In J.D. Salinger’s 1951 novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has a difficult time playing by the rules of the game of life. Along with Holden, Benjamin Braddock in Mike Nichols’s 1967 film, The Graduate, finds himself in a similar position. Holden and Benjamin both try to meet expectations in their respective societies while trying to develop their own identities. For Holden, he finds himself kicked out of his third school and no where to turn to. For Benjamin, he finds himself coming out of college panicked because he is “a little worried about my future.” Throughout his respective novel and film, Holden and Benjamin explore possibilities for their identity however they cannot commit to anything without first becoming an…show more content… At the beginning of the novel, Holden is in a state of identity diffusion. He has been kicked out of his third school, he has made no real progress in exploring, and he certainly isn’t committed to anything. Whenever Holden is faced with a roommate or a school he doesn’t like, he just quits claiming that they are all “phonies”. At first, Holden isn’t committing to school nor is he exploring any possible identities. As the novel goes on, he finds himself in a state of moratorium, exploring possible identities but not committing to one. The first time Holden is really exploring is when he asks Sally to drive up to Massachusetts or Vermont and live a simple life. Sally immediately dismisses this idea, Holden gives up, and there is no commitment. Another example of Holden’s exploration is when he goes home and talks to Phoebe. He explores the possibility of being a “catcher in the rye,” meaning that he will “catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (Sallinger 191), an unrealistic exploration but exploration nonetheless. Throughout the novel, he is relentless in asking people about where the ducks go when winter comes and the pond freezes. He asks many people even though he never seems satisfied with the answers they give him. Holden presents some growth through exploration however his ideas about his future are unrealistic and therefore they aren’t
