Is there a reason for somebody to be so resentful towards the adult world that they develop the fear of growing up? As a result one becomes obsessed with preserving every moment of their childhood. In the novel The catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the protagonist Holden Caulfield’s tragic death of his brother, Allie, and his views on adulthood prevent him from transitioning to adulthood.
The traumatic death of his younger brother, Allie, traumatizes his state of mind leaving him stuck in between adolescence and adulthood. From the beginning of the novel Holden seems to blame himself for Allie’s death. Immediately after hearing the news of Allie’s death, Holden “breaks all the goddamn windows in the garage” (Salinger 39). As a result, he …show more content…
His biggest assumption is that once somebody enters the world of adulthood they become “phony” and lose their selflessness. In the beginning of the novel, Holden describes his brother, D.B as a terrific writer who created unique and interesting stories (Salinger 1). However, D.B takes the leap into adulthood and “now he’s out in Hollywood being a prostitute” (Salinger 2). This signifies that Holden respects his brother but cannot tolerate the phony image he has brought upon himself, and displays a moment in Holden life where he experiences someone really close to him drift away into the cruel world of adulthood. This experience causes him to believe that he will lose his innocence and become a phony when he becomes an adult. On the other hand, Holden fears the many complex issues that he will have to face as he enters adulthood such as sex and facing death. Like most young adolescents, Holden struggles with the concept of sex. In his mind he believes that “[he is] probably the biggest sex maniac anyone has ever seen” (Salinger 70). But in reality he is completely inexperienced and abstains every time he comes close to a sexual encounter. For instance, when he invited the prostitute, Sunny over, he describes her “jiggling this one foot up and down, she was very nervous, for a prostitute and was young as hell” (Salinger 95). This causes Holden to feel pity for her because she
The traumatic death of his younger brother, Allie, traumatizes his state of mind leaving him stuck in between adolescence and adulthood. From the beginning of the novel Holden seems to blame himself for Allie’s death. Immediately after hearing the news of Allie’s death, Holden “breaks all the goddamn windows in the garage” (Salinger 39). As a result, he …show more content…
His biggest assumption is that once somebody enters the world of adulthood they become “phony” and lose their selflessness. In the beginning of the novel, Holden describes his brother, D.B as a terrific writer who created unique and interesting stories (Salinger 1). However, D.B takes the leap into adulthood and “now he’s out in Hollywood being a prostitute” (Salinger 2). This signifies that Holden respects his brother but cannot tolerate the phony image he has brought upon himself, and displays a moment in Holden life where he experiences someone really close to him drift away into the cruel world of adulthood. This experience causes him to believe that he will lose his innocence and become a phony when he becomes an adult. On the other hand, Holden fears the many complex issues that he will have to face as he enters adulthood such as sex and facing death. Like most young adolescents, Holden struggles with the concept of sex. In his mind he believes that “[he is] probably the biggest sex maniac anyone has ever seen” (Salinger 70). But in reality he is completely inexperienced and abstains every time he comes close to a sexual encounter. For instance, when he invited the prostitute, Sunny over, he describes her “jiggling this one foot up and down, she was very nervous, for a prostitute and was young as hell” (Salinger 95). This causes Holden to feel pity for her because she