Identity Crisis in The Catcher in the Rye

【Abstract】Holden Caulfield is the young leading character in The Catcher in the Rye， Salingers famous work in American literature. As the representative of the American youths at that time， his individual character of cynicism and kind-heartedness deeply influenced generations of American readers. This paper is devoted to the analysis of his identity crisis. The identity crisis in The Catcher in the Rye is embodied in Holdens doubt about his proper position in the society and his relation with the world during his process of growing up. The thesis focuses on the perplexity of adolescents in the postwar America， exploring the formation and resolution of Holdens identity crisis by investigating the social background and his character.

【Key words】The Catcher in the Rye； Identity Crisis； Post-war America； Rebellion

【作者簡介】朱橙（1989- ），女，漢族，上海人，上海外國語大學附屬外國語學校，初級二級，本科，研究方向：英語文學，英語教育。

Chapter I Introduction

Salinger， a gifted twentieth-century writer with elusiveness and mysteriousness， is renowned for his first and only published novel The Catcher in the Rye， which is a vivid portrait of adolescent angst and disillusion in American postwar society. The figure Holden， a representative of rebellious teenagers against adult conformity and hypocrisy， exerts a profound influence on later generations. The novel arouses public reflection on the complicated factors resulting in youths identity crisis.

Identity crisis in The Catcher in the Rye stands for Holdens inability to put himself in the right position in the complex society and his uncertainty about what he should be in the future. Tapping the formation and resolution of the identity crisis is of great significance， which helps to comprehend the novel in a more objective way， in addition， to find a breakthrough for the adolescents to tide over the hard time and finally determine on a proper life direction.

Chapter II Formation of the Identity Crisis

A. External cause： the phony post-war society

The failure of school education

The postwar society can be depicted as a “other-directed” society that features stability and tolerance， but also foster conformity and loss of individuality. Teachers in Pencey implanted students dull and boring life theory， such as “Life is a game that one plays according to the rules”（Salinger， Rye 27）.Under the guidance of the pedantic teachers， students were more likely to reckon those who disobeyed the rules as jerks that didnt belong.

There are two carefully portrayed teachers in Pencey， Mr. Spencer and Mr. Antolini. Mr. Spencers old age did not represent wisdom but spiritual blindness and pretense. As a teacher he failed to communicate with his students and meet their affective needs. Mr. Antolini was a wise and nice teacher who won Holdens respect. However， he turned out to be homosexual and conducted deviant behavior towards Holden， which resulted in Holdens losing all faith in school education and didnt expect it any more.

b. Improper family education

After Allies death， Holdens mother seemed to be in a greater degree of anxiety and was overwhelmed by the heavy blow. She provided less love and guidance than needed during Holdens adolescent period， during which a teenager requires care and love most. His father was a shadowy figure—a corporate lawyer， featured by his preoccupations. It was a typical other-directed society， while parents followed the trend and sent children to select schools. They themselves refused to take a further part during childrens growth and took it for granted that their responsibilities had been shifted to the school. Allies death cast a shadow on Holdens identity growth. He was puzzled about quick fade of a fresh life and felt uncertain what life would be in the future. He then fell into a state of acute vulnerability to the unexpected change in life and a diminished sense of self.

c. Peer pressure

To a large extent， peer pressure springs from the norm of society and peers， and students fear that they would be classified as queers if they dont conform. In the novel there is a sentence， “the guys that are on the basketball team stick together， the Catholics stick together， and the goddam intellectuals stick together” （Salinger， Rye 66）. It is typical for teenagers to disperse and associate into cliques because it provides them with a sense of belonging and security. Holdens relationship with his peers was as dead as his relationship with his parents. He would have a quarrel or have a fight with his peers directly when he couldnt bear their phony behaviors. This isolated him from the peers since he often lived with his spiritual superiority. The more he wanted to maintain his identity， the more perplexed and isolated he became.

