Causes Of Grief In Catcher In The Rye

Alyssa Gruenberg
Ms. Zirbes
English 10B, Period 3
17 February 2023
How Does Grief Affect Someone’s Behavior? At some point in our lives, people are bound to go through grief and be in the unknown or uncertain within personal experiences, whether it's during adulthood or childhood, it can be difficult to cope with during hard times. In J.D. Salinger's 1950s novel The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a teenage boy who continues living a life of grief. The novel reveals who Holden is as a person, who is constantly living a life full of destructive thoughts toward the world around him. Holden struggles with his overall behavior and keeping his innocence after the death of his brother Allie; Holden tends to constantly judge people without

As the narrator progresses with this story, Holden continuously goes on rants about judging people in such a descriptive way. Holden says, “They laugh like hyenas at stuff that wasn’t even funny. I didn’t even enjoy sitting next to them in the movies” (Salinger 48). Holden tends to constantly judge people without getting to know them, which instead of Holden being seen as petty or selfish, it is more of a trauma response that is being disclosed. He frequently is sarcastic and scornful towards the judgemental thoughts which causes him to continuously call them “phonies”. Holden uses this immature word to describe people who he thinks are not honest and people who just annoy him. This is a trauma response that happens to Holden instead of being genuine and not verbally harming

Since Holden has gone through a lot of change over the years, Holden has a fear of change. The readers have a difficult time understanding him since his fear of change causes him to become very nonchalant and always wants to stay young, innocent, and never wants to die. One place Holden feels the most comfortable is the museum he visits. Salinger writes, “I knew that whole museum the kid with the skate key meant. I knew that whole museum routine like a book” (Salinger 16). The significance of this museum is that Holden has a fear of change because he has had a hard time adjusting to his different and newer life without Allie; he is worried about anything and everything changing. Holden enjoys the museum because it reminds him of his childhood and the fact that it doesn’t change. Holden is being ostracized from society to adjust and be a new person instantly and at the correct time. Holden doesn’t want anything to change because once his brother died he was forced to change