Abstract:J.D. Salinger, one of the famous American contemporary novelists, achieved fame by his novel The Catcher in the Rye, which has exerted a great influence on many generations. This novel tells a story about how the hero lived in the New York City for two nights and his inner feelings. However, there are controversies on both the novel and the hero among critics.
This thesis will focus on the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye Holden, and on the process and significance of searching for his identity. The thesis will try to find out the main factors that influence his growing and the significance of searching, as well as to draw lessons from it for the growing up of young Chinese students today. The thesis will elaborate its research questions as follows and detect the overlapping part(s) of their answers: Why Holden is beloved by many adolescents even though he was dispirited by the circumstances? What is he actually looking for? In this process, what changes has he undergone? By analyzing Holden’s growing process, I will know something about the America social environment at that time as well as the symbolism in the novel. I will also learn how to analyze one’s character, action and psychology from different perspectives. Therefore I will have a better understanding of adolescents’ mind. Learning from Holden’s searching of identity we Chinese adolescents should know how to find our own positions. We will be brave enough to face the changing of sentiment cognition, social role and concept of values.
Keywords: Initiation novel，Adolescent，Identity
摘要:当代美国最负盛名的小说家之一J. D. Salinger的成名作《麦田里的守望者》影响了许多代人。小说主人公霍尔顿以第一人称的口吻讲述了一年前他在纽约一天两夜的生活经历以及他的内心情感变化。对于此书及其主人公霍尔顿这个人物，评论家褒贬不一。
本论文将通过对J.D.塞林格《麦田里的守望者》中的主人公霍尔顿的成长过程中的自我探寻的过程及意义进行分析，从青少年心理学入手，分析其成长过程中的探寻的艰辛历程，并发现此过程中的决定因素，以及对中国当代青年学生成长的借鉴意义。论文将围绕下列几大问题具体展开，并发现其中的共通之处：为什么霍尔顿受环境影响堕落了，颓废了，却博得广大青少年的喜爱？他究竟在追寻什么？他在这个寻找过程中又经历了怎样的改变？并通过对《麦田里的守望者》主人公的成长历程的分析，可以了解当时美国的社会环境，体会文中的象征意义。学会综合分析人物性格，行为表现及心理特征，对青少年心理有更清晰的认知。借鉴霍尔顿的自我探寻，分析中国当代青年学生成长，学会懂得如何自我定位，勇敢面对情感认知、社会角色、价值观念等诸多方面的转变。
关键字：成长小说，自我，青少年
