Outline
Topic: Holden’s incapacity to grow up.
Thesis Statement: In the reading The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield rejects to
grow up as a consequence of his depressive disorder.
I
Introduction
T.S.: In The Catcher in the Rye, we can infer that the main reason for Holden’s rejection
to grow up is his hatred towards the adults.
A. Adults are dishonest
B. Adults are phonies
C. Adults are corrupts
C. S. Holden satanizes adults’ behavior.
II.
Holden rejects sexuality.
T.S.: Due to Holden’s emotional immaturity he is confused about sexuality.
A .He considers sex confuse.
B. He fears sex as manifestation of adulthood.
C. He sees sex as pervertion..
C.S.: Unconsciously, Holden refuses sex as step toward adulthood.
III.
T.S.:
Childhood for Holden
Though Holden yearns to grow up, he feels safe into childhood.
A. Children are good.
B. They are truthful.
C. They are honest.
C.S.: Childhood is good.
IV.
Conclusion
T.S. The overgeneralization of adulthood and childhood, impulses Holden to take wrong
decisions.
.
A. Adults are humans
B. Children are children
C.S.: Holden’s preference for childhood, helps him to endure the process of
transformation.
Marta Bogantes C.
900509
Prof. Adriana Jimenez
29 Set 2011
The Transition to Maturity
In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden, the protagonist rejects growing up as a
consequence of his depressive disorder. Due to the symptoms he presents Holden’s
mental illness fits in the group of patients that suffer from depression. The disturbance,
makes the mentally ill to take wrong decisions.
In Holdden’s case, he refuses to grow
up. Moreover, Holden is seventeen years old and his age increases his health problem
because of his adolescence. Due to his wrong way of thinking Holden blames the
adulthood of his own frustration and projects his self- hatred toward the adults. So, they
are the target of all his criticism.
First of all, Holden thinks that adults are dishonest. As Holden sees one of his
roommates who is a senior and he says in his own words: “ He told us we should always
pray to God –talk to Him and all-wherever we where. He told us we ought to think of
Jesus as our buddy and all. He said he talked to Jesus all the time. Even when he was
driving his car. That killed me. I can just see the big phony bastard shifting into first
gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs.”(17) Holden hates hypocritical
adults.
Also, Holden hates cliques among friends. He says: “Ed Banky was the
basketball coach at Pency. Old Stradlater was one of his pets. Because he was the center
on the team, and Ed Banky always let him borrow his car when he wanted it. It wasn’t
allowed for students to borrow faculty guys’ cars, but all the athletic bastards stick
together.”(43)
Holden can’t stand phoniness. He sees the artificial attitude of “Phonies” in public
persons, as he says in the following instance: “I can’t even stand ministers. The ones
they’ve had at every school I’ve gone to, they all have these Holy Joe voices when they
start giving their sermons. God, I hate that. I don’t see why the hell they can’t talk in
their natural voice. They sound so phony when they talk.” (100)
Another characteristic in adults that Holden hates especially among upper classes is
corruption. Here Holden criticizes professionals who as he says, work not for helping
others especially lawyers in this case, but for profit. That’s what he says, in the next
example: “Well a lawyer- like Daddy and all.” “Lawyers are all right, I guess-but it
doesn’t appeal to me,” I said. “I mean they’re all right if they go around saving innocent
guys lives all the time, and like that, but you don’t do that kind of stuff if you’re a lawyer.
All you do is make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink
Martinis and look like a hot shot…”(172) As we can see along the reading Holden due
to his illness, overgeneralizes also, he satanizes adults by judge them as if all of them
were corrupts, phonies, dishonest and “all.”
Another characteristic of Holden’s emotional immaturity is that he fears to have sex.
Also, he feels confused about it. Relating to have sex, Holden says: “Sex is something
really don’t understand too hot. You never know where the Hell you are. I keep making
up these sex rules for myself, and then I break Them right away.” (63)
As a consequence of Holden’s fear to grow up, he always goes back and looks for
excuses t to have sex. This is a good example of how Holden keeps away from the
opportunities to perform it. Holden says: “Look”, I said. “I don’t feel very much like
myself tonight. I’ve had a rough night. Honest to God. I’ll pay you and all, but do you
mind very much if we don’t do it? Do you mind very much?” The trouble was, I just
didn’t want to do it.” (96)
Moreover, Holden considers adults as if all of them were sexually pervert. In fact,
looking for advice Holden goes to Mr’s Antolini’s house. But, his attitude disappointed
Holden so much. The fallowing instance reveals how he feels about it: “ I fell asleep.
Then, something happened. I don’t even like to talk about it. I woke up all of a sudden.
I don’t know what time it was or anything but I woke up. I felt something on my head,
some guy’s hand. Boy, it really scared hell out of me.”(191)
The negative event that Holden confronts in Mr Antolini’s house affects Holden
deeply because he considers Mr Antolini a respectable person. In addition, his attitude
reinforces Holden’s distrust toward adults. But most of the time, Holden fears sex
because unconsciously he considers it as step to maturity.
Nevertheless, Holden yearns growing up, he feels safe into childhood. Throughout the
book, we see that Holden loves children the most. Besides, he idealizes them because he
says they are all good, honest and trustful. An example of goodness is Holden’s brother
Allie: “He was also the nicest, in lots of ways…God , he was a nice kid, though.”(38).
Also, his sister Phoebe plays a very important role in the Holden’ life. Because at he end
of the book she becomes her savior. “ She is very affectionate.” “She was glad as hell to
sees me.” (161) For Holden children are trustful; Phoebe is an example of it. Relating to
the influence that his sister has over him, Holden realizes that she knows so much about
him and tell us what she says: “You don’t like anything that’s happening” It made me
even more depressed when she said that. Yes I do. Sure I do.[…] “Because you don’t
like schools You don’t like a million things. You don’t.”[…] Because you don’t,” she
said. “Name one thing.”(169) Phoebe also means honesty in the Holden’s life because
she says what he is.
For Holden childhood is good because he feels safe in his
relationship with his siblings.
They give him support along his life.
Due to his
insecurity, Holden decides to stay in childhood because children are innocent, pure, and
sincere. All of these virtues are what Holden whishes to find in adulthood in order to be
one of them.
To conclude, Holden’s emotional disorder impulses him overgeneralize childhood
as all the good contrary to adulthood as all the bad. And he is in between of both of the
extreme. Holden makes some mistakes in the perception of situations. He demonizes the
adults and idealizes the children. All of the characters that function as children according
to Holden’s way of thinking are the best, contrary to adult characters that are the worst.
His .incapacity to perceive reality, makes him to think that he fits in childhood in spite of
his age. Certainly, Holden’s preference for childhood, helps him endure the process of
transformation.