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Catcher in the Rye

 

            Why can't we all be on track in pursuing our own happiness and fulfillment in a country that was built on that very idea? The role of society has been taken out to the farthest extent to achieve this. The only thing left is the struggle of the individual. If no other country has been established on this idea, why would people be unhappy in such an environment? This is because they cannot accept the world and set profound goals that keep this dream alive. An excellent example of a person like this is one, Holden Caulfield. He has the power to accept the world, but he chooses not to, which leads to his continuous suffering. He decides not to contribute any good towards his society and future generations. He carries on with a callous attitude toward his life and that of others. His absence of astute goals brings him solitude and alienation from his environment. .
             Holden is young and by nature cannot make many big decisions rationally, however, he has the choice to get an education and to gain wisdom from others. By not taking advantage of opportunities, Holden wanders off the right track and finds himself in a plethora of perplexity. He is confused by the philosophies he believes are correct, such as his phobia of phony people. "If anybody tried to do anything phony, they couldn't stay."" (Salinger 208). As you can see, Holden's one-track thinking leads to ignorance and suffering. Everything has to go his way or no way at all. .
             Holden only wishes to accomplish one thing in his life. "What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff "I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them - (Salinger 175-6). Holden is fixated on this imaginative problem he sees with society. Holden magnifies everyday notions like these in his mind, which grow to a level of obsession and affect his personality in a degrading way.


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