The Changes of Holden Caulfield

The Metamorphosis of Holden Caulfield

"Don't fear change, embrace it" - said by Anthony J. D'Angelo. Changes occur all the time, some, however are harder to handle than others. In the novel, The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden has to confront many changes in his life, but is terrified of adjusting his life to the corruption of society. He wants everything to stay the same. He wants everyone to stay the same. Holden can't deal with all the challenges that are coming so instead he retreats into his own little fantasy world that he imagines. His fantasy world is where nothing is changing and that he is protecting everyone's innocence from escaping into the harsh world where everyone is phony and fake. He soon begins to realize that you cannot hide from change.

Holden is fond of the Museum of Natural History because nothing in there changes, everything stays the same.

The Catcher in the Rye

Обкладинка книги "Над прірв...

A perfectly reasonable pub, though the decor's a b...

"The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody'd move....Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different would be you."(p. 121). Holden is the type of person that cannot deal with change and conflict, therefore the museum represents a simple, perfect, idealistic vision of life that Holden wishes he could live in. The Museum of Natural History is a fantasy world of Holden's where everything is frozen, silent, and simple. He doesn't want to move on into adulthood and face the phoniness and superficiality because he is afraid; he just wants to be where he is now, in his teen years. He fears if he matures into society that all of the innocence and purity that he still has will vanish. Rather than face the challenges of the adult world, he retreats to the fantasy world...