Coming of Age in the Catcher in the Rye Essay

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is far from the typical coming of age story. From Holden Caulfield’s perspective, life is simply a battle between him and nearly everyone else in the world. This is a typical issue for any protagonist and most stories would likely propel the protagonist to change his view about life: however this high school flunky, who recently lost his younger brother to leukemia, never considers another mindset on life. Holden wants nothing more than to stop time, he doesn’t want to change and he doesn’t want anything associated with his childhood to change. Unfortunately for Holden, the world around him continues down a constantly changing path. J.D. Salinger uses Holden’s experiences to express the inevitability of maturing and losing one’s innocence as well as the effect that this struggle to grow up has on an individual and on society. The conflict in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye stems from an event that does not take place within the novel: the root of the conflict lies with Holden’s younger brother Allie. Although Salinger never bluntly…

these novels is The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Due to the popularity of The Catcher in the Rye some may ask wouldn't a novel written in 1951 struggle to remain relevant in today’s day and age? To do so popular novels must address timeless conflicts in their plot In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger utilizes the struggles of Holden Caulfield to relate to any reader. One such case is Holden’s constant struggles against his sexual desires, which can relate to teens fighting their…

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger is centered around a young boy who thinks he fully understands the world around him. He begins his journey of finding himself and reaching a point of real maturity throughout the novel. It is clear throughout the novel that Holden’s character is dynamic and shifts from an immature teenager to one who is more accepting of himself and his true limit of his knowledge of the world. Although it is evident that Holden tries to grow up extremely quickly, the…

The Catcher in the Rye is a coming of age story. It thoroughly recounts the journey of Holden, a teenager struggling with identity loss and depression. Throughout the story, Holden discovers his true identity, realizes the meaning of individuality and what it means to fulfill the specific role that is expected of an individual in society. The author of this novel, J.D. Salinger, starts off the book by setting a tone that puts emphasis on the severity of the case that Holden was living in. He…

The Catcher In The Rye The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger ( who wrote the first six chapters during a war) should be banned from a high school curriculum because it is inappropriate (curse words and sex talk), it is corrupt (promotes prostitution), and some teenagers are not mature enough for books like this. Books are banned because of racial themes, sex and profanity, violence, negativity, witchcraft, and unpopular religious or political view. The Catcher In The Rye should be banned…

«Catcher in the rye had a profound impact on me – the idea that we all have lots of dreams that are slowly being chipped away as we grow up.»- Judd Nelson. The Catcher in the Rye is a captivating and astonishing novel written by J.D. Salinger in 1951. In the first few chapters, readers know that Holden Caulfield, the protagonist, is writting this book from the mental institution about his three life-changing days spent in New York after he was expelled from an elite private high school, Pencey…

I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff. 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.” Through the use of figurative language, Salinger highlights Caulfield seeing himself as protector of the children which is a metaphor of him protecting the children from losing their innocence, this metaphor emphasises Caulfield’s obsession of keeping the younger children ‘pure’ and positions the reader to feel positive of…

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is about a teenage boy named Holden Caulfield who got kicked out of 4 different schools and now in New York to let his parents cool off from him getting recently kicked out of school. He is struggling in life by, “ falling down a cliff,” making decisions, and not getting support till he really needs it and when there is little time left. Holden wants to be the catcher in the rye because he values childhood, children never growing up, and family…

The new Stephen Chbosky film, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, based on the novel of the same author and name seems like a much needed update of J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye. The film provides a fresh perspective on the many heavy topics such as death, mental illness, and growing up brought up in Salinger’s novel. However, although “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is a more relatable and heartwarming version, The Catcher in the Rye still proves to be the most groundbreaking…

The Catcher in the Rye, a coming of age novel about a sixteen old rebellious boy named Holden, who feels that he is alienated by society, as he sees the whole society as phony and fake under its facade of friendliness. After failing all of his classes except for English in his prestigious school, he abandons his schooling in able to wander the streets of New York. What will Holden Caulfield discover in New York? How will he assess his morals? Why does he do the things that he do? My SSR novel…