The conflict of The Catcher in the Rye is an internal one. Throughout the novel Holden battles inside his head how he really feels. I would consider the main conflict in the novel to be Holden's not wanting to take responsibility for his actions and grow up. You are introduced to one of the starts of the causes of the conflict starting in the first few pages. Holden admits about his school, "I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all" (Salinger 4). Holden has not been trying at his new school at all because he considers all of the boys and teachers, "phonys". When Holden leaves his school a few days before he is allotted to do so, he really has no where to go. Since he does not want to take responsibility for his actions, he is not able to go home to his family and his parents. He is left to wander aimlessly around his town avoiding people he knows. Another cause of this conflict could be the sadness in having his little brother Allie die. It seems to be that Holden has not come even close to accepting his brother as gone, and still sounds like he considers Allie to be here with him. Since Holden has not let the death of Allie go he can not move on in his life and grow up.
One of the gains from this conflict is the relationship Holden shares with his younger kid sister, Phoebe. Whenever Holden describes her, you can tell that he is full of love for her. After Holden leaves his school and wanders around time he is left with a lot of time to think. One thought he always goes back to is how he would want to talk to his sister. I believe that this time away from everyone he knows only strengthened his bond with one of the only people he truly cares about.
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
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