Discussion Question 2- The Catcher in the Rye

Well, to start, the conflict of the book is an internal conflict. Holden really wants to connect with other people, but he also wants to view everyone as a phony or a fake. He really struggles with belonging in the story. He wants approval from other people, but he looks for the negative in people and that is why he feels people put on an act. In the beginning of the story, Holden is sitting by himself while everyone else is at the big game at Pencey. He alienated himself from the rest of his peers (Salinger 3). This is the point of the book where I really see that Holden is struggling. You can tell he wants to be at the game, especially when his roommate is with Jane Gallagher. Instead of people putting on a show, he puts on a show for them. I think some of the causes of the conflict is all the schools Holden has attended. At each school, he is constantly getting kicked out, so he does not have a lot of time to connect with people and really fit in. He puts up a guard. I also think another cause is his family. His father is a successful lawyer, his mother is smart, his little sister goes to school, and his brother is a writer in Hollywood. He has a lot to live up to in his family. I think Holden can gain a lot from the conflict. Towards the end of the story he starts to find happiness as he is watching his sister on the carousel. Even though he is still stuck in his old ways, he made a promise to his sister and he stuck to it. He is becoming closer with her, and I think when he is with her he feels he can be himself. Another gain from the conflict is that Holden can explore with people. He can go around with people and decide who he wants to surround himself with and set aside the people that do not fit him (Salinger 103). Some of the losses of the conflict is time. Holden wasted a lot of time in this book because he was usually in a bad mood, depressed, or lonely (Salinger 91). He wasted a lot of time, when all he needed to do was tell the truth and move on. I think that he struggled with his self-being and knowing who he really is in the story, which is a great plot because it has such a powerful message, especially towards teenage readers.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.