Examples Of Epiphany In Catcher In The Rye

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In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experienced the difficult stages that life as an adolescent presented, which he has to experience in order to develop and realize he will ultimately be fine. Whichever path an individual decides to take will eventually bring them stability and happiness since they have matured and learned from the hardships of certain stages. Holden realized this as he watched Phoebe go around the carousel. The symbolism of the carousel triggers for Holden the understanding that life rotates in cycles with certain difficult stages along the way. Holden Caulfield's epiphany, caused by the rotating carousel, was foreshadowed when he was having a discussion with Mr. Spencer. Their discussion revealed Holden’s difficult …show more content…
Holden’s understanding of life’s difficulties had not been shaped yet, but Holden foreshadows his major epiphany of an adolescent's life when he reassures Mr. Spencer, “Look, sir. Don’t worry about …show more content…
Holden observes, “All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she’d fall off the goddam horse, but I didn’t say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it’s bad if you say anything to them.” Holden realizes that life rotates round and round, just like the carousel. Along the way there are difficulties that some adolescents may have trouble grasping, like the way the children had difficulties grasping onto the golden rings of the carousel. Even if the children struggle with grabbing the golden rings, it is better to let them be and mature independently. Falling off of the carousel and learning from the experience is better than staying tight to the carousel. The adolescents that get stuck on the carousel are constantly riding it over and over again, until they get dizzy of life. The difficulties and stages of life are all necessary to grow, and growing up is crucial in learning to live a happy
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