The Catcher in the Rye

Hannah Genich
Mr. Buzminski
ENG 3U
March 7, 2015

J.D Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye demonstrated a typical Bildungsroman novel, showing that maturing is inevitable and ones life will go on. Holden Caulfield’s experiences allow his character to undergo permanent change that altered his perspectives on life. Salinger illustrated a Bildungsroman with emotional loss, life lessons learnt from encounters, and acceptance of ethics in society. Holden’s role as a developing character in Salinger’s novel demonstrated the elements used in a Bildungsroman.

The first phase of a Bildungsroman involves an emotional loss, a period of awkwardness and typically ends with moral the growth of the protagonist. The emotional loss Holden experienced was the loss of his younger brother, Allie, who passed away from leukemia five years before the beginning of the novel. This event altered Holden’s psychological behavior. Holden still grieved from the passing of Allie and regretted the time he told Allie to leave him and Bobby alone. Holden reenacted that particular moment and tried to change the past: “Okay. Go home and get your bike and meet me in front of Bobby's house” (Salinger 99). Holden tried to comfort his depression by attempting to change the past through communication with his deceased brother. Due to Holden’s ongoing struggle to deal with this loss of Allie, he demonstrated traits of awkwardness in the form of cynicism. Holden’s mental state was not the only the consequence of the loss of Allie, but also due do to the way in which he perceived life. Holden had a hypocritical attitude towards everyone, labeling them as “phony” but never considered himself to be:
“Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game” (Salinger 8). His former teacher Mr. Spencer was hassling him about his failures at Pencey; he lectured Holden about the importance of playing by the rules. The conversation illuminated key characteristics of Holden’s personality like silent disrespect for adults and being a “phony” himself. Holden transposed his arrogant feelings onto everything and everyone around him. Another way Holden demonstrated characteristics of awkwardness was through his inability to communicate and fit in with his peers. Holden was the typical alienated youth, he was unable to feel comfortable in any environment: “I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden. I almost wished I was dead” (Salinger 48). Holden proved he wanted desperately to interact with Ackley, but when Ackley ignored Holden, he felt even more isolated and alone. Holden felt more aware of his loneliness when Ackley ignored him. The awkwardness Holden portrayed allowed him to set forward in his life by maturing. As Holden watched his sister grow out of her childhood he realized that he must develop into an adult himself: "The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them" (Salinger 211). At this moment, Holden felt he was in a place where no one was being “phony”. Holden realized by watching Phoebe that he is capable to move forward in his life as well. As Phoebe grabbed for the golden ring, Holden saw firsthand that she was ready to take risks in her life. Holden became sensitive, as he then knew that life would continue and he could not prevent himself from maturing. As Holden continued to struggle with his emotional loss, and seeing the world as a destructive place, he would encounter many life lessons that forced change on his lifestyle.

The second stage of a Bildungsroman sets a pathway of forced change, which influenced Holden to learn valuable lessons from minor and major characters in Catcher in the Rye. Holden demonstrated a forced change when he met the nuns; they were included in the novel to show Holden’s compassionate side. Holden's said, "That's what I liked about those nuns. You could tell, for one thing, that they never went anywhere swanky for lunch. It made me so damn sad when I thought about it, they’re never going anywhere swanky for lunch or anything" (Salinger 114). The nuns made Holden feel depressed, but content at the same time, as this was the first time Holden had interacted with authentic adults. Even when Holden encountered positive situations he was unable to enjoy them, as he always dwelled on the negative aspects. This proves how compassionate Holden truly was; he was constantly putting himself in other people’s shoes. He thought thoroughly about how they personally related to his own position in life. Holden had revealed his feelings about people who did noble deeds, which allowed him to have a different outlook on his life. Another way Holden established an effort of adjustment to his life was symbolized by his disastrous date with Sally. Holden said, “You give me a royal pain in the ass if you want to know the truth. Boy, did she hit the ceiling when I said that” (Salinger 133). Sally was a classic “phony”, making it ironic that Holden would have wanted to live isolated in the woods and committed to her. Sally was the type of girl who was all about personal satisfaction, caring little for other people in general. She was shallow, which was an attribute Holden hated. When Holden left Sally after apologizing to her, it was a wise decision on his part, as he finally realized that he deserved an authentic relationship.

