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The main character of Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield, provides us with his experiences with coming of age. Holden finds himself in many strange situations, but how he handles the situations are normal for a teenager, especially a teenage boy, to handle the situations he goes through. By psychological standards, Holden is, in fact, a “typical adolescent”. Adolescent, by definition, means the process of developing from a child to an adult. Although the way Holden addresses his issues aren’t ideal, we soon see a shift of character as young Holden gets to the end of his story.
Holden is a “typical teenager” because the way he expresses himself is similar to an average teenage boy. He shows a dislike towards authority figures and he values freedom and independence and strives to reach attain it. In chapter 3, Holden has an encounter with his english teacher about something he had wrote. Holden didn’t want the teacher to read it, but he took it upon himself to read it anyway. Holden states that “You can’t stop a teacher when they want to do something. They just do it.” This shows some form of disconnect with authority figures because Holden feels that all teachers feel as if they can do what they want whenever they want with no one to stop them. He feels they have a lot of leighway when it comes to their decisions. In chapter 25, we see more that Holden wants to be free and on his own. He states, “I decided i’d go away… everybody’d think I was just a poor deaf-mute bastard and they’d leave me alone.” While showing Holden’s aspiration for freedom, it also displays traits of maturity. Holden sets out a whole future plan to keep him maintained in life. Thinking about future plans is something that “typical teenagers” partake in occasionally, and teenagers dreams all surround room for growth.
Holden uses profane language very commonly to show the rebelliousness and toughness within him. In chapter 6, Holden and Stradlater have a minor altercation. Holden goes for a punch to Stradlater and misses and ends up on the ground. Holden narrates and says, “... get off me, ya crumby bastard… He wouldn’t do it though, He kept holding onto my wrists and I kept calling him a sonuvab*tch and all for about ten hours.” This shows Holden toughness because even in the eye of defeat he doesn’t back down and he still displays a tough image. This is typical behavior for a male teenager to not want his masculinity to be stripped away from him. In chapter 13, Holden had an experience with a prostitute named Sunny. He was told by Maurice, the elevator guy, that her services were $5 but Sunny insisted it was $10. After Holden refused to pay the extra $5, Sunny came back in the following chapter with Maurice demanding the money she claimed he owed. Holden continues to refuse and calls Maurice “a dirty moron” and tries to keep his tough guy image until ultimately Maurice punches Holden in the stomach but he waits for them to leave to really wallow in his despair.
Some of Holden’s reactions to things can seem to be a little over dramatic but Holden shows a lot of maturity in the events towards the end of the novel. To solve a lot of his problems Holden drinks and smokes excessively. In chapter 20, as Holden waits for Tina and Janine’s arrival he gets drunk. He mentions how he gave her a sort of cut eye and she pretended as if she didn’t notice him, he says “I probably wouldn’t have done it, I was getting drunk as hell.” In chapter 7, upon his leaving of Pencey Prep Holden is packing his things relieved about the fact of him “sort of needing a vacation”, as he was doing so he “lit a cigarette and got all dressed up.” Holden shows toxic behavior when it comes to substance abuse, but many teens worldwide deal with their situations the same way. This is not to say that drinking and smoking is an acceptable teenage coping mechanism, but to say it is not unusual for teens to want to use smoking and drinking as a way to relieve themselves from tough situations, even momentarily.
Many of Holden’s experiences can’t be related to by most teenagers, but how he handles them mirrors displays “typical adolescent” behavior. You don’t hear everyday about a boy getting beat up for $5 extra dollars for a service with a prostitute he never received, but we do, unfortunately, hear about how smoking and drinking are common depressants and can be abused in extreme cases. Every person does not have the same experiences, but we all do show similarities when it comes to coping with situations.
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