Holden Caulfield Free Essays

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Slinger the main character Holder Coalfield is obsessed with phonies and the loss of innocence. We will write a custom essay sample on Holden Caulfield or any similar topic only for you Order Now To Him almost everybody are phonies especially those who have lost their Innocence. According to Holder there Is only one thing that can cause one to lose their innocence and that Is sex. Throughout the entire novel Holder Is confronted with sex. In every confrontation with sex he â€Å"runs away’ due to his fear of growing older. Holder never wants to become an adult therefore he never wants to have sex. It is obvious that the only thing in his mind that will make him an adult is sex because he smokes and drinks alcohol throughout the novel. Many believe that those two acts along with other things bring about the change from childhood to adulthood. However Holder commits these acts and still believes he maintains his innocence. Even through all his fear Holder also seems to be fascinated with sex. When he meets up with Carl Luck he constantly ask him questions about sex. This shows that Holder is both fascinated and disgusted with sex. He seems to be more concerned with other people’s innocence, especially Jane. He is so concerned he gets into a fight with his roommate Seedeater because he thinks he had sex with Jane. After this Incident Holder continues to contemplate calling Jane but always decides not to. This shows he Is worried he will find out that that she did have sex. If she did have sex then she would be a phony to him and he would lose the girl of his dreams to adulthood. Holder’s feelings toward sex are a direct reflection of his creator J. D. Slinger. J. D. Clinger’s opinion towards sex is one in the same with Holder’s. J. D. Slinger as with many women throughout his life. All of them had a consistency of being young when he met them. Even as he grew older he still had relationships with younger women. Slinger was married three times throughout his life. During his time with his second wife they had children together. After she had the children he lost interest in her and spent most of his time writing. He had lost his appeal towards her because she was no longer young and Innocent. They ended up getting a divorce due to his seclusion from her. After a while he then met a girl named Jean Miller by a LOL. She was only fourteen when they began their five year relationship. Their relationship ended due to the topic of sex. She was a vulgar and she brought up the topic of sex to Slinger. The moment she showed interest in having sex he lost Joyce Maynard. She was yet again a young and innocent girl Just like the rest that came before her. One day she told Slinger that she wanted to have children. He immediately lost interest and broke up with her. These relationships show that Slinger has the same view towards sex as his most famous character Holder Coalfield. In the sass sex was a main symbol of adulthood. Many believed that they should wait until marriage to have sex. However at that time men and women were deviating from that accepted belief. Sex started to become like what it is today meaningless. It became more about pleasure and less about love. At this time people were beginning not to see sex as a transfer from childhood to adulthood. However Slinger still believed that sex was the main transfer. He wrote The Catcher in the Rye because it would be controversial during this time period. Everyone no matter how the felt towards sex were amazed with a novel written like this. It became one of the most popular and questioned novels of its time. Both Holder and Clinger’s view on sex is it is the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood. In the novel Holder shows this view first hand through experiences he had. Clinger’s many relationships with young women supports this view as well. There are some who believe that sex is not the beginning of adulthood. However sex was and always will be the main transfer from childhood to adulthood. How to cite Holden Caulfield, Papers