Maturation is the journey from childhood to adulthood, where time represents everyones unavoidable passageway to adulthood. An awakening in life can help one become aware of the world around him. In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the author J.D. Salinger, traces the process of maturation through the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Firstly, Holden commits many wrong doings and hurts others through his actions. Secondly, he encounters pain and anguish and thirdly, he is healed. The three stages of Holdens process of maturation are: sin, suffering, and redemption.
The first stage of Holdens process of maturation is sin. This is primarily seen when Holden insults the Bible. Holden gets in bed and feels like praying. Yet, he cannot pray because he is sort of an atheist (Salinger 99).
Holden admires Jesus, but the Disciples annoy him (Salinger 99).
Holden admires Jesus because of his leadership, yet dislikes the Disciples because they were followers.
His parents disagree when it comes to religion, therefore none of his siblings attended church. Holden did not have a belief system when he was younger which stems to his cynical view of religion now. Another sin Holden commits is he takes pleasure in the suffering of others. This is evident when Holden imagines taking the life of another human being: As soon as old Maurice opened the doors, hed see me with the automatic in my hand and hed start screaming at me, in this very high-pitched, yellow-belly voice, to leave him alone. But Id plug him anyway. Six shots right through his fair hairy belly.
The Term Paper on The Catcher Holden Innocence Salinger
It is a fact of life that no one can remain young forever. Some teenagers cannot wait to grow up and get out on their own away from childish rules and parental limitations. For other teenagers the thought of the adult world conjures images of negativity and responsibilities such as going to work everyday, dealing with undesirable people, and being part of a stiff society. However, mediums do exist ...
Then Id throw my automatic down the elevator shaftafter Id wiped off all the fingerprints and all. (Salinger 104) Holdens behaviour and actions are self-destructive. He continues to argue with Sunny, the prostitute, and Maurice when they threat him. They quarrel about the five-dollar bill that Holden is supposed to owe; their quarrel leads to Maurice attacking Holden. After, Sunny and Maurices depart, Holden imagines himself as a movie gangster and kills Maurice. In short, the first stage of Holdens process of maturation, sin, is seen through his insulting of the Bible and taking pleasure in the suffering of others.
The second stage of Holdens process of maturation is suffering. Holden alienates himself from the world. Holden is unsuccessful when communicating with others when he reaches New York, The first thing [Holden] [does] when [he] [gets] off at Penn Station, [he] [goes] into this phone booth. [He] [feels] like giving somebody a buzz. [He] [leaves] [his] bags right outside the booth so that [he] [can] watch them, but as soon as [he] [is] inside, [he] [cannot] think of anybody to call up (Salinger 59).
Holden wants to call someone, especially Jane.
He made a list of people he would like to contact instead, but never calls anyone. Holden lacks self-confidence and self-esteem, as a result isolates himself from the rest of society. His desire for human contact increases in the novel, as he is more alienated from his friends and family. Another form of suffering Holden undergoes is thinking about committing suicide. Holden ponders, I [start] thinking how old Phoebe would feel if I [get] pneumonia and [die]. It [is] a childish way to think, but I [cannot] stop myself (Salinger 156).
Holden is mentally and physically deteriorating. He is confused about the reality of death. He is hurting inside and needs comfort.
Phoebe is the only person who brings him comfort of the evilness in the adult world. In other words, the second stage of Holdens process of maturation, suffering, are alienating and isolating himself from the world and thinking about committing suicide. The third stage of Holdens process of maturation is redemption. Holden realizes that Phoebe is worth living for. Holden recalls Phoebe riding on the carousel, I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth (Salinger 213).
The Term Paper on Wartime Propaganda: World War I
Wartime Propaganda: World War I Essay submitted by Unknown The Drift Towards War "Lead this people into war, and they'll forget there was ever such a thing as tolerance. To fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of national life, infecting the Congress, the courts, the policeman on the beat, the man in the street." It is one of ...
Holden emotionally breaks down because he is comforted by Phoebes childlike pleasures. Phoebe is the only person to connect with Holden compared to the other characters.
She understands Holden better than he can understand himself. Another indication of Holdens redemption is he accepts the world and realizes he cannot change it. This is apparent when Holden miss[es] everybody [he] [talks] about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for instance. [He] think[s] [he] miss[es] that goddam Maurice (Salinger 214).
Holden is no longer protecting innocence. Instead he wants to protect everyone, whether the person is good or evil.
Holdens compassion changes the views of the people in his past. In short, the third stage of Holdens process of maturation, redemption, are realizing that Phoebe is worth living for and accepting the world because he understands that he cannot change it. Sin, suffering, and redemption are the three stages of Holdens process of maturation. The first stage is sin; Holden insults and critizes the Bible and takes pleasure in the suffering of others. The second stage is suffering; Holden alienates and isolates himself from the world and thinks about committing suicide. The third stage is redemption; Holden realizes that Phoebe is worth living for and accepts the world because he understands that he cannot change it. In the beginning, Holden is a nave and innocent person in an adult world.
Throughout the novel, he goes through many changes that change is perception of the world and the people around him. By the end, Holden has compassion and is matured. As one can see, maturity is an important process in a persons life. Growing up is inevitable because life is full of eye-opening experiences and life lessons that helps one grow. Works Cited Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1951.
