Both novels share the theme of a voyage which leads to complicated psychological hostility bringing about emotional upheaval and enlightenment.

In The Catcher and the Rye, there are many moments when Holden Caulfield withstands serious psychological conflicts. Throughout the novel, Holden is trying to find himself. He neglects his duties as a student to prolong his journey to adulthood. During this search for identity, interesting obstacles approach Holden which in turn lead to his enlightenment. Holden often becomes extremely depressed for several different reasons. In fact, it is only because of his depression that, at one point, he chooses to have a throw with some prostitute. This is shown when Holden says, "It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn't even think." This spontaneous decision later creates great predicaments for Holden to have to face. There are other times when he says things without thinking. For example, when Holden goes on a date with Sally Hayes he tells here he loves her. Then he says, "It was a lie, of course, but the thing is, I meant it when I said it." Holden also has a fantasy about running away with Sally

Subsequently, when Holden takes Phoebe to the carrousel, he realizes that someone actually cares for him. It is obvious when he says, "I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, . . . .in her blue coat and all," that he was truly uplifted by the sight of her circling around on the carrousel. It did not matter to Holden if he got soaking wet because that was not the important thing. Also, he was wearing his and Phoebe's special red hat. He told Phoebe that he would return home and for once he really meant it. Suddenly, everything became clear to him and for the first time, in what seemed like forever, he was content.

, but Sally opts not to go with him. Afterward, Holden realizes he really does not want to run away with Sally. He just asked her because the idea sounded good at that moment.

Likewise, The Old Man and the Sea contains just as much struggling as The Catcher and the Rye does. The old man, Santiago, suffers tremendous hardships during his expedition at sea. His agonizing battle begins early on when a giant marlin starts eating sardines on the old man's hook. After a while, something causes the fish some discomfort which then makes a sudden, sharp movement. The old man then realizes his right hand is cut by the line. "You're feeling it now, fish," he says. "And so, God knows, am I." The old man was able to deal with the pain now, but shortly there would be more for him to endure. His left hand becomes cramped which gives him greater pain than he had before. Even though the old man

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Approximate Word count = 1024
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)