Catcher in the Rye and Bless Me, Ultima

Synthesis Essay

Catcher in the Rye and Bless Me, Ultima are both coming of age novels that portray their main characters’ mental and moral development. J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is told from the perspective of Holden Caulfield, a stubborn and hypocritical teenage outcast, who leaves school after getting expelled, and faces a series of trials which causes him to reflect upon his true self. Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is narrated by seven-year-old protagonist Antonio Marez, who experiences life-changing events as he grows older, forcing him to expand his view of the world. In both coming of age novels, Salinger and Anaya illustrate their main characters’ development through their gradual loss of innocence and steady gain of maturity, highlighting the novel's recurring themes that children don’t necessarily mature as they grow older, but rather as their experiences influence them.

In Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio starts off as a young, seven-year-old boy whose life changes when Ultima arrives, shaping his development into an adult. To begin with, the deaths of Narcisco and Florence help Holden gain maturity. Narciso dies on the bridge as ¨...the devil Tenorio had sneaked around...waited to ambush Narciso¨(Anaya, 168). Narciso’s death helps Antonio realize the cruelty of the adult word. Furthermore, Antonio thinks ¨it was not fair that Narciso die for doing good¨(Anaya, 170). Antonio is upset when he sees that God has Narciso killed for being good, yet Tenorio who is evil gets to roam free. Moreover, the death of Florence is also a maturing factor for Antonio. Since ¨Florence had never believed¨(Anaya, 241), meaning he is an atheist, his passing away makes Antonio curious about what would happen to his soul. It can be seen that Antonio is questioning his beliefs, which is something an adult would do. Through these beliefs being shaken, Antono is gradually losing his innocence and gaining maturity because he is committing things that only an adult would. His firm beliefs in the Church falter when Antonio’s uncle Lucas is cursed by the witches, and Ultima is the one who saves him, resulting in Antonio’s doubting of the priest’s abilities because the priest could not save Uncle Lucas. Rather than being confined to just church and God, Antonio’s view of the world expands, resulting in his loss of innocence through his questioning of his beliefs which is something an innocent child would not do.

In Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden begins the story as a young juvenile boy who, as the story progresses, goes through a road of trials in New York that causes his maturing throughout the novel. For example, Holden’s encounter with the prostitute. Holden states he ¨figured if she was a prostitute and all, I could get in some practice on her...¨(Salinger, 92). Holden is acting in an adult-like way here. By hiring a prostitute, Holden can no longer deny that he is no longer an innocent child. Holden is losing his innocence here. Evidently, innocence does not mean hiring a prostitute. Because he is losing his innocence, Holden is also gaining maturity as loss of innocence is a part of maturation. Additionally, Holden’s fight with Maurice depicts to Holden the cruelty of the adult world. Holden states Maurice ¨smacked me...All I felt was this terrific