A Predisposition toward Violence

The key to understanding teenagers’ behavior lies in understanding the circumstances that surrounded their maturity. Holden Caulfield’s juxtaposition to death, violence, and constant change effected his maturation. Not only was he forced to grow up in the midst of World War II, his older brother D.B. was actually in Europe during the war. The anxiety that the Caulfield family must have felt during that time is unimaginable, and obviously would have had profound effects on a young Holden. On top of this, his brother Allie, whom Holden felt very close to, died of leukemia during his childhood when Holden was also quite young. By smashing windows instead of internalizing or talking about the pain of losing his brother, Holden displays behavior that is prone to violence. Throughout the novel it is revealed that violence reminds Holden of his deceased brother. Just when you think Holden has had enough to deal with as a young boy, Holden nonchalantly discusses an acquaintance of his that committed suicide because of bullying at one of Holden’s previous schools. This above all else had a lasting impact on Holden and actually influenced the way that Holden viewed troublemakers. Holden Caulfield’s troublesome childhood affected his development more than anything else in his life by subjecting him to brutally violent acts as well as harsh good-byes at a young and impressionable age.

When D.B. left the family to go to war, Holden came to regard childhood as a time of perfection because it was a time when his family was still united. Holden’s parents are not around very often, as is evident by their use of a live-in nanny and their need to send Holden to multiple boarding schools (Salinger 158). Because of this, the Caulfield chi...

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...ntense amount of change is enough to make even the most mentally stable child revolt. The majority of readers, however, hate Holden and blame him for all of his problems even though the reality is much more complex. While it would be easy to place fault all on one person, Holden did not cause World War II; he did not cause his brother to leave the country to fight nor did he cause D.B. to move to Hollywood; he did not ask for Allie to die of leukemia and he certainly did not ask for his friend to commit suicide. These events all influenced Holden dramatically and placing blame on Holden is simply wrong, simplistic, and misguided. Before accusing teenagers of foolishly rebelling against society, society must first examine why teenagers rebel in the first place.

Works Cited

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 1951.