Work of Literature The Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye, a novel by J.D. Salinger, is the story of Holden Caulfield, a cynical sixteen-year-old with prematurely gray hair that appears older than his age. Holden is caught at the awkward age between adolescence and adulthood. Set in the 1940s, the story begins with Holden recovering from a breakdown stemming from his expulsion from Pencey Prep School. Holden has already flunked out of three other schools. This man/child is torn between his desire to take on the trappings of adulthood and his desire to preserve the innocence of childhood. The title is a reference to the way Holden sees the world and his desire to protect its purity.

Salinger's book concerns the isolation of adolescences and the personal struggle that one goes through during the quest to establish one's identity. I believe this novel's universal appeal lies in the fact that it addresses feelings that are common among young adults of all cultures. Holden's has a sensitivity that keeps him from finding his place in the world. This makes the character readily identifiable to many, teenagers as well as those who have memories of those days.

Holden's perspective on life keeps him from readily making friends. He also wants nothing to do with the "phonies" who inhabit the adult world. And though Holden claims he wants to be left alone, more than anything he wants to make a connection with someone. Everyone needs to be connected to something or someone.

Another theme Salinger links Holden's world view to his sexual repression. His repression is manifested not only in his chaste relationship with Jane but also in his wish to become a monk, his preference for the two nuns he meets over the other women, and his dismissal of the prostitute sent to his hotel room. Holden's adolescent repression of sexuality contributes to his tendency to deliver negative judgments on the world.

Nonetheless, there is an underlying feeling that Holden's pronouncements on the world are correct. At one point Holden's former teacher Antolini tells him "that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior" (246). Holden suffers from a kind of angst that perpetuates his attitude toward society. This is consistent with the patterns of adolescent crisis associated with his age as one is attempting to define oneself.

Holden's mental state is a manifestation of both his unique, personal gifts and the fault of a hypercritical, uncaring society indifferent to the more sensitive individuals. His observations of the hypocrisy in the adult world are a result of his being a victim of this insensitivity. Despite the nature of the unacceptable world in which he lives, by the end of his adventures Holden seems ready to reach some kind of accommodation with society. This as inevitable for all of us, if one may argue, regrettable.