The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a coming of age story (Bildungsroman). Discuss Holden’s journey to maturity. By the end of the novel does Holden finally accept that growing up is part of life and give in to the process of maturity or does he continue to resist it?
“The Catcher in the rye” is a bildungsroman novel written by author J.D Salinger in 1951. The book depicts the life of a character named Holden Caulfield and depressed journey through maturity. The majority of people might think that maturity is an important transformation, which we should all go through. Yet, Holden does not, he describes maturity as a process that consumes the innocence of a person and turns them into a phony. It will be considered how Holden eventually …show more content…
Holden mentions the museum several times in the novel, which evident that he positions museum in his short-list of favorable places. “It always smelled like it was raining outside, even if it wasn 't, and you were in the only nice, dry, cozy place in the world. I loved that damn museum” (J.D. Salinger, 1951, pg. 108). The first time he depicts about the museum, he declares that the museum is the most pleasant place located in the world and also how it’s delightful smell builds joy inside him. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody 'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole, with their pretty antlers and their pretty, skinny legs, and that squaw with the naked bosom would still be weaving that same blanket. Nobody 'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. Not that you 'd be so much older or anything (J.D. Salinger, 1951,pg. 108). Furthermore he tells how nice and consistent the museum remains every time he visits it and it’s only him that modifies as he becomes more matured. All these things suggest that he does not like changes in the world, as changes …show more content…
"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody 's around--nobody big, I mean except me. And I 'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they 're running and they don 't look where they 're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That 's all I 'd do all day. I 'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it 's crazy, but that 's the only thing I 'd really like to be. I know it 's crazy"(J.D. Salinger, 1951,pg. 156). This quote determines many things about Holden, it notifies his dream job is to catch little kids from falling into a cliff but through a different perspective it can be also imagined as a different meaning. Through analyzing, it creates a deeper meaning in which the fall is represents as maturity. Generally, it displays that he wishes to save the kids from dying. However, after evaluating it indicates that he wants to save them from falling into the hands of maturity. He does not adore the fact that kids should grow and get matured as he thinks they lose their innocence and become
The Catcher in the Rye is a coming of age story (Bildungsroman). Discuss Holden’s journey to maturity. By the end of the novel does Holden finally accept that growing up is part of life and give in to the process of maturity or does he continue to resist it?
“The Catcher in the rye” is a bildungsroman novel written by author J.D Salinger in 1951. The book depicts the life of a character named Holden Caulfield and depressed journey through maturity. The majority of people might think that maturity is an important transformation, which we should all go through. Yet, Holden does not, he describes maturity as a process that consumes the innocence of a person and turns them into a phony. It will be considered how Holden eventually …show more content…
Holden mentions the museum several times in the novel, which evident that he positions museum in his short-list of favorable places. “It always smelled like it was raining outside, even if it wasn 't, and you were in the only nice, dry, cozy place in the world. I loved that damn museum” (J.D. Salinger, 1951, pg. 108). The first time he depicts about the museum, he declares that the museum is the most pleasant place located in the world and also how it’s delightful smell builds joy inside him. “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody 'd move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole, with their pretty antlers and their pretty, skinny legs, and that squaw with the naked bosom would still be weaving that same blanket. Nobody 'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you. Not that you 'd be so much older or anything (J.D. Salinger, 1951,pg. 108). Furthermore he tells how nice and consistent the museum remains every time he visits it and it’s only him that modifies as he becomes more matured. All these things suggest that he does not like changes in the world, as changes …show more content…
"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody 's around--nobody big, I mean except me. And I 'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff--I mean if they 're running and they don 't look where they 're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That 's all I 'd do all day. I 'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it 's crazy, but that 's the only thing I 'd really like to be. I know it 's crazy"(J.D. Salinger, 1951,pg. 156). This quote determines many things about Holden, it notifies his dream job is to catch little kids from falling into a cliff but through a different perspective it can be also imagined as a different meaning. Through analyzing, it creates a deeper meaning in which the fall is represents as maturity. Generally, it displays that he wishes to save the kids from dying. However, after evaluating it indicates that he wants to save them from falling into the hands of maturity. He does not adore the fact that kids should grow and get matured as he thinks they lose their innocence and become