Catcher In The Rye Adulthood Analysis

The generally accepted point of view on childhood, is that it is a period of significant discovery, curiosity, innocence and fun in one’s life, and most would agree that adulthood is an advancement of that, with allowance for even more specific character development. In clear-cut contrast to this standpoint, is that of adulthood as an abrupt termination of the wonderful, simple life of a child; where constant toil exists and charlatans abound. Such is the outlook of the title character in J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, which tells the story of the maturity journey of Holden Caulfield; a confused, depressed, out of place teenager who dreams of being the saviour of the world’s children from a future of corruption of identity and …show more content…
He imagines the transition into adulthood in this manner because of his encounters with fake, graceless, hypocritical and ill-mannered adults who try to satisfy others’ expectations in everything they do. This is what tortures his psyche and leaves him longing for a different world and a life unlike anyone else’s, though he knows things will never be that …show more content…
This fear can be explored through three major points: His neglect toward responsibilities that build the pathway to adulthood as well as his elusion of conversations that relate to it, his self-alienation from society and his projection of his innermost worries on his surroundings.

Holden’s first reveals his desire to progress as an individual in a direction opposite from life’s natural trajectory when he intentionally holds himself back in school. At the novel’s onset, he recounts the events of his previous Christmas and he mentions that he has been expelled from his fourth school, as a result of his academic