Comparing The Catcher In The Rye, By J. D. Salinger

Humans were made to love, to create relationships, and to be content with their lives; it goes against basic human nature to not care, to not have love for others, or to not feel much happiness in life. In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (Little, Brown and Company, 1951), Holden Caulfield, an irresponsible teenager, faces depression as well as a lack of love and friendship after he is expelled from a prep school and told not to come back after the upcoming winter break. Leaving a few days before the break begins, Holden is unwilling to go back to his parents, so he spends a few days living in New York City alone, making several terrible choices. Throughout the course of his time living alone in the city, Holden learns to appreciate life and to love others around him. His growth as a dynamic character expresses the idea of human love. First, Holden Caulfield’s change shows human love and care in …show more content…
When he is about to leave his family for a long time, he takes his sister to the zoo one last time. As he watches her go around on the carousel, Holden comes to the realization that he really is overjoyed watching Phoebe’s smiling face. He describes, “I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth” (213). The stressful events he went through alone made him into the person he is now, loving and cherishing the time he is able to spend with his little sister. Now, Holden loves his life and really wants to spend more time with his sister. After expressing how much he misses his roommates (214), Holden has finally matured and shows much love and happiness. Throughout the story, Holden’s dynamic character and maturity expresses the concept of strong love and care for others. As Holden finds out, love is not something to be thrown aside, for it is a