Is The Catcher in the Rye a Coming of Age Novel?
Throughout the process of reading The Catcher in the Rye , we discussed whether this book is a coming-of-age novel. In my opinion, The Catcher in the Rye is a coming-of-age novel. However, it is an incomplete coming-of-age novel; Holden does not complete his transformation in this book, but by the end of the novel, the process of maturation may have started. My first piece of evidence to support this claim is how Holden reacts to Mr. Spencer’s advice versus how he reacts to Mr. Antolini’s advice later in the book. When Holden goes to Mr. Spencer’s house, Mr. Spencer gives him several pieces of advice, and while Holden seems polite from the outside, he internally says “Game, my ass. Some game” (Salinger 7), indicating that he isn’t listening at all. I don’t think Holden learns anything from his interaction with Mr. Spencer because he isn’t yet ready to liste...