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Holden Caulfield wants to grow up. Holden Caulfield hates grown-ups. Holden Caulfield is having a nervous breakdown. In The Catcher in the Rye, author J. D. Salinger serves up the most twisted case of arrested development since Peter Pan.

Video Transcription:

Let’s take a look at a book about a boy who doesn’t want to grow up. No, not Peter Pan. I’m talking about The Catcher in the Rye.
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There are two main things going on in The Catcher in the Rye.

1. Holden Caufield, the main character, is having a mental breakdown.

2. Holden Caufield is struggling with having to grow up.

Perhaps this helps explain why this book is full of:

Angst
Disgust
Confusion
Depression
Moodiness
Anxiety

Perhaps it also helps explain why Holden’s moods alternate between:

Happiness and Regret
Confidence and Fear
Euphoria and Despair

In the same way that Holden feels caught between two worlds—between the innocence of childhood and the corruption of adulthood—he’s also caught between two mental states. And every part of Holden’s journey in The Catcher in the Rye reflects this split.

The places Holden goes during the story divide down these lines, too:

He spends time in bars and with a prostitute, but he also visits the Museum of Natural History and goes looking for the ducks in Central Park.

In sum? If you want to remember one thing about Holden and his journey, remember this number: 2.