Catcher in the Rye: NOT a Bildungsroman An Analysis of the Development (or lack thereof) Of Holden Caulfield Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger

Bildungsroman: a coming-of- mature legend. Many critics and readers alike collect argued that JD Salinger?s play in the Rye is a superb example of a bildungsroman. The novel is a narration by Holden Caulfield, a pissed and psychicly unstable sixteen year-old that has just been expelled from his fourth preparation school. Holden, who is undergoing preaching in a mental institution, recounts the story of his mental crack-up and the events leading up to it. He concludes the story with apprize hints at his ?recovery?. though one assumes that Holden is receiving and responding to handling, his attitude and nookietillate argon unchanged throughout the novel. If the protagonist has non full-blown since story began, how notify Catcher in the Rye be considered a bildungsroman?The novel opens with Holden carelessly tossing around the fact that he has been expelled from Pencey Prep (page 2). Though Holden has previously been kicked out of three early(a) prestigious schools, he i s only apathetic about the situation. He has no drive; no concern or lookout for his future whatsoever. Even afterwards everything that Holden experiences throughout Catcher in the Rye, his attitude is unchanged at the conclusion: ??and what school I?m supposed to go to next fall, after I get out of here, precisely I don?t feel like it. I really don?t. That shove doesn?t interest me excessively much right direct? (page 213). That statement unequivocally proves that Holden has non matured at all. Contemptuous, bitter, judgmental: mystify your pick. Each ledger describes Holden to a tee; not just in the beginning, but throughout the entire narration. Holden is forever and a day discernment everyone he gets into contact with. He speaks about Mr. Spencer (page 10), a prof at Pencey Prep, in the same patronizing stair that he describes a particular psychoanalyst with (page 213). Though the events take baffle several months apart, Holden?s attitude is consistent. He contin ues to catch a cynical, patronizing, and ov! erall pessimistic outlook on quite a little and life in general.

If Holden is just as light-green and mentally undeveloped at the end of the novel as he was at the beginning, how can one argue that he has come of age? Having a mental breakdown and indispensabilitying treatment for utter breakdown may very well be considered a rite of passage. However, to be considered a coming of age story, Holden would need to be changed for the better because of his rite of passage. One can understandably tell from his consistency in tone, attitude, and maturity level (or deprivation in that respectof) that Holden has not chan ged in the least. Though many critics and readers alike have claimed Catcher in the Rye to be an excellent bildungsroman, there is certainly a strong controversy to be make against this claim. Catcher in the Rye By JD Salinger (1951)Pamela Hunt Steinle (2000). In Cold Fear: The Catcher in the Rye censoring Controversies and Postwar American Character. Ohio State University Press. If you pauperization to get a full essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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