Analysis of Catcher in the Rye The novel "Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger is often known for being the novel that led to the death of the cultural icon pop John Lennon, but it is also known as one of the greatest novels ever written. While it doesn't push me to tear down a Beatle, it does push me to consider my personal relationships and what we as a society value and promote in each other. At the beginning of the novel, Holden Caulfield's pessimism prevents him from succeeding, or even attempting to fit into society, because he is too closed-minded to the world around him. However, at the end of the novel he learns to accept others and take action in his life. At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to a character who can only really be described. This proves to be a great deterrent for him in many of his adventures in the big city and will eventually cause him to change his view of the world. The first thing Holden notices about the Hotel is that “[it was] full of perverts” (Salinger 81). He immediately takes a negative attitude towards a situation and this prevents him from taking advantage of the situation and developing as a person. This attitude is what almost drives Holden to his grave. As his adventures in New York continue, he pushes people further and further into the idea that they are all fake and Holden is right. This ideology is wrong and this is one of the main messages Salinger wants the reader to understand. This pessimism constantly drives others away, such as Sally Hayes when he asks her to run away to the woods forever with him. Holden also said that in the middle of their conversation, "he was starting to hate her" (Salinger 172). Salinger discourages this behavior through Holden by demonstrating that this attitude cannot even allow Holden to do the easiest tasks. He can't even have sex with a prostitute he had already hired because he just wanted to talk, despite her constant allusions that he was a sex maniac. In Behrman's “vision of the innocent,” he describes Holden as having “the deadpan literalness and all-or-nothing combativeness of the passionate adolescent” who will force others against him (Behrman 3). This pessimism prevents him from maturing and accepting the role of adulthood, even if he would just like to be the catcher in the rye. His attitudes are directly linked to Holden's inability to adapt to the changing world. Through all his efforts in New York, he is slowly and slowly transformed into a realistic man. His emotional collapse and his physical collapse seem to coincide