Holden Caulfield Adulthood

Many things in the world shape who people become. Everyone makes mistakes, they try to learn from them and try to move on and not dwell on the past. One’s mistakes and the experiences that people go through in life shape the person that they become. In the Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger shows, various characters, events and symbols that illustrate Holden Caulfield’s struggles to accept his inevitable transition into adulthood. Multiple people in the novel show and explain to Holden that there is more to life than being a child. The events in Holden’s life have made it challenging to let go of the past. The various symbols displayed in the novel demonstrate Holden’s fight against becoming an adult. His lifestyle choices create
great concern for his future with possible serious outcomes. Holden’s ability to appreciate the impact of his immature choices are recognized by those who surround him, yet they are unable to convince him of this necessary change. Many characters in the novel try to help Holden let go of his childhood innocence and move into adulthood. Holden’s sister Phoebe, expresses her concern about his resistance to getting older by telling her brother that he never seems to care about anything, and always looks in the past, not the future. When Phoebe and Holden are arguing, Phoebe says; “You don’t like anything that’s happening” (Salinger169). Holden dwells in the past, with a fixation about Allie’s death despite Phoebe’s attempts to help Holden realize that he needs move on. Mr. Antolini, Holden’s previous teacher tries to give him a piece of advice in hope of having Holden recognize the value of maturity. Mr. Antolini states “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one” (188). What Mr. Antolini is trying to tell Holden is that he has to accept the inevitable transition into adulthood. He tells Holden that he does not have what it takes to be a mature man and Holden does not finish anything he starts. Mr. Spencer talks to Holden because he tries to explain to him about failing in school and not wanting to try life. Mr. Spencer questions Holden, “[D]o you feel absolutely no concern for your future, boy?” (14). Mr. Spencer is trying to get Holden to understand that if he does not try in school work, that he will not get anywhere in his future. These characters want Holden to try to grow up and have a future. Holden does not seem like he wants to be positive about his education. Various characters do not want him to have the qualities you learn when you are a child. Holden’s life has some people he can look up to in the future. Characters in your life that you start to come close with, affect your perspective on life and the events that happen.

Events in the novel have impacted Holden to not want to let go of the past because they affect him emotionally, physically and mentally.
This is caused because of such a big trauma that happened in his life with his brother. Holden wants to live in the past and not move forward with his life because he feels guilty. Holden illustrates pain and suffering through his brother’s death because he can not accept the truth that he died from Leukemia. Allie’s death causes Holden to live in the past, this is shown in the quote, “[T]hey all came when Allie died, the whole goddam stupid bunch of them… I wasn’t there; I was still in the hospital” (155). Allies death has been holding Holden back because he does not want to let Allie go. Holden still talks about Allie as if he is still in the physical world. Holden struggles to let go and move on with his life because he did not make it to his funeral and have the opportunity to say goodbye. Holden has no desire to commit to anything and actually try to do well in school. Holden is convinced that every school is full of phonies and keeps getting kicked out. When Holden is speaking with Mr. Spencer, Holden says, “[T]his is about the forth school I’ve gone to” (9). This proves that Holden does not want to have an education if he keeps getting kicked out of the schools. Holden getting kicked out of the schools shows that he isn’t adult enough to handle anything in life. Holden decides that he is ready to have sex because he thinks he is a
sex maniac. The prostitute in the book named Sunny was ready to have sex when she got there. Holden wants to wait and get to know each other because he was nervous of losing his virginity. Holden becomes nervous waiting for the prostitute he says, “I was a little nervous… if you want to know the truth, I am a virgin… I’ve had quite a few opportunities to lose my virginity and all, but I’ve never really got around to it yet” (92). Holden’s mindset is that he is not ready to lose his innocence and Holden is far from becoming an adult. Holden knows if he has sex everything would change physically and emotionally which he is not ready for right now. Events are making tremendous impact on Holden’s life and they have only made him remember the past instead of that is happening now. Events are leading to the decisions that people make some are good and some are bad, but when you start noticing symbols about your life its starts to remind you of when you were a child. Many symbols in the novel show Holden trying to remain pure and not lose his innocence.
The symbol The Catcher in the Rye shows that Holden wants to keep people from becoming mature and falling off the cliff. The cliff is when children are about to fall into adulthood and when people do they end up falling off the cliff. In this quote it shows why he wants to keep people young and immature, “[T]housands of little kids and nobody is around. Nobody big, I mean except me and I am standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch them…I’d just be the Catcher in the Rye and all” (173). This quote determines that Holden does not want children to lose their pureness and innocence. Holden thinks that if he can try to save every girl and boy from wanting to have sex and becoming an adult he can be the Catcher in the Rye. The mummies in the museum help Holden express that he does not like change and rather them stay exactly the same. When Holden goes to the museum he enjoys it because nothing ever changes there. Holden showing he does not like things changing is shown in the quote, “[T]hey wrapped their faces up in these cloths that they treated with chemicals, that way the mummies could be buried in their tombs for thousands of years and their faces would not rot or anything” (203). This shows that Holden is not mature enough to lose his innocence because you change completely. Holden does not agree with children wanting to become an adult and lose their
innocence because they are still so pure to him. The symbol of the Carousel and the Gold Rings is that Holden realizes that if the kids fall, they will just have to get back up and move on with their life. The parents and people that are watching them ride the carousel and go for the gold rings can not say anything about them if they fall. The gold rings represent children falling off something into adulthood. Children want what they can not have unless they risk something is shown in the quote “[T]he thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring they will and there is nothing that you can do about it. You just have to let them do it, if they fall they fall but it is bad if you say something to them” (211). Symbols are shown multiple times throughout the novel and have made a big difference on Holden’s perspective on life. The symbols establish that he is not mature enough to lose his innocence and become a complete adult because his childhood affected it.

The various characters, events and symbols are displayed through Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye while it represents Holden Caulfield’s struggles to accept losing his innocence and turning into an adult. Characters in the novel include Phoebe, Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini has tried to make an influence on Holden’s life. By wanting him to grow up, and realize that there is so much more to life than just your childhood. Deaths, failing and prostitutes have shown that Holden lives in the past and never wants to move forward. Symbols in the novel that are important are Catcher in the Rye, the museum and the carousel, all show that Holden. Adulthood is something that people grow into when they are ready. Some people become an adult faster than others, just depends on how mature a person is.

Work Cited Page

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Print.