After two day s aimless wandering, he goes to meet Mr. Antolini, his old teacher. In his discussion with Mr. Antolini, his old teacher explains to him:
.Among other things, you ll find that you re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You are by no means alone on that score, you ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now… If you get along with [an academic education] any considerable distance, it ll begin to give you an idea what size mind you have. What it ll fit, and maybe, what it won t. After a while, you ll have an idea what kind of thoughts your particular size mind should be wearing… if you have something to offer, someone will learn from you. It s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. x(Catcher, 189-190)
Through the wise advice of Mr. Antolini, Holden begins to understand that the loss of innocence is the mature of the world and a part of growing-up. Holden also begins to realize that he cannot hope to become the catcher in the rye like he dreams to be. By becoming his own person, He will learn to grow and mature, he will find his won foothold in the society step by step and reach his goals. He will finally overcome his isolation by connecting with his surroundings. He will have a chance to talk with other intelligent adults such as he who have the same problems in his growing-up.
Holden s thought of wanting to save the children from adulthood, begins to change when he sees the .Fuck you x on the wall of Phoebe s elementary school.
.It drove me damn crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other kids would see it, and how they d wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell all cockeyed, naturally what it meant, and how they d think about it even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoever d written it. x (Catcher,201)
Because the .Fuck you x was carved on the wall, Holden cannot erase or cover it up. Holden feels that if the children were to see these dirty words, they would lose a little of their innocence. After realizing that he cannot protect all the little children from the society s harsh elements, his dream of shielding all the innocent children from maturity is ruined.
Holden s attitude completely changes as he watches Phoebe ride on the carousel.
. All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she d fall off the goddamn horse, but I didn t say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything to them. x(Catcher,211)
It is at this point that Holden sees that he cannot stop children from growing up and therefore losing their innocence. They will eventually have to experience a fall. It is one part of growing-up. The carousel symbolizes life, and the constant journey of childhood into adulthood. The golden ring are symbols of the corrupted world which always .wears x a shiny surface to hide its evil. Although few children do reach the ring without falling, the majority of the children will fall off the carousel into the phony world when striving to reach the golden ring. Holden finally believes that all children, including him, will eventually lose their purity and virtue. Through his little sister Phoebe, who is going to face the same problem, Holden knows how ridiculous and useless it is to stop the coming of age and the loss of innocence. He learns that no matter how beautiful childhood is, eventually the music will stop and the children will fall.
His three-day journey has brought him from innocence to knowledge, ignorance to perception, and isolation to connection. In the close of the novel, Holden says: . About all I know is, I sort of miss everybody I told about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley for instance. I think I even miss that goddam Maurice. It s funny. Don t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. x He realizes that he does need people to whom he can relate. He cannot escape from the society.
Conclusion
The catcher in the Rye tell us a story of death, rebirth and growth of spirit, not of body. The pain in growing-up is the pain in the transition of the mind. The Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951. During the period of 50s, American society was undergoing quick and drastic changes. The economy had already recovered from the Great Depression and America became the richest country in the world. The living standard in America was raised steadily. The number of the Middle Class increased quickly. People, especially the youth enjoyed as many benefits as possible that the new wealth had brought to them. But the abundant wealth could not cover up the emptiness of the spirit of the society. Egotism and materialism began to overwhelm the whole society. The whole world was full of corruption and phoniness. All these had a great influence on the young people. Salinger, in his The Catcher in the Rye, successfully creates a confused adolescent, Holden Caulfield and presents his emotional frustration, the moral perplexity and the psychological growth during the period of entering the adult world. Holden is a typical character of the modern society, not only in America but also in the other part of the world.
As a character, Holden is an honest, sincerity youngster. His belief in human relationship is the relationship that is not spoiled by self-motivation and commercial interests. When he finds himself surrounded by all kinds of phony people and things both in Pencey and in New York, he feels very frustrated and longs for going back to his childhood. Furthermore, he wants to be a protester of all the good values he and other children preserve. Therefore, he takes some sort of rebellious actions, such as evading school, fighting with Stradlater etc. But all these efforts fall into a failure. He begins to learn how to face the phony world of the adults. He realizes he lives in a real society, not in his fantasy. He cannot change it but accept it.