The Children of Holden
The connection between Erickson's Identity Crisis,Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," and Teen Angstin Young Adult Fiction
- Editore:
VDM Verlag
- EAN:
9783639163711
- ISBN:
3639163710
- Pagine:
- 68
- Formato:
- Paperback
- Lingua:
- Tedesco
Descrizione The Children of Holden
J.D. Salinger's novel "The Catcher in the Rye"introduced American literature to a new kind ofprotagonist - the angst ridden teenager stuck in themire of adolescence. Holden Caulfield was frustrated,cynical, and weary of a society that was full ofdisappointment. His struggles with school, theopposite sex, and the loss of his brother Alliehelped him to become the voice of a generation ofteenagers. Out of Holden's skepticism over his future- "I think I am, but how do I know?" - a new literarygenre was created contending with the tumultuousnessof adolescence itself. Applying psychologist ErikErickson's concept of the "identity crisis," thisthesis will explore three representations of teenangst adolescent identity conflict, and the problemsassociated with it - identity foreclosure, negativeidentity, and identity diffusion. Erickson's identitycrisis usefully describes the angst that accompaniesthe grief, trauma, and maturation struggles thatcharacterize "The Catcher in the Rye," and itsprogeny, the Children of Holden: Laurie HalseAnderson's "Catalyst," Jean Ferris's "Bad," andStephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."
