Coming Of Age In The Catcher In The Rye
Coming Of Age In The Catcher In The Rye
Maturation is the journey from childhood to adulthood, where time represents everyone’s 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 Holden’s process of maturation are: sin, suffering, and redemption.
The first stage of Holden’s 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, he’d see me with the automatic in my hand and he’d start screaming at me, in this very high-pitched, yellow-belly voice, to leave him alone. But I’d plug him anyway. Six shots right through his fair hairy belly. Then I’d throw my automatic down the elevator shaft—after I’d wiped off all the fingerprints and all. (Salinger 104)
Holden’s 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 Maurice’s depart, Holden imagines himself as a movie gangster and kills Maurice. In short, the first stage of Holden’s process of maturation, sin, is seen through his insulting of the Bible and taking pleasure in the suffering of others.
The second stage of Holden’s process of maturation is suffering. ...