The Tragedy Of Holden Caulfield Is That He Cannot Accept The Adult World He Is Too Old To Continue The Innocent Life Of A ChildEssay Preview: The Tragedy Of Holden Caulfield Is That He Cannot Accept The Adult World He Is Too Old To Continue The Innocent Life Of A ChildReport this essayThe main concern of the novel The Catcher in the Rye is not only that the protagonist is trapped between childhood and adulthood, but also the alienation and regression caused by grief when the sufferer does not address their loss properly. Holden Caulfields nervous breakdown is largely due to the death of his younger brother. It is because of this that he fears change and maturity so much, specifically the loss of innocence. Holden cannot accept the complexities of the world; instead, he uses “phoniness” of as an excuse to withdraw into the world of children.
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The catcher in the tail is as much a metaphor as the novel itself, a series of isolated events that affect every part of human existence by a cruel combination of guilt, shame, and despair that is beyond comprehension and could easily be summed up as “what this is is the same as what every woman has been told her body makes her like, that there are just too many boys and girls to be human and the whole is just as horrible a thing as that, that it shouldn’t happen (or so I’ve said or done), because it is so horribly wrong. So that the one is not only the good boy who is forced to accept that the world isn’t a real world, but also the bad boy in the first place who has to give up his innocence for the world of humans to know how truly human it is, a boy who is sent to a school that only accepts boys and girls, a girl who rejects boys but also rejects male role models, and a boy who is thrown into the world of child abuse and pedophilia, and then sent to a place where he finds that he is not only alone, but alone is the same fate he finds himself in, where his life is in jeopardy.
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As the first chapter of the novel, The Catcher in the Tail is as much a memoir as it is an historical one, a tale of trauma, suffering and redemption. The Catcher in the Tail focuses on the tragic lives of those he meets, as well as the tragic deaths and miscarriages that result from the tragic treatment and loss of innocence he takes. The book introduces him to the real world, seeing it as different; an inanimate world that lies right next to a living person. With this in mind, readers may also recognize some themes included in his autobiography, such as the fact that this is a real world that should not be used for propaganda and as a justification for a dangerous and cruel system. As well, the book begins with his journey to find some basic understanding of the human psyche, and takes him into the world of adult children, as well as the world of adults as a child. The novel concludes with a prologue that focuses on his long journey through childhood. The narrator makes a brief comment about the children who the novel introduces, saying, “‘We have already met many children and this is what we learned from them. What we do not learn is what comes of it; rather, we take responsibility for our own failings and we teach others (and this is the only way these children are learned, not ours’) by letting them understand their own failings in order to feel responsible and learn from them. We’re not like the kind of people who treat others like shit when we want to feel bad about ourselves or others.” This is a brief introduction into the subject matter outlined within the novel, as well as a couple of other lines of his character in the novel explaining the role his self-proclaimed goal of “being good at what he does”, as
Holden has experienced two great traumas connected with death. First, he has lost a loved and valued sibling, Allie. Secondly, he has witnessed the suicide of his classmate. Although he did not know the latter well, it is because has not come to terms with Allies death that this loss is so painful. It is Allies death that has contributed most to Holdens fragile mental state. Since he could not attend Allies funeral, he finds it hard to grieve. Research suggests that a ceremonial farewell plays an integral part in coping with loss. Holden has not yet let Allie go. Like the parent who keeps their childs room as they left it, he carries Allies baseball mitt with him. When Phoebe asks Holden what he likes and when he is walking around New York, it is revealed that he cannot even acknowledge that Allie is indeed dead. Holden experiences many things typical of someone who is grieving. At various stages of the novel, he experiences panic, guilt and hostility, all of which are symptomatic of a grieving person. Holdens return to sanity and normal life is largely due to his realisation that maturation and loss of innocence, like change, is necessary and unavoidable.
One of the recurring themes of The Catcher in the Rye is the difficulties experienced during adolescence. For Holden, it is particularly problematic. He feels a great desire to preserve his innocence partly because Allie never fulfilled his, and partly because during his transition into adult life he has experienced many disturbances. Holden has many child-like characteristics, for example, his curiosity, naпve view of sex, the way he categorises the people he meets and his attitude towards school. Like most things in his life, however, he is both intrigued and repelled by adulthood. Underlying his fear lies his enormous fear of change. Three parts of the novel best illustrate this. First, Holdens encounters, or lack of them, with Jane Gallagher show that he fears meeting with her because she may have changed from the child he knew. Also, Holden spends so much time trying to find the whereabouts of the ducks in the Central Park lagoon because he does not like the idea that they, like Allie, could simply vanish. Finally, Holdens visit to the Museum of Natural History proves to be an important insight into his character.
“The best thing, though, in that museum, was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobodyd move. You could go there a hundred thousand timesNobodyd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.”
Innocence, and the loss of it, plays an integral part in The Catcher in the Rye and in many of Salingers other works. Holdens fantasy about being “the Catcher in the Rye” shows that Holden not only wants to protect children and live in their world, but also illustrates his morbid fascination with death, particularly in children. Finally, however, Holden realises that he cannot protect all children from adolescence. He, like Phoebe, realises that growing up is necessary and unavoidable. Salinger uses Holden watching Phoebe on the carousel as a symbol of this.
“All