The Way To Adulthood

Jerome David Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye is regarded as a classic work of American literature in the 20^th century.It has aroused great interests among both the critics and the readers since its publication in 1951.It has caught a lot of critical attention from different angles.This thesis will intend to make an analysis of the protagonist Holden's psychological development from an immature adolescent to a mature adult.Holden,a 16 years old boy,was born in a very wealthy middle class family.He studies in a school called Pencey Prep,which is the fourth school he has attended.But he is flunked out of school for his academic failure.Getting tired of the school life,he decides to leave school and wanders in New York for three days.During his odyssey,he experiences the corruption, hypocrisy,insincerity in the adult world.Feeling depressed and desperate,he is sent to the hospital to receive the psychological treatment.At last,Holden gains the psychological development and decides to return to the society.The novel traces the psychological development of the protagonist Holden.He is an adolescent who stands on the threshold of the childhood and the adulthood.On the one hand,he cherishes the innocence of the child world which stands for authenticity,innocence and goodness. And he wishes to keep the innocence of the childhood.On the other hand,he hates the adult world characterized by phoniness,hypocrisy and corruption.But he can not endure the temptation of the adult world.The dilemma stimulates him to rebel against the adult world so as to protect the child innocence.Thus it occurs to him to be "the catcher"--his ideal,which aims to prevent the innocent children from falling into the corrupted adult world.But gradually,he finds that it is impossible for him to put his ideal into practice.In face of the great power of the society,he has no choice but compromise with the society.At last he decides to return to the society and live a normal life like the rest members of the social community.This thesis will,in the framework of Freudian psychoanalytical theory,interpret the course of Holden's psychological development:depression--rebellion--conformity.