoebe, his younger sister, Caufield begins to realize that his life has taken a very wrong turn. Salinger uses the internal and external man vs man, man vs. society, and man vs. self conflicts that Caufield handles throughout his journey to express the central idea that one experiences loneliness in all aspect of life, especially through growing up.
One of Holden’s major conflicts is …show more content…
Holden struggles with seeing others losing their purity and gets angry at the sight of it. “Somebody'd written 'Fuck you' on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they'd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them…and how they'd all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days” (201). Holden is annoyed at any sign of what could cause kids to lose what makes them young. It may be due to growing up with his brother, who is dead, and the problem of losing his childhood. “The death of his brother, Allie, seems to be the cause of Holden’s disillusionment. Because of his brother’s death, Holden came to the realization that nothing in life is permanent” (Jane A. Hale). He thinks that moving on from his childhood means moving on from Allie, but this inability to move on is preventing him from accepting adulthood and growing up. Holden perseveres and overcomes many conflicts, but never gets over his feeling of loneliness and struggles to grow up. He pushes people away as they also isolate themselves from him. He struggles to make peace with society and never truly fits in. Due to his inability to grow up, Holden loses more and more of what makes him who he is. He loses his childhood innocence, but through this experience, he focuses all his time trying to prevent others from ending up the same way he
One of Holden’s major conflicts is …show more content…
Holden struggles with seeing others losing their purity and gets angry at the sight of it. “Somebody'd written 'Fuck you' on the wall. It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and how they'd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them…and how they'd all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days” (201). Holden is annoyed at any sign of what could cause kids to lose what makes them young. It may be due to growing up with his brother, who is dead, and the problem of losing his childhood. “The death of his brother, Allie, seems to be the cause of Holden’s disillusionment. Because of his brother’s death, Holden came to the realization that nothing in life is permanent” (Jane A. Hale). He thinks that moving on from his childhood means moving on from Allie, but this inability to move on is preventing him from accepting adulthood and growing up. Holden perseveres and overcomes many conflicts, but never gets over his feeling of loneliness and struggles to grow up. He pushes people away as they also isolate themselves from him. He struggles to make peace with society and never truly fits in. Due to his inability to grow up, Holden loses more and more of what makes him who he is. He loses his childhood innocence, but through this experience, he focuses all his time trying to prevent others from ending up the same way he