Catcher Essay
Zhang 1
Lunxi Zhang
Mr.Miller
American Literature/ Period 5
21 April 2015 Struggles of Growing Up
In the Novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield the protagonist of the story meets the norm of a troubled teen who rejects to conform to contemporary American adulthood through his immature thoughts and isolated feelings towards others. Throughout the novel, Holden is faced with different challenges that tests his maturity, and mental fortitude.
Holden is expelled from school for his poor academic conduct, and is afraid to confront with his parents, so he decides to stay in New York for a couple of days. There he steps into a journey across the adult world which he considers as “phony” and tries to find a solution to his ongoing problems, showing that the process of changing from a teenager to a mature adult along with finding an identity is a struggle for many adolescent people.
One of the most important factors to a successful transition from a child or teen to adulthood is guidance. Holden receives plenty of guidance in the story, but never from his own parents. One of Holden’s most beloved teachers, Mr antolini gives Holden advice on how he should handle his situation, and blatantly tells him the consequences if he were to fail. Holden however takes these advices very lightly, not because he does not respect Mr. Antolini or he does not believe in these advices, but rather because Mr. Antolini is simply not Holden’s mom or father. Holden’s parents barely gets mentioned in the book, with his father never appearing, and his mother appearing once when speaking only to Phoebe. This shows that Holden in his life has
Zhang 6
rarely interacted with his parents in a meaningful way, and therefore has never received any meaningful guidance on growing up from his parents. This is a problem because as a child or young teen, most people look to their parents for help when problems arise. The biggest reason as to why
Lunxi Zhang
Mr.Miller
American Literature/ Period 5
21 April 2015 Struggles of Growing Up
In the Novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield the protagonist of the story meets the norm of a troubled teen who rejects to conform to contemporary American adulthood through his immature thoughts and isolated feelings towards others. Throughout the novel, Holden is faced with different challenges that tests his maturity, and mental fortitude.
Holden is expelled from school for his poor academic conduct, and is afraid to confront with his parents, so he decides to stay in New York for a couple of days. There he steps into a journey across the adult world which he considers as “phony” and tries to find a solution to his ongoing problems, showing that the process of changing from a teenager to a mature adult along with finding an identity is a struggle for many adolescent people.
One of the most important factors to a successful transition from a child or teen to adulthood is guidance. Holden receives plenty of guidance in the story, but never from his own parents. One of Holden’s most beloved teachers, Mr antolini gives Holden advice on how he should handle his situation, and blatantly tells him the consequences if he were to fail. Holden however takes these advices very lightly, not because he does not respect Mr. Antolini or he does not believe in these advices, but rather because Mr. Antolini is simply not Holden’s mom or father. Holden’s parents barely gets mentioned in the book, with his father never appearing, and his mother appearing once when speaking only to Phoebe. This shows that Holden in his life has
Zhang 6
rarely interacted with his parents in a meaningful way, and therefore has never received any meaningful guidance on growing up from his parents. This is a problem because as a child or young teen, most people look to their parents for help when problems arise. The biggest reason as to why