The Topics of Development for Holden Caulfield

Few coming-of-age novels have the same mythic power as Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. The character of Holden Caulfield has become a symbol for the conflicted adolescent who is searching for a sense of true identity among a world of phonies that he is steadily progressing toward. Holden’s development in the novel can be traced and analyzed through several components, including cognitive development, language, and emotional development, and particularly through adolescent problems. Holden is at that stage of adolescence that cusps maturation and adulthood, which he sees as a process full of loss and therefore resists. With such a spirited and interesting character who has such a vibrant and unique voice—one that resonates through American literature—Holden represents one of the most colorful, poetic, and interesting adolescent minds in American literature, and his psychosocial development can be traced through the novel.

The importance of the novel’s voice is key to the importance of the narrator’s identity. According to Erik Erikson, a leader in the field of identity as it appears through the different stages of life, and his identity statuses are a helpful way to understand the main character as he is introduced in the book. Holden’s situation and personality traits define him as a Moratorium, an “individual who is currently struggling with occupational and/or ideological issues [and is] in an identity crisis” (Marcia 1980). Moratoriums have high self-esteem and are often anxious, and this can be seen in Caulfield’s difficulty referring to being asked to leave Pencey (Salinger). It’s a subject he does not wish to discuss, and he does so in reference to how outstanding it is, showing both his shame and his attempt to keep his self-esteem high by mentioning the school’s standards. Throughout the novel Holden exemplifies Moratorium behavior as his sense of self and sense of place in the adult world is, despite Holden’s best efforts, something he becomes slowly immersed in. Holden also struggles with the ideological issues of conformity, making compromises, and generally having to leave the dreams of adolescence for the realities of adulthood.

An additional important adolescent stage identified by Erikson is the stage of identity versus confusion. According to Erikson, adolescents are confused about how to answer the question of “Who am I?” “Ego identity, then, in its subjective aspect, is the awareness of the fact that there are a selfsameness and continuity to the ego’s synthesizing methods and that these methods are affective in safeguarding the sameness and continuity of one’s meaning for others” (Erikson 1980). Because Holden is a Moratorium, he struggles with his entry into the adult world as he tries to find ways to subvert his identity achievement through acceptable means. Holden Caulfield is looking for his identity throughout the novel, comparing and contrasting himself to the people and to the world around him, by which Holden becomes cynical—his most well-known characteristic.

Another aspect of adolescent development evident in Holden Caulfield is his fluid intelligence, which develops over the course of the novel somewhat in response to him being unmoored to Pencey, where he would have had more formal development of his crystalline intelligence. Fluid intelligence in adolescence means being able “to perceive relationships independent of previous specific practice or instruction concerning those relationships” (Horn and Cattell 1967). This is evident in Holden’s fascination with the ducks of Central Park. Holden intuits that their habit of surviving the winter is somehow meaningful to him, and he abstractly sees the relationship that he then directs as a series of questions to different people he meets, notably the cab drivers.

According to Piaget, adolescence is a period of human development where people are extremely idealistic and challenge how things are by considering how they could be. This is part of the formal operations stage that Piaget defines in his work (Piaget 2003). This is a classic representation of Holden’s development through the novel, expressed as “being phony,” such as when Holden describes his brother D.B. whom Holden believes could have been a worthwhile writer but is selling out by being a Hollywood writer. Throughout the novel Holden rejects people he considers phony, particularly adults who have entered the world and are operating by social codes and boundaries that Holden identifies early in the novel as “rules of the game” (Salinger). Holden’s Moratorium attributes cause him to challenge the world more than normal, often representing some of the more extreme behaviors to exemplify Piaget’s work.

A final aspect to consider in Holden’s case is how his psychosocial development occurs in regard to dating and forming relationships with the opposite sex. Drawing upon aspects of social penetration theory as posited by Altman and Taylor, Holden’s attempt with women can be viewed through the onion theory. Under this theory, people including adolescents look to make deeper and more significant connections and relationships with people over time, and that intimacy is measured in stages: orientation, exploratory, affective, stable, and a depenetration stage as the relationship ends. One of Holden’s major struggles in the novel is finding a way to connect to women in an affective and stable way. He begins with conventional practices and goes on group dates. Holden idealizes one girl from his childhood, has ambivalent feelings for and eventually enters a state of depenetration with a girl he was approaching stability with, and even sinks to deviant behavior in hiring a prostitute in order to have affective connections. Holden finds little satisfaction in the orientation and exploratory affective stages in his attempt to find that deeper connection at the affective stages that also includes a release for his sexual urges.

Holden Caulfield is an interesting representation of the adolescent psyche. His vulnerability cloaked in cynicism and his struggle to find his identity in an adult world. As an intelligent Moratorium, Holden is adrift and in a crisis of identity, exploring his sense of self as it compares to the world around him and as it stands in contrast to the adults and phonies in the world. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye has created an antihero endeared to readers across generations and provides thoughtful practical analysis for different stages and topics in adolescent development, including Holden’s cognitive processes, fluid intelligence, understanding, and ideals about the world, and his development of relationships with others.

References

Erikson, E. (1980). Identity and the life cycle. New York: Norton.

Horn, J. L., & Cattell, R. B. (1967). Age differences in fluid and crystallized intelligence. Acta Psychologica, 26, 107-129.

Marcia, James. (1980). Identity in Adolescence. Handbook of Adolescent Psychology. J. Adleson (Ed.) New York: Wiley and Sons.

Piaget, J. (2003). The psychology of intelligence. London: Routledge.

Salinger, J.D. (n.d.) The catcher in the rye. Accessed from http://sleeplessinmumbai.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/jd-salinger-catcher-in-the-rye.pdf.