Austin Berryman Mrs. O American Literature 4 4 October 2012
Things Change The more things change the more they stay the same in
Holden Caulfield’s case is wrong. In the story, The Catcher in the
Rye, Holden Caulfield had to go through many changes to become the
person he is at the end of the story. The many changes he went
through matured him into a man that accepts life. Holden in the
story went through many obstacles to survive when he ran away from
home. The death of his brother Allie contributed to a personality
change.
Also, Holden had to deal with some interesting characters
including Maurice a pimp. The time Holden spent alone was one of
the main reasons he became a changed man by the end of the story.
Holden used profanity, drank, and he lied it was not unit he the
end of the book that he was able to look back on this and convey
that he was just a scared kid. When Holden was living in New York,
he went through many changes. His personality remained the same as
it was in the beginning of the story while he was in New York.
When he looked back on the events that took place there, he
changed his views and his personality changed. Holden meets Maurice
who is a pimp. When they meet, Maurice immediately tells Holden he
is lonely and needs to have some “fun. ” Holden decides to take
Maurice up on his offer thinking it will be good practice for him
to be with a woman before he gets married. When the prostitute
arrives at his room, Holden begins to judge her. He projected some
of his feelings on her. He realized he did not want to have
relations with her and decides to pay her but not have sex.
When she asks for ten dollars, he insists that they agreed upon
five dollars. Thinking that he just got out of trouble, Maurice
comes in and starts to yell at Holden. While he was yelling, the
prostitute takes the money. The reason that this had an effect on
Holden’s personality later is he finally learns that bad stuff
things sometimes happen and he needs to remember people like
Maurice and the prostitute. One may believe that Holden did not
change at all in the story, but throughout the story Holden dreams
of being the catcher in the rye.
What this means is he wants to stand by a cliff and wait for
kids to almost fall off and catch them. This is a metaphorical
display of his longing to stop children being corrupted by a
corrupt world. In reality, it is Holden that is the one about to
fall off the cliff of adolescence into adulthood. Holden is the one
on the cusp of adulthood. The death of Holden’s brother is the main
reason for Holden’s change in personality and view of life.
Holden’s brother, Allie, died when he was 11.
Holden always told his Mom that she never let go of what
happened to Allie. Actually, Holden was the one that did not let
go. While at his brother’s grave, during the funeral, it began it
rain. Everyone ran away to stay dry but Holden could not move
because he felt so bad about Allie’s death that he could not move.
He stayed there with his brother wearing his red hat. This showed
that he finally accepted everything including his grief, his pain,
and his place in the world. This was a change in personality. It
means he was becoming a man.
The more things change, the more they stay the same is not
correct in Holden’s case. Holden is a troubled teenager and later
realizes that he has to stop judging people and being childish. He
realizes this by the end of the book. He also misses the people
that he met in his venture in New York. He realizes that all of
these people had an effect on his life that made him different.
There is a quote that says, “The only thing that does not change is
that things change. ” In the case of Holden Caulfield in The
Catcher in the Rye, that quote is true.
