(B) Catcher and the Rye – J.D. Salinger
The purpose of this essay is to show Holden’s Progression from a state of innocence to one of experience. The study guide defines a bildungsroman as “…a novel which is an account of the youthful development of a hero. It describes the processes by which maturity is achieved through various ups and downs of life. ” (Byrne et.al, 2012: 55). However Holden is an unusual protagonist because his central goal is to resist the process of maturity through many ways including his conversation with his parents and other adults he comes into contact with, his inner childish thoughts in many situations such as the museum and the ducks in Central Park as well as his general behaviour throughout the novel. His desire …show more content…
One of the main symbols of this is his image of the catcher in the field of rye. When Phoebe asks him what he wants to do when he is older he paints an unrealistic image for her of a field where all the children are playing and there is a cliff ahead. He explains that he wants to be the catcher that protects these children from falling off the edge. “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… That’s all I’d do all day. I’d be the catcher in the rye and all” (Ibid.173). This is a symbol of Holden wanting to be the protector of innocence and effectively save them from growing up. He wants to be the barrier between the innocence of childhood and the “evils” which come hand in hand with coming of …show more content…
His resistance to growing up is clearly shown in his conversation and dialect with his parents and other adults, his general behaviour and his inner child which is revealed through various situations in the novel such as the ducks in the lake at Central Park and the Eskimos at the museum. Holden also has a constant desire to protect innocence and fulfil his dream of the catcher in the field of rye. This is shown through his admiration for people who symbolise innocence such as Jane Gallagher and Phoebe and lastly his fixation with the “phoniness” of the adult world and how it repulses him. By the end of the novel, although he cannot reconcile the two he accepts that he cannot protect innocence as it is too great of a responsibility and learns that he needs to look at life in a less cynical light as growing up is crucial and cannot be
The purpose of this essay is to show Holden’s Progression from a state of innocence to one of experience. The study guide defines a bildungsroman as “…a novel which is an account of the youthful development of a hero. It describes the processes by which maturity is achieved through various ups and downs of life. ” (Byrne et.al, 2012: 55). However Holden is an unusual protagonist because his central goal is to resist the process of maturity through many ways including his conversation with his parents and other adults he comes into contact with, his inner childish thoughts in many situations such as the museum and the ducks in Central Park as well as his general behaviour throughout the novel. His desire …show more content…
One of the main symbols of this is his image of the catcher in the field of rye. When Phoebe asks him what he wants to do when he is older he paints an unrealistic image for her of a field where all the children are playing and there is a cliff ahead. He explains that he wants to be the catcher that protects these children from falling off the edge. “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… That’s all I’d do all day. I’d be the catcher in the rye and all” (Ibid.173). This is a symbol of Holden wanting to be the protector of innocence and effectively save them from growing up. He wants to be the barrier between the innocence of childhood and the “evils” which come hand in hand with coming of …show more content…
His resistance to growing up is clearly shown in his conversation and dialect with his parents and other adults, his general behaviour and his inner child which is revealed through various situations in the novel such as the ducks in the lake at Central Park and the Eskimos at the museum. Holden also has a constant desire to protect innocence and fulfil his dream of the catcher in the field of rye. This is shown through his admiration for people who symbolise innocence such as Jane Gallagher and Phoebe and lastly his fixation with the “phoniness” of the adult world and how it repulses him. By the end of the novel, although he cannot reconcile the two he accepts that he cannot protect innocence as it is too great of a responsibility and learns that he needs to look at life in a less cynical light as growing up is crucial and cannot be