Catcher In The Rye Identity

What Changes Identity?
Finding one’s identity is something many characters in stories struggle with. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and “New Husband” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie are stories where both protagonists struggle with an identity crisis. The Catcher in the Rye is a prominent tale where the protagonist, Holden, endeavors to find out who he really is, a “grown-up” or just an immature teenage boy. In “New Husband” Chika fights to keep her cultural identity while being pressured by her husband to assimilate into the American culture. Although both protagonists in The Catcher in the Rye and “New Husband” struggle with finding their identity, Chika and Holden show contrast because of the forces trying to change their identity and
This was an evident problem in both texts however, the only variable would be the person or group of people that was forcing the protagonists to change their identity. Moreover, Chika’s husband was forcing her to change her ways to become an American citizen, so they would not stand out. He does this when he states “‘ You will use your English name here.’ ‘I never have, my English name is just something on my birth certificate. I've been Chika Okafor my whole life’” (Adichie 57). This shows that her husband is the distinct force in trying to take away her precious identity and introduce her with a new one. By switching her name it is telling the world that she is a new person, that is a person Chika does not want to be. On the other hand, this is not the case for Holden. Holden does not have one force that is trying to change his identity, he has several, which can be classified into the force of society. In some occasions Holden wants to act like an adult and undergo what he perceives to be adult duties like sex, marriage, and getting a job. Regardless, he wants to maintain his innocence and childhood as long as he can and however he can. Society has made Holden believe that sex is one of the things that makes you into a “grown up”, Holden almost does this when he says, “‘Don’t you feel like talking for a while?’ I asked her. It was a childish thing to say, but I was feeling so damn peculiar” (Salinger 106). Facing the decision in committing what he believed to be an adult act, Holden backs out. He backs out because on the inside, Holden, did not want to change. He wants to retain his innocence and not have to do things that adults would do, like pay prostitutes to have sex with them. By backing out Holden managed to retain his identity as a boy, and not change into a man, which is something he has tried to avoid for so long. All in