B. Internal cause： Holdens individual weakness

a. Fear of change

A demon that hung over Holden was the process of having to grow up， or rather， the fear of change. We can see from the novel that he seemed hesitant to develop any real ambitions or goals. He refused to adapt himself to the mature ways of living， and isolated himself from anyone at his age. In the novel ， museums fascinated him because they were frozen and invariable. As a matter of fact， the museum symbolized the utopia Holden wished he could live in. It was a world of his “catcher in the rye” fantasy， a world where everything was perpetual and simple. He was reluctant to have interactions with others and face up to the ever-changing surroundings

b. Self-destructiveness

Mr. Antolini， the only adult in the story that truly understood Holdens situation， he remarked， “I can very clearly see you dying nobly， one way or another， for some highly unworthy cause” （Salinger， Rye 203）， possibly insinuating that Holden might not value his life enough. Another case is that Phoebe asked Holden about what he really liked and what he wanted to be in the future. Surprisingly， the only one he could think of was a young boy named James Castle that committed suicide. Besides， He even imagined his funeral in the novel. His tendency towards death played a crucial role in forming his identity crisis ， putting him nowhere in the society.

Chapter III Resolution of the Identity Crisis

A. Escape from modern civilization

Though the dust of war settled and came the peaceful life， the public didnt fully get over the pain of the war. Holden quested for self-identity， a martyrs pilgrimage， going back to nature and innocence and love. Escaping from the modern world provided him with a sense of security. He regarded it a feasible solution to his identity crisis in the vulgar world. In the novel， he wished to go to the west to live in a cabin in the woods， leading a simple but fulfilling life. In addition， Holden handled matters in a childs way， irritable， unreasonable but kind-hearted， which had some thing to do with his deep love for children. To a certain degree， the innocent and simple nature of children gave him warmth and strength. He expected to keep this precious character by evading the chaotic world， but he eventually realized that innocent and naive childhood was brief and transient， and all his efforts to keep children from growing up were futile and it was inevitable for children to fall off “cliff”. Finally he accepted reality and reconciled himself to the phony world by resorting to his love for humans.

Sacrifice and reconciliation

Learning to sacrifice indicates the gradual maturity of Holden that learned the philosophy of life： to hold something fast while letting something go， or he would swallow the bitter pill of not being capable of adapting himself to the changing circumstances. In the novel， he once decided to go to the west on his own and decided to say farewell to his beloved younger sister， Phoebe. However， he gave up the idea of leading a hermits life when Phoebe made up her mind and carried the baggage to follow Holden to the west. It was then that he suddenly realized that everybody needed to make a sacrifice， even his little sister sacrificed the stable life in the city out of her love for him. He then determined to sacrifice his own benefit and selfishness and reconcile to the world.

Reconciliation here doesnt represent cowardliness and a weak mind. Instead， it is the turning point of Holden to resort to protecting those he love instead of blindly escaping from the society he detested.

Pursuing humanity

Now that the external environment would not change a thing， Holden had to change himself first. Pursuing humanity was an effective way to relieve his anxiety. Throughout the novel， Holden pursued humanity by the protection of innocence， especially of children as a primary virtue. When he made up his mind to go to the West， he began to worry how Phoebe would be poisoned with dirty words. His awareness of bad effects of the coarse language reflected the great progress he had made in realizing the importance of humanity. In other words， it was Phoebes insisting on going to the west with Holden that triggered his change.

Love is a heal-all that can lift sorrows and torture. Its better to embrace the one you love rather than immerse in unpractical vision. Pursuing humanity is a way to find out a part of life that is worth unearthing. Not all in our life is repulsive； life would give you a go instead of dead end.

Chapter IV Conclusion

Holden represents a social type of adolescents growing up in a corrupt and decadent world and serves as a mirror for his peers. There is a lot in him with which the young can identify.

We can conclude from the thesis that the identity crisis Holden confronted resulted from both the undesirable external factors and his won weakness， finally settled by his efforts to balance between the reality and the ideal world. From these identity problems Holden met， we can learn that both parents and children should care for one another. We are supposed to help the young adapt themselves to the changing society and establish a healthy outlook on the world. No matter how unsatisfying the world is， adolescents themselves serve as the overriding part towards the acquisition of maturity. Equilibrium should be achieved to keep the balance between reality and dream.

References：

[1]Salinger，J.D.The Catcher in the Rye.Boston：Back Bay Books，2001.

[2]Gitlin，Todd，Nathan Glazer，Reuel Denney，and David Riesman.The Lonely Crowd：AStudy of the Changing American Character.New Haven：Yale University Press，2001.