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J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is about the innocence in childhood, and finding one's place in society. Catcher in the Rye is a telling and relatable story of Holden Caulfield’s many encounters and problems, J.D. Salinger highlights the phoniness used by adults as a way to cope with the hardships of life.
The first literary technique J.D. Salinger utilizes is the character of Holden Caulfield. Although Holden can be seen many different ways, the most prevalent characteristic of Holden is his lack of maturity seen in him as he is exposed to the harsh world. Holden is an insecure teenager that is trying to connect with someone. His immaturity causes problems while he tries to understand and exist in the adult world, and has a lot of difficulty fitting in with peers. He feels very much alone because he is very idealistic and has trouble tolerating people far from perfect. He labels anyone whom he considers not to be completely genuine as a phony, claiming that they do and say things for the sole purpose of being socially accepted and polite. However, Holden demonstrates his irony and immaturity after doing the ‘phony’ things he so heavily critiques.
Holden is told on several occasions by mature adults that he need not worry about the angst he feels, because it is not permanent. Nevertheless, Holden doesn’t pay much attention to this advice, if any. At the beginning of the story, shortly after Holden explains that he’s been expelled from school, he visits Mr. Spencer, his former history teacher. Mr. Spencer is trying to help Holden, and that much is apparent. Mr. Spencer’s want “to put some sense in that head of yours, boy. (He is) trying to help (Holden)”(14). Mr. Spencer is not the only one that tries to help Holden; on Holden’s unsupervised venture through New York City, he visits Mr. Antolini, his old English teacher. Mr. Antolini reveals to Holden that he is, in fact, not the first person to feel the way he’s feeling and that “Among other things, you’ll find out that you’re not the first person who has ever been confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior” (189). He explains that moral problems are just part of growing up. All men have gone through it at some point, and that Holden won’t be the last. “Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now” (189). Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini both have assured Holden of that all.
Throughout the novel, Holden demonstrated several behaviors typical of a regular teenager. He became lonely or bored at certain points in the novel, embarking on a quest for companionship. Holden’s advisors told him several times that he was not the first person to feel a sense of doubt and critique. Holden’s story just goes to show that not all people deal with the challenges presented by the adult world the same way. While the worries of the past may have an effect on how these challenges are handled, most people are able to overcome such and a way to cope. This story is very telling in what some people go through on their journey to adulthood and the seemingly impossible to handle problems along the way as people become phony to preserve their innocence in life.
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