The book: The Catcher in the Rye
Holden Caulfield; an essential character in the book The Catcher in the Rye exhibited a life that juxtaposed with the lives of most American citizen not only during his time but also in this contemporary world. In the book, Holden is seen in a confusing a terrible point of life. Just as seen to in any teenager, a transition occurs. The book sees Holden taking a particularly rough time during this change. He develops a mentality which prevents him from understanding and seeing the purpose of life. Even when caught in this limbo, Holden managed to sail through.
Based on its storyline, it is evident that The Catcher in the Rye is a representation of bildungsroman. The story follows a vital experience of a young protagonist’s life. Holden being the main character, the story critically illustrates how the main character transforms from childhood to adulthood. In essence, “bildungsroman” which is derived from German words “novel” and “education” is described as stories that utilize a teenage or a child protagonists in order to develop viable ideas on what it means to be a mature person in the society. In the vein, The Catcher in the Rye also follows the life of Holden, who develops from childhood to adulthood. The significant worldview change that Holden experienced is when he decided to break free from the chain and the urge to always remain an adolescent. Initially, Holden desperately feared to become an adult. Holden went ahead and invented a slang for adulthood “phonies” he believes that adulthood was a world of hypocrisy and superficiality. At one point, Holden referred to Mr Hass as “that was the phoniest bastard I ever met in my life” (Salinger 3). This depicted his intense hate for adulthood life. As the story progressed, Holden finally managed to change his mind and decided to confront his issues. Either, as the novel ends, Holden finally realizes that the joy of life is all about searching for the next little joy.
Symbols; characters, figure or objects that are used to represent ideas are extensively used in the book The Catcher in the Rye. The initial aspect of symbolism comes from the title of the book. The title significance has been significantly discussed in chapter 22. Holden was asked by Phoebe what was the thing he wanted to do with his life. The reply from Holden illustrated a visual representation from the song “Catcher in the Rye”. He imagined a wide ground of rye up a cliff, filled with children who are falling down the cliff. From this, he replied to Phoebe telling him that he would wish to protect children falling from the edge of the cliff. The essence of this symbol was to illustrate the Holden wanted to catch the children they fall off the ignorance of childhood and find themselves into the knowledge of adulthood. Another symbol that Salinger used was Holden’s Red Hunting Hat which recognized the character of uniqueness and individuality, which was widely associated with Holden. The red hunting hut illustrated how Holden desired to be different and unique from everyone around him. Either, it turns out that Holden is conscious about his hat. He was keen not to wear it when he is around familiar people. It seems that the symbol of the red hat forms the conflict present in the novel, which is Holden’s need for companionship and self-isolation at the same time. In Chapter 3, the Ducks in the Central Park of Lagoon is also another example that illustrates symbolism. Holden wonders where ducks venture during winter. This illustrated the youthful side of Holden as well as his joy for encountering mysteries. In Chapter 17, the Museum of Natural History is also another form of symbolism. As Holden explains, the displays are appealing to him because they are unchanging. In essence, the museum represents the world that Holden would wish to live. A world where everything is understandable and simple.
The primary reason why Holden Caulfield is depressed throughout the novel is that he has a central goal of resisting maturity. Holden fears change and complexities. Holden becomes depressed because he is guilty of the sins he is prone to criticize in others. He is also unable to understand everything which is around him. Holden understanding of adulthood and childhood makes him cut himself from the world and end up sinking deep into the protective cover of cynicism. Since Holden is depressed, and the reason for his depression is the fear of change, I believe that the only thing that can bring Holden happiness is curiosity. By curiosity, Holden will be able to exploit the world around him, and as a result, he will be able to appreciate all the factors that are brought by changes. The Ducks in the Lagoon had elicited some elements of curiosity in Holden; he started yearning to know where the Ducks went during winter. By doing this, Holden will be able to appreciate that without changes and adjusting to certain conditions; then life would have been a boring life. Therefore, I believe that eliciting aspects of curiosity will be playing a crucial role in helping Holden appreciate change; hence he will be happy. The fantasy of adulthood is what stands on the way for Holden to find happiness. Holden hates adulthood knowledge and their lifestyle. At some point in (Chapter 9), when he talked about sex, he admitted that “sex is something I just don’t understand. I swear to God I don’t”. Adulthood life it stands to be the main obstacle making Holden not to find happiness. Holden finally found happiness. Finally, he realized that true happiness in life is achieved by the constant pursuit of the next little joy. He realized this by watching his sister ride a carousel while reaching every moment reaching out for the golden ring. Despite the many times, his sister missed the golden ring; she always laughed hysterically. As a result of this, Holden came to understand that it was not the ring that mattered to his sister rather, it was the rush to victory that really matters. In the same case, it dawned to Holden that living a happy life is not all about accomplishments, but it is through the fulfilment of the process, the process is what that matters and not the results.
Holden relationship with adulthood is unpleasing. He used the term phoniness to describe how adulthood life is like. In Chapter 22, Holden explained that adults are inevitably phonies. According to him, phoniness was the emblem of everything that was weird around him. The adult life was among the key reason for him to withdraw into his cynical isolation. Either, Holden wishes to remain an adolescent for the rest of his life. Holden poses the urge to always attract attention. Apparently, this trait is common among several adolescents. As a result, Holden wishes to always remain an adolescent. In chapter 4, for example, Holden proclaims that he needs to act in order to attract more recognition. “All I need’s an audience. I’m an exhibitionist”. He even goes ahead and exaggerates his immaturity as he wishes to always remain adolescent. In Chapter 2, Holden went ahead and stated that “I act quite young for my age sometimes… I’m seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I’m about thirteen”. All this illustrates how Holden wishes to remain adolescent. The urge to resist change is what makes Holden more depressed since adulthood is inevitable.
In a nutshell, The Catcher in the Rye initiated a character which has befriended generations of the adolescents who thought they were the only ones who would remain in the adolescent stage forever. Despite being on the shelves for more than 65 years, the novel is still an inspiration of on the youths even in today’s world. Holden experiences are still common in today’s world.