Character Development in the Catcher in the Rye"

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Character Development of Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" Passage 1: “What I thought I’d do, I thought I might go down and see what old Mal Brossard was doing. But all of a sudden, I changed my mind. All of a sudden, I decided what I’d really do, I’d get the hell out of Pencey –right that same night and all. I mean not wait till Wednesday or anything. I just didn’t want to hang around anymore. It made me too sad and lonesome.” (p. 49) As the protagonist suddenly decides to leave his dislikeable school behind, it is quite obvious that he has no real sense of direction in life; his decision is hasty and irresponsible and could be interpreted as an act of sudden desperation. Firstly, this confusion is reflected in Salinger’s description of the main character’s thread of cogitation. In an instant and without a moment’s hesitation, Holden changes his mind from thinking that he ‘might go down and see what old Mal Brossard was doing’ to deciding ‘what [he’d] really do,’ which is to ‘get the hell out of Pencey.’ This gives the impression that Holden is extremely rash in his decisions and that he relies on gut feeling alone to take action. Furthermore, by using the words ‘sad’ and ‘lonesome’ to sum up the reason for Holden’s departure, the author manages to produce a feeling that Holden does not really care where he is going; that he in contrast to having a clearly defined destination, simply seeks to escape from the depressing circumstances of his situation. Although Holden dislikes his school, the rashness of his decision clearly indicates immaturity in his character; he does not really know what to do with his life and only seeks to escape his troubles, thus taking the coward’s way out of a situation he does not know how to cope with. Passage 2: "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this

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