Holden's Coming of Age

I really liked the ending of The Catcher in the Rye because I think it accurately shows the end result of a coming of age. If we examine Holden at the beginning and end of the novel, we can see some development, especially in the carousel scene with Phoebe. Phoebe gets on the carousel but Holden doesn't, signifying that Holden recognizes he's not a child anymore. However, Phoebe says that she's too big for the carousel. Holden isn't depicted to have any strong negative response at the thought of Phoebe aging but instead urges Phoebe to go on the carousel and he would watch. I think that Holden still isn't completely okay with the concept of aging but instead of being angry, he cherishes the moments he does have with Phoebe while acknowledging that Phoebe won't always be a young girl who rides carousels anymore.

Additionally, I think Holden wants to become a mentor figure to Phoebe which would fit with Holden's dream job to be the catcher in the rye. Phoebe begins to resemble Holden. She wants to recklessly run off with Holden to live in a new state. In addition, Phoebe starts to physically take after Holden when she drags her suitcase around and wears Holden's red hunting hat. However, when Holden sees Phoebe start to take the same path that Holden does, Holden attempts to stop Phoebe or stop Phoebe from falling off the same cliff Holden did. Holden changes his mind and decides to not leave town so Phoebe would not follow him. I think that Holden recognizes that Phoebe sees him as a role model and as a result changes his behavior. I think that Holden's views his actions in a different light whenever his actions are related with Phoebe. For instance, Holden recklessly spends his own savings on cabs, alcohol, tickets to see movies. Holden doesn't budget his money at all and just spends it recklessly. However, when Phoebe gives Holden her money, Holden actually budgets the money. For instance, after Holden runs away from Mr. Antolini's house, Holden doesn't want to book a hotel and spend all of Phoebe's money. Just like how Holden doesn't want to waste Phoebe's money, he doesn't want to hurt Phoebe's future, and as a result, begins to reforms his spending habits and himself in order for Phoebe to have a good role model.

I also liked how Holden never finishes coming of age. On the last page of the novel, a psychoanalyst asks Holden if he'll apply himself in school next year. Holden, however, tells the reader, that he doesn't know what he'll do until he does it. I like how, by the end of the novel, Holden hasn't fully developed as an adult but has just taken the first steps to reform his life. I also liked how Holden is still unsure about what he wants to do in his life, since I can relate to that. The novel doesn't end with Holden planning to go to college and choosing to pursue some traditional career like a lawyer or teacher. I like that Holden's future is still somewhat vague and unclear, since that how growing up can sometimes feel to a teen.

Examining Stephen's Epiphany

The epiphany Stephen has at the end of chapter 4 is important since it kickstarts Stephen's development as an artist and leads to the Stephen we see in chapter 5. Therefore, I thought it would be useful to carefully analyze the moment Stephen's see the woman at the beach, especially with the knowledge we have from finishing the book. Just before Stephen sees the woman he notes how alone and free Stephen feels. "He was alone and young and wilful and wildhearted" (185). I didn't notice it at first, but this is the ideal state Stephen believes the artist should be -- detached and free from soceity's constraints. 

And then Stephen see the woman. He notes that she was "alone and still, gazing out to the sea" (185). I think part of the reason the woman drew Stephen's attention was because she was alone. Throughout, Portrait, Stephen has always been a little detached from others whether that be through his desire to cultivate a brooding persona or because he's at a new school. I think that perhaps, Stephen views the woman as a model which he should strive to be. Stephen doesn't want to be like his childish friends who play around on the beach but rather wants to be like the lone woman wading in the water. Also, the fact that the woman is looking at the sea instead of into Dublin could symbolized Stephen's desire to get out from the constraints of Ireland. In addition, the woman is described as a "strange and beautiful seabird" and Joyce evokes other bird references, such as the "dovetailed" skirts. The bird imagery fits with the idea of escape and flight. According to Stephen, he wants to escape the cultural constraints of Dublin and his religion which fits with the bird imagery. In addition, birds when they're flying, are detached from the land but, as a result, gain a larger and more cohesive view of the world from their position. In that sense, the imagery of the bird meshes perfectly with Stephen's theory that by being detached the artist becomes better at representing people. 

Also, when Stephen's refers to Emma on page 235 he asks, "Her heart simple and wilful as a bird's heart?" which might connect the birdlike woman on the beach with Emma. Indeed, the encounter with the woman at the beach seems like something straight out of teenage Stephen's dreams. Stephen literally runs into a girl at the beach and he passively has an epiphany. Perhaps, that connection to Stephen's past makes this encounter even more personal and meaningful to Stephen. I'm a little unsure if there's any connection to Emma and what that connection would be (Other than that both women are treated by Stephen more as a concept or symbol than as a person. Also, just a thought, but perhaps the woman at the beach works as a "better" symbol because Stephen doesn't know her and is detached from her, whereas Stephen is directly effected by Emma's actions which doesn't allow him to be perfectly unbiased toward her). 

Stephen then begins to to describe his epiphany in more religious terms. He described the woman as "a wild angel" and Stephen describes how his soul reacts (186). The religious terms could be a reference to how although Stephen may be detached from his culture it still influences him through his language and world view. He's still Irish and Stephen's religious background doesn't just disappear. Also, when the woman is described as an angel, the entire encounter feels a lot more biblical. An angel appears to Stephen and as a result Stephen gets an epiphany and a calling to the vocation of being an artist. Perhaps, this is another way Stephen's religious background never leaves him. I'm still a little unsure about the meaning of biblical atmosphere of this scene however. I feel like it adds a bit of drama to the scene which you could regard as ironic depending on your view on how legitimate Stephen's epiphany is. After rereading the paragraph, I noted Joyce's word choice. The woman's eyes called Stephen "to live, to err, to fall, to triumph" (185). The woman is a "wild" angel. She would "throw open before him in an instant of ecstasy the gates of all the ways of error and glory" (185). I found it interesting how even though the woman is called an angel she doesn't represent how Stephen should be holy and never sin. In fact, the angel represents how Stephen would fall and succeed. I thought there also might have been something Milton like in the description of the woman as an angel. "error and glory" are two things I associate with Satan and the fall in "to live, to err, to fall, to triumph" evokes Milton. Perhaps, this is another way that Stephen steps beyond the restrictions of the church and religion in Ireland, and because of his detachment is able to portray religion in a different light.