The Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace: Coming-of-Age Novels

The coming of age novels, “The Catcher in the Rye”, by J.D. Salinger, and “A Separate Peace”, by John Knowles, both interpret the lives of teenage boys confronting their conflicts and inner confusion to reach the level of maturity. By reading these two pieces, we as readers can relate to the characters in the novels, as if they are true human beings. J.D. Salinger uses Holden Caulfield, the same way as John Knowles uses Gene Forester, to show us how, through conflict we are able to grow as humans and develop as people. Change is ongoing and a great part of human life. Most times, it causes conflict within humans and most people tend to resist change. Holden, from “Catcher in the Rye”, and Gene from “A Separate Peace”, resist change, and the resisting of change causes internal conflict in each character. In “Catcher in the Rye”, Holden Caulfield alienates himself from the adult world; he believes that all adults are “phonies” and therefore invents a fantasy that adulthood is a world of superficiality. Holden does not want to accept that he is becoming an adult by growing up. He, like many humans, is scared of change so much so that he has created a protective shell of cynicism around himself. But as the book progresses, Holden’s experiences, particularly his encounters with Mr. Antolini and Phoebe, reveal the shallowness of his conceptions. Similarly, in “A Separate Peace”, Gene Forester, resists change by not wanting to accept the impulsive person he is becoming. He cannot come to terms with the fact that he jostled the tree and caused his friend Finny to fall, and breaking his leg upon impact with the shore. Many people, such as Brinker Hadley, try to force Gene to believe that he has changed into a terribly jealous person, who acts on impulse, but Gene does not want to hear this. As humans, we do not wish to have our pride and innocence taken from us and so we resist the change similar to the fictional characters Gene Forester and Holden Caulfield.