Catcher in the Rye (literary essay)

493 Words2 Pages
The most powerful theme in this book has got to be the fear of growing up. Holden portrays this in several instances in the book. For example, Holden is almost constantly calling several things phony. These phony things are usually things he relates to adulthood. Not only does Holden fear adulthood himself, but he also wants to save others from becoming adults. As he explains about his dream job we learn that Holden’s only place in life is to catch people who fall from the rye. A global issue is people who suffer from Tropophobia. Tropophobia is the fear of changes. Tropophobia is caused by severe trauma that is somehow linked to moving or sudden changes. The problem with Tropophobia is that older people with this illness tend to have extreme problems with moving out of their homes and going into an old-folk’s home. This sudden change could lead to insanity or suicide, depending on the extent of the illness. I believe that Holden has a slight case of this illness, caused by the death of his younger brother, Allie. This would explain the reason that Holden loves the Museum. Holden loves it because it never changes, it’s always the same and is always predictable. One piece of literature I could easily relate this book with is a certain book named “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess. The reason these two books relate is because “A Clockwork Orange” also follows a young man’s journey into adulthood. Holden and Alex -the main character in A Clockwork Orange- are both going through the stage of becoming adults and are both unsure of what is expected or what they should do. Both protagonists leave school at a young age though go into different directions, Holden hopes to see the world for the last time through the eyes of his still innocent body before becoming an adult. While Alex seeks to destroy what remains of his innocence by getting caught up in the world of
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