Catcher in the Rye Holdens Faliure in the Journey of Life

The Catcher in the Rye, by Jerome David Salinger, reveals the hardships that teenagers endure as they mature and enter adulthood. In this novel, Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year -old who has been kicked out of several schools, undergoes a gamut of problems. First, at the beginning of the novel, it is clear that Holden has a difficulty accepting himself and others; he constantly defines people as phony. Secondly, as the novel progresses it becomes evident that Holden does not want to enter adulthood. Both problems lead to Holdens failure in his journey of life. Holdens problem in life is that he is very judgmental of almost everything and everyone; this leads him to become isolated, unhappy and lonely. First, he criticizes people who†¦show more content†¦Moreover, even though Holden sees others as phonies, he, himself, cannot even live up to his own unreasonably high standards and expectations. Since he cannot live up to his own acceptations, he is unable to connect with people, and withdraws into his own world. In other words, even though Holden might try not to be a phony, in actuality, he is. This is a problem in his life because he is very judgmental, and makes snap conclusions without taking the whole person and his/her complexities into consideration. Holden doesnt take into account that he is judging a human being with feelings and emotions. He considers one aspect about a persons personality and portrays it as his/her character. For example, he believes that Ackley is a pimply guy; he doesnt consider that he could perhaps be a nice guy. Overall, Holden is a phony himself, if he doesnt learn to accept himself and others, he will never be happy. His ignorance to make hasty judgments is an issue because Holden distinguishes phonies to be adults, and yet Holden doesnt want to enter adulthood, which is another problem that he encounters. Holdens second problem in life is that he fears change and resists the process of maturity; as a result he remains lost and going no where in life. First, Holden is constantly talking about and revisiting the Museum of Natural History. He says that he loves the museum and he misses