“Catcher in the Rye”: Not a Bildungsroman Essay

Bildungsroman a approach-of-age fabrication. Many critics and readers alike have argued that JD Salingers backstop in the rye is a superb example of a bildungsroman. The original is a narration by Holden Caulfield, a troubled and mentally unstable six putn year-old that has just been expelled from his fourth prep school. Holden, who is undergoing treatment in a mental institution, recounts the fib of his mental breakdown and the events leading up to it. He concludes the story with brief hints at his reco actually. Though one assumes that Holden is receiving and responding to treatment, his situation and dance step are unchanged throughout the novel.If the protagonist has not fledged since story began, how sewer catcher in the Rye be considered a bildungsroman?The novel opens with Holden carelessly tossing around the fact that he has been expelled from Pencey Prep (page 2). Though Holden has antecedently been kicked out of three other prestigious schools, he is completely neutral about the situation. He has no drive no concern or outlook for his future whatsoever. Even after everything that Holden experiences throughout Catcher in the Rye, his attitude is unchanged at the conclusion and what school Im supposed to go to next fall, after I get out of here, but I dont feel like it. I really dont. That stuff doesnt interest me overly much right now (page 213). That statement unequivocally proves that Holden has not matured at all.Contemptuous, bitter, judgmental take your pick. Each word describes Holden to a tee not just in the beginning, but throughout the entire narration. Holden is constantly judging everyone he comes into contact with. He speaks about Mr. Spencer (page 10), a professor at Pencey Prep, in the same patronizing tone that he describes a particular psychoanalyst with (page 213). Though the events take place several months apart, Holdens attitude is consistent. He continues to have a cynical, patronizing, and overall pessimistic outlook on people and life in general.If Holden is just as immature and mentally undeveloped at the end of the novel as he was at the beginning, how can one argue that he has come of age? Having a mental breakdown and needing treatment for said breakdown may very well be considered a rite of passage. However, to be considered a coming of age story, Holden would need to be changed for the better because of his rite of passage. One can clearly tell from his consistency in tone, attitude, and maturity level (or neglect thereof) that Holden has not changed in the least. Though many critics and readers alike have claimed Catcher in the Rye to be an excellent bildungsroman, there is certainly a strong argument to be made against this claim.Catcher in the Rye By JD Salinger (1951)Pamela Hunt Steinle (2000). In Cold Fear The Catcher in the Rye Censorship Controversies and Postwar American Character. Ohio State University Press.