An Exploration of the Protagonist’s Inner World in The Catcher in the Rye

Abstract：Jerome David Salinger is one of the famous novelists and short story writers in America. The Catcher in the Rye， as his representative work， is hailed as groundbreaking of American initiation novels in the 20th century and a “modern classic” in American literature. This thesis attempts to explore the protagonist Holden Caulfields inner world further with the guide of “Maslows need hierarchy theory” so as to disclose that the protagonist experiences numerous challenges on the way of growing-up.

Key words：The Catcher in the Rye； initiation； Maslows need hierarchy theory

1. Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory

Abraham Harold Maslow， American social psychologist， is considered as the father of Humanistic Psychology and the spiritual leader of the humanistic psychology movement. When it comes to his theories， Maslow mainly puts emphasis on lifelong learning， self-growth and self-actualization. As to his need hierarchy theory， it is a model composed of five levels of need， including physiological need， safety need， love need， esteem need and self-actualization need.

2. Loss of Love and Attachment

Holden comes from a quite rich middle-class family. His father is an excellent and ambitious lawyer. However， he regards his fathers profession as a parallel of his individual personality. When his sister Phoebe advises him to be a lawyer like their father when he grows up， he responses that “I mean theyre all right if they go around saving innocent guys lives all the time， and like that， but you dont do that kind of stuff if youre a lawyer. All you do is make a lot of dough and play golf and play bridge and buy cars and drink Martinis and look like a hot-shot”（Salinger 160）. And these words represent Holdens views on his father who doesnt mean to save the lives of innocent people as Holden asserts but only pursue wealth and social status at the expense of significant and valuable family relationships.

It is widely acknowledged that family play a crucial role in childrens growth. Nevertheless， Holden fails to acquire that kind of love and attachment which are necessary and important for a teenager in the process of initiation.

3. A Lack of Respect

School is similar to a small society in which students can not only learn knowledge but also make acquaintance with many brilliant teachers and outstanding students. Among this circle， they are able to learn from each other， help each other and make progress together. Given all that， it seems that school life is happy and desirable. However， as a member of Pencey Prep which Holden attends， Holden doesnt succeed in attaining due and necessary understanding and respect from students and teachers. As follows： Exasperated with Holden， his roommate attributes his problems to his resistance to conform：“No wonder youre flunking the hell out of here…You dont do one damn thing the way youre supposed to”（Salinger 53）. Whats worse， after being dismissed by Pencey Prep， Holden expects to get the teachers enthusiastic help and advice， but the visit turns out to be helpless and meaningless. At the very beginning， Mr. Spencer believes Holden has absolutely “no concern” （Salinger 12） for his future. Later， he forces Holden to read his exam essay that gets a low mark despite the fact that Holden is very embarrassed to be laughed at by him. In this way， Holdens ardent anticipation and hope of getting helpful advice is destined to break down.

From above mentioned， it also can be easily discovered that Holden fails to gain respects from his classmates and teachers even they keep intimate relationships.

4. The Pursuit of Dream： to be a catcher in the rye

The Catcher in the Rye， as the title of the novel， it derives from a fantasy. When Holden was walking alone Fifth Avenue one day， he met with one family with parents and a child. At that moment， the child was walking alone while the parents were just walking along， talking， without paying any attention to their son. Whats worse， the child was walking in the roadway， albeit “night next to the curb.” Perilously， “cars zoomed by， brakes screeched all over the place， his parents paid no attention to him， and he kept on walking next to the curb”（Salinger 115）. Obviously， the childs dangerous situation stimulated the fantasy of rescue in the rye which occurred to Holdens mind. He declares the first thing to be done with children is to bring them together in order to escape from loneliness. From this fantasy， we can observe that Holden yearns for saving innocent children from falling into the abyss of adult corruption through becoming the catcher in the rye. Definitely， the “catcher in the rye” itself is a fantasy which is reduced to be disillusioned.

5. Conclusion

As a young teenager， Holden goes through so many dilemmas. In this way， Holdens adolescence seems to be painful and unfortunate for his dream turn out to be disillusionment. However， on the road towards future， Holden succeeds in fulfilling growth both physically and mentally since he comes to realize that he should take responsibility and confront reality when he decides to go home at last. Through exploring Holdens inner world， it also reminds us that adolescents are bound to encounter with pain and confusion more or less in the process of their initiation. And it is necessary for them to understand that no matter what frustration they will suffer from， they should face and challenge bravely.

【WORKS CITED】

[1] Maslow Abraham H. Motivation and Personality. Hong Kong： Longman Asia Ltd， 3rd Revised Edition， 1987.

[2] Salinger J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston： Little， Brown， 1991. 115.

[3] Salinger J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. New York： Bantam books， Inc.， 1981. 12， 53， 158， 160.

【作者簡介】

胡慧娥（1991—），女，汉族，陕西省榆林市人，西安外国语大学英文学院研究生部2014级英语语言文学专业硕士研究生。主要研究方向：美国文学。