Home > The Catcher in the Rye Summary & Study Guide > The Catcher in the Rye Group > Discussion Board

Holden is deeply botheredd by the transition to adulthood, and continually struggles against it by refusing give up many of his qualities. For your journal you are asked to cosider and adress the following address: What does mean to leave childhood behind? What are some of the major transitions that one must go through in the process? What kinds of changes are experienced?

Leaving childhood is a long process and can involve some uncomfortable times. For Holden, growing up is difficult because he thinks it means leaving Allie, his dead brother behind. Holden has not yet learned that when we experience death in our families, we can grieve and mourn the loss but at the same time know that the person will always be alive in our memories. Holden is not yet willing to let go of the grief and move on. He doesn't realize that Allie's memory will always be with him and that Allie is not out of pain. In addition, growing up means learning to live with the consequences of our actions. Holden is still into the childish "blame game" where he sees everyone as a "phony". We also must learn that people are multifaceted individuals. He hasn't yet recognized that people are a mixture of both good and bad and we have to accept that if we are to close relationships with people. Finally, as an adult, we realize that not everyone nor everything is a threat to us. We don't need to be afraid of "running off the cliff" every time we try something new. There's a reason he seems only to like his little sister, Phoebe. She is still a child to Holden and is no threat to him. All other people really frighten Holden because they are a threat to his carefully constructed world of anger and mistrust. I think there is hope for Holden, but he is going to have to learn to let down his walls and I think that will hurt but eventually heal his childish mind.

Holden refuses to give up the idealized vision that he has of childhood, he would rather live in the past, in childhood, then face the present and the future.  He is in emotional turmoil, and suffering from depression which is fueled by adolescent confusion and fear over the looming prospect of adulthood, as well as grief at the loss of his younger brother.

To Holden, being an adult means becoming a phony or a sellout.  He does not want to turn into either, so he refuses to accept that he must grow up.  He illustrates his refusal by continually failing out of school.  Since Allie died, he has flunked out of three schools. 

He won't apply himself to academics, not because he is stupid, but because I think he wants to punish his parents for sending him to these schools, and because he is confused at how his parents can go on with life after his little brother died.  This is at the heart of why Holden thinks adults are phonies.  They pretend that everything is alright, when for Holden, nothing can ever be alright again.

To become an adult, Holden must accept responsibility for his behavior and take his job seriously.  Right now his job is to be a good student, he must apply himself and concentrate on graduating.  

He has to accept death as a part of life, and that the living have a responsibility to move forward, grief or not.  Holden must stop critizing everyone around him and concentrate on improving his character