Holden demonstrated a different variety of forced change when he met Sunny the prostitute. Holden recognized her innocence, as she was nearly his own age: “It was a funny thing to say. It sounded like a real kid. You'd think a prostitute and all would say "Like hell you are" or "Cut the crap" instead of "Like fun you are” (Salinger 94). Holden gained respect for Sunny, since although she was a prostitute she avoided vulgar language. When she began to take her clothes off, Holden knew it was not ethical to take advantage of an innocent girl who never learnt to say thank you. Earlier in the novel there would have been a greater chance of Holden taking advantage of Sunny, but since he knew what it was like to be taken advantage of his decision-making was altered. Due to Holden’s encounter with Sunny he viewed the conversation he had with Phoebe as a mature adult would. Phoebe gave Holden two choices, to run away and take her with him, or to stay with her: “I said I’m not going back to school. You can do what you want to do, but I’m not going back to school, she said. So shut up” (Salinger 208). Phoebe demanded to join Holden as he attempted to run away, she forced him into a role of responsibility he was not ready to take on. Phoebe showed Holden she needed him in her life and that she would be Holden’s authentic relationship. Holden decided not to run away as he realized that Phoebe looked up to him as a role model. Holden’s journey forced many changes on his lifestyle, allowing him to look at his life from a different perspective.

The third stage of a Bildungsroman was based on Holden discovering his self-knowledge, maturity and identity. Holden demonstrated traits of self-knowledge when he lied to Mr. Spencer about leaving in the middle of the lecture: “I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life… It's terrible. So when I told old Spencer I had to go to the gym to get my equipment and stuff, that was a sheer lie” (Salinger 16). Holden knew lying was not ethical and he felt terrible to lie to Mr. Spencer, as he was sick. Holden felt obligated lie to Mr. Spencer in this situation as it allowed him to escape confronting his problems. Holden realized he must take control of his life, as he was now an adult. Holden’s awareness and self-knowledge allowed him to mature into the adult he feared becoming. Mr. Antolini wrote Holden a meaningful message as he was concerned about Holden’s mental state: “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one” (Salinger 188). Mr. Antolini was very concerned about Holden and gave him advice to not give up, but reconsider his views on life. Mr. Antolini hoped Holden wanted to live for a cause. Holden listened to Mr. Antolini as he then decided to allow himself to mature and talk to a psychiatrist. Holden demonstrated maturity in his life when he realized he could not face the world alone: “You keep it. Keep it for me, she said. Then she said right afterward—Please (Salinger 211). Holden listened to Phoebe and kept her money, as he realized nobody could go through life without the help of others. Holden finally gained trust in Phoebe as he realized she had his best interests in mind. Holden matured by listening to Phoebe, but also connected with himself and realized he was in fact a phony. As Holden matured into an adult he was able to grow and move forward to discover his true identity. Holden ended his story by stating: “That’s all I’m going to tell about” (Salinger 213). Holden felt resentment, as he was too occupied telling his own story to listen to anyone else’s. Holden showed compassion for others, as he was stable enough to manage himself. He was then willing to help others. Holden was now able to see the world as a positive place where he would be able to live. Furthermore, he did not categorize everyone he interacted with as phony, as he realized there is no way to invert growing up. Holden had taken many journeys to discover his self-knowledge, maturity and identity by taking control of his life.

In Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye Holden developed his character by following the stages of a standard Bildungsroman. Holden experienced emotional losses, which set forth his journey, he absorbed life lessons that allowed him to see the good in life and obtained self-awareness that led to him realize life goes on. When Holden accepted the fact he could not sanitize the world, he then understood he must move on with his life, as time is irreversible.

Works Cited
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1945.