Essay about The Catcher in the Rye by Holden Caulfied

Coming of age is the transition of a person from childhood to adulthood. The Catcher in the Rye is portrayed through the mind of Holden Caulfield. This book portrays Holden as a maniac because he is recalling his three day story to a psychoanalyst from a mental hospital. Holden is fighting that fine line between being an adult and a child. However, he does not want to grow up and become an adult because of the growing responsibilities that come with being an adult, the loss of innocence associated with growing up, and the phoniness of that comes with growing into an adult. Holden is afraid of growing up because of the growing responsibilities that come with being an adult. This is clearly shown through him failing classes at†¦show more content†¦My parents would be the ones. So that was out,† (Salinger 59). Although his parents have kept shoving Holden away he should have been responsible and called his parents and face his consequences. However, Holden is too afraid of the growing responsibilities that come with growing up. Therefore, Holden does not want to grow up because of the growing responsibilities that come with becoming an adult. In addition, Holden does not want to grow up because of the loss of innocence that is associated with growing up. Throughout the story Holden always shows that he loves children and their innocence. For example, in the beginning when Holden is writing the composition for Stradlater, he describes Allie’s purity. â€Å"He was two years younger than I was, but he was about fifty times as intelligent. He was terrifically intelligent †¦ But it wasnt just that he was the most intelligent member in the family. He was also the nicest, in lots of ways. He never got mad at anybody,† (Salinger 38). Holden describes how pure Allie is by saying how he was fifty times as intelligent he was even though Allie was two years younger than he was. Also, Holden talked about how Allie never got mad at anybody. Even though this could be true, I haven’t seen younger kids not get mad. This shows how he is describing Allie’s purity. Another way Holden shows that he doe s not want to grow up isShow MoreRelatedAmerican Library Association Vs. Salinger s The Catcher s The Rye 1230 Words   |  5 Pages J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, holds the honor of appearing on â€Å"Time† magazine’s 2010 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923 (Lacayo). In contrast, the American Library Association (ALA) notes that the novel also holds the dubious honor of being the tenth most challenged book in the United States from 1990 to 1999. In 2001, 2005, and 2009 the book again made the ALA top ten most frequently challenged book list (Banned and Challenged Books). In the lightRead MoreThe Secrets of a Teenage Life900 Words   |  4 Pagescharacter Holden Caulfield by both physical actions and expressed emotions in the book The Catcher in the Rye. The overall main message of the book is to express the troubles that are involved with growing up in the adolescence years, to Holden Caulfied, the main charac ter of the book, growing up involves dealing with the phoniness of others and just not caring about much that is expected of life. Many negative effects come out of the adolescence years in the eyes of J.D Salingers, Holden Caulfield