“Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes”(Prather). Finding oneself in an era of change may lead a person down a complicated and frustrating path. Adolescents undergoing this development are faced with social standards set by older generations and often times are vulnerable to high levels mental stress. For instance, in J.D Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, protagonist Holden Caulfield struggles with this transitional stage. The young boy’s perspective of the world around him is skewed after a series of misfortunate events, which he still has difficulty acknowledging are portrayed throughout the novel. As a result, Holden’s severed perception’s leaves him in a state of despair, searching for liberation from what
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At the mere age of thirteen Holden experienced the loss of his younger brother Allie, leaving him in a state of turmoil because Allie was one of the most significant people in Holden’s life. Furthermore, Holden is unable to attend his brother’s funeral due to a fit of anger which leaves him in a hospital during the ceremony. Without the proper farewell to his brother along with feelings of guilt for not attending the funeral, Holden is incapable of accepting his brother’s death. The close bond between the two brothers can be seen through Holden’s possession of “... [Allie’s] left-handed fielder's mitt. (...) The thing that was descriptive about it, though, was that he had poems written all over... He's dead now. (...) You'd have liked him. He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent. (...) He was also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody” (Salinger 38). The description given by Holden shows his admiration, as well as the unique connection, which has had a strong impact on his emotional state. Towards the end of the novel Holden with the help of his younger sister Phoebe manages to approach a state of acceptance for Allie’s …show more content…
This also includes teenagers because they are no longer considered to be children, however society lacks a place for adolescents placing more of a burden on them. Holden Caulfield fails to properly adjust to these social standard, and consequently is criticized by others. In reality, “adolescence is not a transitional period in which a person matures learning how to behave in the society; rather, it is a period that has its own place between childhood and adulthood (Ties 145) (...) Elkind builds his famous “Egocentrism Theory”(...) “the imagery audience,”... and “apparent hypocrisy”(Karam and Aygül). This “imagery audience” refers to the an adolescent's worry for how others people will criticize them. Next “apparent hypocrisy,” refers to teenagers judging others, but believe they are not subject to the same type of judgement from others. Although Holden may not verbally concede to his insecurities, the consistent rejection from society has greatly impacted his mental
At the mere age of thirteen Holden experienced the loss of his younger brother Allie, leaving him in a state of turmoil because Allie was one of the most significant people in Holden’s life. Furthermore, Holden is unable to attend his brother’s funeral due to a fit of anger which leaves him in a hospital during the ceremony. Without the proper farewell to his brother along with feelings of guilt for not attending the funeral, Holden is incapable of accepting his brother’s death. The close bond between the two brothers can be seen through Holden’s possession of “... [Allie’s] left-handed fielder's mitt. (...) The thing that was descriptive about it, though, was that he had poems written all over... He's dead now. (...) You'd have liked him. He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent. (...) He was also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody” (Salinger 38). The description given by Holden shows his admiration, as well as the unique connection, which has had a strong impact on his emotional state. Towards the end of the novel Holden with the help of his younger sister Phoebe manages to approach a state of acceptance for Allie’s …show more content…
This also includes teenagers because they are no longer considered to be children, however society lacks a place for adolescents placing more of a burden on them. Holden Caulfield fails to properly adjust to these social standard, and consequently is criticized by others. In reality, “adolescence is not a transitional period in which a person matures learning how to behave in the society; rather, it is a period that has its own place between childhood and adulthood (Ties 145) (...) Elkind builds his famous “Egocentrism Theory”(...) “the imagery audience,”... and “apparent hypocrisy”(Karam and Aygül). This “imagery audience” refers to the an adolescent's worry for how others people will criticize them. Next “apparent hypocrisy,” refers to teenagers judging others, but believe they are not subject to the same type of judgement from others. Although Holden may not verbally concede to his insecurities, the consistent rejection from society has greatly impacted his mental