Why Is Growing Up Bad

Mother Teresa once said “Loneliness, and the feeling of being unwanted, is the most terrible poverty”. As a result of this loneliness, people become motivated to take drastic measures to end the desperation it causes. The desperation to not be lonely often causes people to lie about themselves to others to look better. Holden Caulfield, the narrator of J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, shows this struggle of loneliness as he attempts to find his purpose in the world. The novel begins when Holden is expelled from the prestigious Pencey Prep High School, and then, without telling his parents, he roams the streets of New York, confronting the adult world while searching for a friend. This search for friendship leads Holden to see the dark side of humanity and reveals his own hypocrisy. His struggles, however insignificant, are decidedly human and his opinions fluid and flawed. Holden's desperate tone makes him an unreliable yet powerful narrator as he lies to himself and others in order to decrease his loneliness, showing the dark side of humanity.

school.Since Holden finds it infuriating living amongst people with no sense of morality. Consequently,his discontent with school hinders the enrichment he wishes his life to encompass. Therefore, Holden’s objectives of school are not being accomplished. Holden foresees countless misery and restlessness in his future. Therefore, his depression and thoughts of suicide are enkindled by the emotional dissatisfaction he experiences at Pencey. Second, Holden’s reckless behaviour of excessive drinking to escape his problems also displays his depression. For example, after Holden’s heated argument with Sally, he fails to maturely resolve his problem with Sally.Instead, he decides to bury himself in alcohol. This is revealed when he states,“she kept telling me to go away and leave her alone, so finally I did… and left without her.

New York City is the city that never sleeps. There are bustling people, all having a place to be at, small coffee shops, and don’t forget about the city lights. You can easily be swept away with the city's aura and forget about your worries. In the novel The Catcher In The Rye, the protagonist Holden Caulfield explores the city over a span of 3 days after fleeing his private school Pencey prep. Holden becomes one with the city and is always occupying his time to postpone an encounter with his parents. Holden travels to nostalgic places of his childhood which causes him to recall his previous encounters and experiences. The setting of New York City triggers memories from Holden’s past and distracts him from being left with his pessimistic thoughts.

Holden is afraid of death and also afraid of change and yet he knows he must grow up. The Museum of Natural History symbolizes his fear of change as it remains unchanged as time progresses, he finds safety in the unchanging, the mummies symbolize his fear of death. Holden finds safety in the museum because it always

Holden asks what happens to the ducks who are normally on a pond in Central Park, when winter comes and the water freezes. Holden asks, "You know those ducks in that lagoon right near Central Park South? That little lake? By any chance, do you happen to know where they go, the ducks, when it gets all frozen over?” (pg 60) This could reflect Holden’s fear about where he, himself, is going in life, and whether he should leave or adapt to his surroundings.

Holden Caulfield exhibits a clear dislike for the idea of change, where he shows visible signs of fear towards this idea, “Certain things they should stay the way they are” (Salinger 1994:110). Caulfield finds safety and security in The Museum of Natural History, “I loved that damn museum” (Salinger 1994:108) as it an example of the ideal stagnant and predictable world that Caulfield longs for, “The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was” (Salinger 1994: 109). Caulfield’s

As one grows up they may experience dramatic changes in their life that they wish had never occurred. In The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger, the main Character Holden Caulfield, goes through loss as his life begins to change right in front of him. His brother Allie who Holden was very close with, passes away, and his family and friends are all moving forward with their lives. Meanwhile, Holden is still stuck in the past. The change that is occuring in his life is affecting his current emotions and his ability to move forward. When forced with abrupt, unforeseen change, people desire to hold onto the familiar.

The main setting of The Catcher in the Rye is New York City, Holden Caulfield, the protagonist’s hometown. He decides to wander around the city before heading home, to prevent his parents from noticing that he’s been expelled from his school. Out of all the places he visits in NYC, the two most notable ones are the Museum of Natural History and Central Park. The museum is an illusion of how Holden wishes the world was. In the novel, he says: “Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.” (Salinger 123). This shows that the Museum is a symbol of Holden’s reluctance for change, in himself and in the world. Central Park is the location where Holden goes in order to answer his question of where the ducks go in the winter. This question could represent Holden’s

