The Catcher in the Rye #3

The setting of The Catcher in the Rye has a lot of effect on Holden's character.  Seeing as the story takes place in New York City, it's no wonder why Holden feels so overwhelmed with the world.  The city is so fast paced, and ever changing, it's almost impossible to keep up.  At first glance, the setting of the story really doesn't seem to have that much effect on Holden, but once you look into it in depth, you realize just how much of an impact his surroundings have on him.  Holden seems to be drowning in this sea of life, the waves of media and society are just too much for him to handle on his own.  He can barely get a grip of who he is, let alone in the big apple.  Part of New York City that he talks about a lot (aside from the the ducks in the lagoon in Central Park South) is the Museum of Natural History.  Life is just moving too quickly for old Holden, and I think he finds a particular liking in the museum because life is frozen, things stay as the are as long as they're in that big, awkward glass case.  "Certain things they should stay the way they are.  You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.  I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway" (pg. 122).  I think a part of him wanting to leave the city is so that he can just live life at his own pace.  While Holden is still living in New York City, he's forced to create his own glass case and live inside it just so he can keep his sanity aligned, also where no one can write "the F word" all over the place.  This is another component of the setting that adds to the characterization of Holden.  This is another reason why he just cannot handle the pace of life of where he lives.  I think when he sees that this is written all over the walls of various places, he sees just how cruel the "real world" is.  It seems like that is another reason why he puts up this refusal to grow up.