Catcher in The Rye

The title of the book refers to the main character, Holden Caulfield's, interpretation of a song "If a body catch a body coming through the rye." The catcher in the rye to Holden is someone who would catch young children who are walking through a field of rye and are about to fall off a cliff. This is a basic theme and conflict in the book which is Holden trying to keep his youth while he is rapidly becoming consumed by the adult world.
The main character deals with both internal and external conflicts. The main internal conflict that Holden deals with is Man vs. Self. In the book Holden is striving to change his life by becoming an adult, but he is unable to because he still cherishes his youth. The Man vs. Man conflict is Holden against the relationship that he tries to form with other people but is unable to because of the way he is torn between youth and adulthood. The last conflict is the Man vs. Society. Holden's attitudes toward the different institutions of society...