The Disillusioned, angst ridden teenager haunts our contemporary world

“The disillusioned, angst-ridden teenager haunts our contemporary world. Describe and examine the chief difficulties Holden faces as a teenager and his response to these challenges”

Challenges:
1. Discontent of the adult world and his inability to fit into adulthood:
2. Coming to terms with his sexuality:
3. Relationships

Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D Salinger, is a novel, based around 48-72 hours of an adolescent boy’s life, a boy called Holden Caulfield. The 48-72 hours are fraught with difficulties that Holden faces or acknowledges and he spends this time attempting to find the answer to his problems. The difficulties that plague teenage Holden include Holden’s transition into adulthood, understanding sex and his sexuality and trying to find an emotive relationship, one that is not based upon sex but one that he truly can enjoy. Holden’s main response to these difficulties is by being deceitful and dishonest relying on false worlds to alleviate the pressures of his difficulties.

The transition into adulthood rarely comes easily for any teenager; in Holden’s case this theme occurs again and again. Holden’s personality and characteristics during the novel is in between the transition between being a teenager and adulthood. The juvenility of his actions mixed with his mature views of the world creates a cynical character, one who wants to change, but cannot enjoy the thought of growing up. The first thought of Holden’s struggle in his transition into adulthood is during his train-trip out of Pencey into New York. A woman, whose son goes to Pencey, sits down next to Holden and starts a conversation with him, something that Holden doesn’t particularly enjoy about adults. Holden asked the lady,

“Would you care for a cocktail?”(p. 50)

A question that normally an adult would ask. The lady questions Holden’s age through asking wether or not he was allowed to order drinks. This doesn’t deter Holden, but after persisting, he stops, preferring to create a large web of lies to complete the train trip. The thought of growing up is an idea that frightens Holden. Being someone who idolises youth subconsciously through the death of a younger brother, Holden struggles to find anything good about losing the innocence that you have as a child. This point is exemplified through his meeting with Old Luce, where after a couple of sentences, Luce says to Holden,

“Same Old Caulfield, When are you going to grow up?” (p. 130)

Luce implies in this statement that Holden has not matured or in shorter terms, “grown up”. Holden is yet to understand that growing up is part of life and wether he likes it or not, it is essential to fit into society. Holden responds to these challenges through acknowledging that the perpetrators that question his maturity and age are in fact in the wrong and that he is the one being ostracized.

The second main challenge that Holden faces is coming to terms with his sexuality, and his understanding of sex. Holden sees sex as the pinnacle of life, but cannot understand that it does not necessarily need to have emotions involved. Holden has had many opportunities to attempt a sexual relationship, but can never really understand wether or not he is emotionally ready or secure enough to do so. The main example of this difficulty is the prostitute episode. This episode highlighted Holden’s ideas and ideals about sex and sexuality. The precursors to the prostitute episode, was the perverted exhibition in the building next to Holden’s hotel, and his explanation of sex and sexuality as a whole.

“I’m probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw…Sex is something I really don’t understand too hot.” (p. 56)

This quote from chapter 9 accurately outlines Holden’s difficulty. He does not yet understand what sex is about, but still considers himself as the ‘biggest sex manic you ever saw’. The use of exaggeration exemplifies Holden’s character, as one who always makes things seem bigger then they really are. Holden demonstrates that he does not yet understand what constitutes sex, thus what constitutes a sexual relationship. The prostitute episode is the main example that attributes to the readers understanding of Holden’s difficulty in the area of sex. Holden, after a night out, was negotiated into purchasing a prostitute for the night. A normal hormonal ridden teenager would pounce on the opportunity, but Holden takes the situation differently then what even his ‘standards’ would usually attribute towards.

“Sexy was about the last thing I was feeling. I felt much more depressed than sexy.” (p. 86)

This quote by Holden portrays a confused teenager, unsure of what to be feeling in that said situation. A boy who suddenly finds himself in an adult-like situation, Holden refers to his normal escape route out of tight situations he creates a string of lies.

“I had an operation very recently…I’m still recuperating.” (p. 87)

The reader understands this as Holden’s main escape route, but this theme of stopping during a sexual encounter becomes apparent from the start of the novel. Many times had Holden been in a sexual situation but succumbed to nerves and second thoughts, never going with the flow of things. Holden’s ideas of sex and sexuality have been plagued with many false-opportunities and nerves, resulting in a life fuelled by sexual urges, but never acted upon thus his understanding has never been fully realised and built upon.

The third major difficulty that Holden faces, as a teenager is his lack of solid relationships, one that he can truly be a part of. Holden is a person who chooses the people he likes very finely, people who he looks up to and can have an intelligent conversation with. Jane Gallagher, his sister Phoebe Caulfield and Allie his younger brother are the three main characters that Holden really enjoys or enjoyed (in Allie’s case), being part of their lives. Holden, apart from those 3 characters, cannot establish a decent relationship with anyone else resulting in a teenager who finds comfort in a world where he doesn’t need to rely on anyone else.

“You never ever worried, with Jane, wether your hand was sweaty or not. All you knew was, you were happy. You really were.” (p. 72)

This quote by Holden establishes the relationship he had with Jane Gallagher, one where “you never ever worried.” A relationship like this, one filled with emotion rather than a physical relationship, is something that Holden searches for throughout his episodes in New York. This point is exemplified in the prostitution chapter, where his purchase of a female body ends up becoming a search for a simple conversation. Holden also struggles to make connections with other individuals, only making an effort to get through minor interactions rather then continuing with a decent conversation.

“I’m always saying ‘Glad to’ve met you’ to somebody I’m no at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though.” (p. 79)

This interaction between Holden and a former ex-girlfriend of his older brother was a conversation that Holden struggled to get through because of his inability to enjoy normal conversation. Holden struggles to interact with people whom he does not enjoy being around. Holden finds it hard establishing relationships that he really enjoys because of his inability to connect emotionally with people whom he does not know. Holden responds to his difficulty of establishing relationships by constantly referring back to relationships of past and present that he enjoys, and relying on them to get him through all of the unwanted interactions.

Holden is a character that during his episodes in New York displays many imperfections that he has attributed to his life. These include his struggle in his transition into adulthood, his lack of understanding of sex and sexuality and his inability to form emotive and strong relationships. Holden overcomes these difficulties through blaming others for his imperfections, through the constant lying and dishonesty and by referring back to past relationships to get him away from unwanted attention.