“That’s Life” An Analysis of Holden Caulfield Essay --

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger supersedes the average by staying painfully in the deepest part of the average, for it contains topics that people can strike to (such as, cynicism, nostalgia, and bitterness of life). One of the grand topics the novel discusses is an individuals identity, and how Holden Caulfields identity is shaped done the adversity he faces. Quentin Crisp once said The young always have the homogeneous problem -- how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another. Holdens desire to be an individual (a rebel without a cause), hatred of phoniness, and guilt all over Allies death creates a substantial conflict. Conformity can be defined in many ways, depending on the person and their situation. In Holdens nerve conformity is the choice to grow up and move on from callow antics. Holden, however, chooses to be wedged between a world of a childs naturalness and the complex world of adulthood. He deities his two younger siblings, Allie and Phoebe, as if the were contenders for sainthood because of ...