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- progress story. Many critics and readers alike collect argued that JD Salinger?s catcher in the Rye is a superb example of a bildungsroman. The novel is a narration by Holden Caulfield, a tumultuous and psychicly unstable sixteen year-old that has just been expelled from his fourth preparation school. Holden, who is undergoing sermon in a mental institution, recounts the story of his mental sectionalisation 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 word, his attitude and tintillate argon unchanged throughout the novel. If the protagonist has non full-blown since story began, how whoremonger 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 s chools, he is completely 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, scarce I don?t feel like it. I really don?t. That shove doesn?t interest me in any case much right direct? (page 213). That statement unequivocally proves that Holden has non matured at all. Contemptuous, bitter, judgmental: mystify your pick. Each record describes Holden to a tee; not just in the beginning, however throughout the entire narration. Holden is forever and a day judgment 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 move several months apart, Holden?s attitude is consist ent. He continues to catch a cynical, patro! nizing, and overall pessimistic outlook on quite a little and life in general.

If Holden is just as boyish 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 train (or deprivation in that respectof) that Holden has not cha nged in the least. Though more critics and readers alike have claimed Catcher in the Rye to be an excellent bildungsroman, there is certainly a strong course 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 compliments to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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