Likewise to this scenario of change, while walking through New York City, Holden arrives at the Museum of Natural History. This museum represents the lack of change in which Holden is stumbling upon. He likes the glass cases that the exhibits are on display in because “everything always [stays] right where it [is]” (Salinger 135). He wishes to place parts of his life in glass cases because the act of changing is frightening due to the fact that something is lost in the process. A prime example of this is how much change Allie’s death brings due to the fact that Allie is lost. Holden remembers going to the museum as a happy time with his teacher because the museum is resistant to change. The museum also makes him happy because “only thing that [is] different [is the person]” (Salinger 135), whereas “[someone can] go there a thousand times, and that Eskimo [is] still just [finishing] catching those two fish” (Salinger 135). However, he chooses to stay outside in his most recent visit because he is afraid that there is a chance that the museum goes through changes since his childhood. Holden knows that if the museum changes, he can get hurt, so he makes a conscious decision to not go in, even though his reasoning is subconscious. Jane Gallagher is an example of Holden rejecting change because she goes through some changes since his childhood and Holden is horrified, so if Jane has the ability to change, the museum also has a high chance of undergoing similar

The novel Catcher in the Rye exemplifies the motif of depression through the eyes of the main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden constantly struggles with depression throughout the novel. His depression is directly linked with the death of his younger brother Allie as, the loss of a loved one has that effect on many. The conformity of the society that Holden lives in allows for no grief causing Holden to spiral downwards into a state of depression. Holden’s desire for individualism coupled with the loss of the only true individual he knew created a breach of loneliness in Holden's life that was unable to be filled. Overall, chapter 20 best displays Holden’s struggle with depression as his thoughts of his own death, funeral, and afterlife become more frequent.

When Holden ventures to find his life’s purpose along with searching for a new perspective of humanity, he gains insight and becomes a figure of erudition mounting to his potential of a hero. With the objective to show that all protagonists are not merely brave and benevolent but also have astute assets, Salinger designs Holden in the role of a new kind of hero, in which he realizes the meaning of life and maturity. In detail, while Holden observes his little sister, Phoebe, riding the carousel in Central Park, he begins to understand the significance of growing up and the value of life-impacting his view of humankind: “All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she 'd fall off the goddam horse, but I didn 't say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab 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). Behind the initial judgments of his character, Holden’s makeup entails a gift for profound comprehensions. Even though Holden’s boarding school, Pency Prep, expels him due to his failure in four classes, Holden exemplifies brilliance in abstract thinking during his trip to discern a different interpretation of society. With a deeper understanding of life Holden has a better grasp on achieving victory to make the world a better place, solve problems, and spread happiness. When Holden does not “say or do anything,” it shows him discovering that nativity must be gowned out of at a particular age and maturity level. Therefore, he will not interfere with children learning to fall and then getting back up. Everyone must learn persistence and to never give up in their life. Children “trying to grab for the gold ring” symbolizes striving for maturity and development. Attaining this philosophy, Holden opens his mind to the wonders of growing up aiding him to be a role model

When the school is captivated watching the football game at the field, Holden refuses to mix with the rest of the student body and instead chooses to watch it from “...way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill.” When in New York, Holden visits a lagoon in Central Park, which is mostly frozen over. He also ponders whether the ducks will be at the lagoon during winter. Holden “walked around the whole damn lake” (Salinger, 200) and to his detriment, “…didn’t see a single duck.” (Salinger, 200). The lagoon itself is symbolic of Holden’s longing for an eternal childhood, the frozen state representing a lack of change. The ducks represent the rest of society which Holden fails to assimilate with. Another symbol of this is the Museum of Natural History which Holden enjoys visiting, for similar reasons as the lake. He enjoyed going to the museum because “Nobody’d move.” and “nobody’d be different”. Holden visits this museum twice throughout the novel. The first time he walks through Central Park to the museum, but becomes too scared to enter, fearing something has

Nobody’d move..Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different is you.”(chpt.16) This shows Salinger use of Imagery where you can see Holden in the museum all alone wanting to go back to a time where he felt safe and happy and he longs for that. This is important because it shows Holden fear of growing up and changing because he feels alone and isolated because he is growing up and through growing up things change and he changes and he is lost now. Holden wants to join society but he is afraid of rejection, failure, and etc that all comes with growing up and figuring out who you

Childhood is way better than adulthood. Being a child comes with little stress and you have ten times the fun you do when your an adult. When you are a child you can enjoy life and have fun with your friends and you don't have to worry about paying bills. Children won't have to worry about trying to support their family. They just have to worry about being a kid and having fun playing with their friends. If they want to go out to eat they just have to ask their parents for money.