What do Peter Pan and Holden have in common? They both refuse to grow up! In J.D. Salinger’s novel, Catcher of the Rye, seventeen-year old Holden Caulfield struggles with the reality that he is one year away from adulthood. It is a coming-of-age story and describes Holden’s journey as he wanders through the streets of New York after being kicked out of his fourth school. He struggles to accept change and fears that others will change and leave him. He seeks attention, clarity, and sameness. Holden does not want to grow up and acts immature and childish because he fears change and being judged by society. He is stuck in the middle of childhood and adulthood. Holden avoids relationships and responsibility because he fears adulthood.
Holden is afraid of maturation and becoming a phony. He constantly asks about the journey of the ducks in Central Park South and shows heartfelt concern their well-being. He fears for the ducks’ safety and disappearance. He expresses his concern by asking his cab driver, “You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South?...Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over” (Salinger …show more content…
It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it...and how they’d all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days” (Salinger 201). He fears that their innocence will be scratched, and not pure anymore. Allie and Phoebe both represent innocence to Holden. At the end of the novel, Phoebe rides the merry-go-round and Holden realizes that he can not save the children and Phoebe from adulthood like he wants to. He recognizes that he can not preserve their youth and protect them. Holden describes this by saying, “the thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (Salinger
Holden is afraid of maturation and becoming a phony. He constantly asks about the journey of the ducks in Central Park South and shows heartfelt concern their well-being. He fears for the ducks’ safety and disappearance. He expresses his concern by asking his cab driver, “You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South?...Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over” (Salinger …show more content…
It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it...and how they’d all think about it and maybe even worry about it for a couple of days” (Salinger 201). He fears that their innocence will be scratched, and not pure anymore. Allie and Phoebe both represent innocence to Holden. At the end of the novel, Phoebe rides the merry-go-round and Holden realizes that he can not save the children and Phoebe from adulthood like he wants to. He recognizes that he can not preserve their youth and protect them. Holden describes this by saying, “the thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them” (Salinger