The Catcher in the Rye-Q.2

Although there are many conflicts in the book The Catcher in the Rye, the main conflict must be the struggle that Holden faces on his path to growing up. This conflict is internal and is easy to point out because the narrator is speaking in first person. The basics of the whole thing are that he is not ready to transition from childhood to adulthood and take on all of the extra responsibilities that it will entail. Because of the pressure of the situation, Holden starts resenting people, not caring about school, and failing out of different schools. I understand where he is coming from though. His life has been very difficult with the loss of his brother, Allie, his bad relationship that he has with his parents, and the fact that he feels different from the rest of the world. The biggest cause of his conflict is obviously the death of his brother. He misses him so dearly and he wishes that he could be back. I think that having Allie back would keep Holden in a better place because he seems to have had such a great impact on his life.

This particular conflict had an excellent gain in the end. Holden finally realizes that he is not alone in the world and that people really do care for him. Phoebe, his sister, and Mr. Spencer have the greatest impact on Holden. Even though Holden decides not to become an adult these two characters were very important in the decision that he made. They showed him how to be himself again and they truly listened and cared about what he was feeling. He did lose his mind a little bit throughout the process, but I do not think it matters because the gain is so much more important than the little bit of sanity he lost on his way there.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.