Main Themes

There are many themes in the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and they all vary from each other. Throughout the novel the main character, Holden Caulfield, goes through many different situations, and the themes from these situations are carried on throughout the rest of the story to feed the conflicts and altercations.

One of the themes in the novel is alienation. Holden seems isolated from the rest of the world, and he tells Mr. Spencer that he feels 'trapped on the other side' and that he is trying to find his place in a world where he just does not belong. Later on in the novel, it seems that Holden alienates himself so that he can protect himself. Other people seem to not understand anything about Holden, so they treat him differently. And because of this, Holden tries to isolate himself and avoid any confrontation or unwanted interactions. This kind of separation causes Holden pain at times, but while his isolation often seems like a bad thing, but really it is a form of stability for Holden. It becomes familiar and comforting, and eventually it becomes his way of life.

Another theme in the novel is the very idea of growing up. The Catcher and the Rye is a coming of age novel, but Holden is trying to avoid maturing and growing up. He believes that adulthood is an awful fate, and that adults are phony and fake. Because of this, Holden continues to try and cling to his childhood, which is one of the reasons he wants to run away. However, instead of admitting that the very idea of adulthood scares him, Holden just keeps trying to ignore it and run away from the idea of growing up, which is really unavoidable. Tying in with this theme is the idea of phoniness. Along with being afraid of growing up, Holden thinks that adults are entirely phony, and he wants to avoid that at all costs. Towards the end of the novel it becomes clear that Holden's ideas and perceptions are all extremely shallow, and that he is not a very reliable narrator because of this.