Intratextual
“She had a very lousy childhood. I’m not kidding” (Salinger 32).
Holden and his roommate Stradlater are in the bathroom, as Stradlater is preparing to go on a date. Originally, Holden assumes that Stradlater’s date is a girl named Fitzgerald, however, he is informed that there has been a change in the “arrangements” and that he is going with Jane Gallagher instead. This information takes Holden by surprise, as Jane and Holden were neighbours, thus growing very close, and the thought of Stradlater possibly using a girl he is close to for his personal gain aggravates Holden.
In the novel, Holden uses the word ‘lousy’ to describe Jane’s childhood, similarly to how he described his own. On the first page of the novel he says,
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After spending some time at Mr. Spencer, his history teacher's house and getting lectured regarding his poor efforts in school, Holden fabricates a story to leave his teacher’s house without seeming rude. On his way to his dormitory at Pencey, Holden claims that he is an exceptional liar, and would lie even about the most insignificant facts, such as where he is going. He then goes into detail about whom his dormitory is named after, and how much of a phony the man is.
Holden often lies to the people around him, which could be a way of impressing others, or perhaps a way to control what others know about his personal life, therefore creating a barrier which prevents him from getting hurt. On page 16, Holden says the quote above, followed by examples of meaningless situations in which he feels inclined to lie. Another example of his dishonesty is when he gets on a train to New York, where he meets a classmate’s mother, to whom he lies about having a tumor, which could be a way to leave an impression or get sympathy. These actions are similar to those of Jay Gatsby from the novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. An example of Gatsby’s usage of deception is when he tells his neighbour that his wealth has been inherited from family. This is, of course, false, as he has built his fortune through organized crime. Moreover, Gatsby is obsessed with a woman named Daisy, who is married to an adulterous
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He says that he is feeling lonesome and even mentions that he wishes he was dead. Although moodiness and angst have been synonyms for the word teenager for decades, it is not solely an attitude problem and is much more serious. The number of adolescents struggling with depression is constantly increasing, and despite the fact that mental illness is now more socially accepted, many teenagers do not get the help they need, because parents assume it is a part of the teenage angst. Furthermore, the main theme in the novel is protecting innocence, which is extremely relevant to our world, as there are so many incidences where young children are stripped of their innocence. An example would be the case of Larry Nassar, the USA Gymnastics national team doctor who according to Time magazine assaulted up to 265 individuals. During the period his sentencing was taking place, I watched some of the victim statements on the news, and was appalled by Nassar’s actions, as he took advantage of his power and groomed young victims to stay quiet amidst his horrible actions. Although he Catcher in the Rye was originally published in 1951, it still remains pertinent to our world, through its themes of innocence, and its portrayal of mental health in
Holden, before leaving for New York, attended a boarding school named Pencey Prep. He makes it clear that he thinks everyone, teachers and students alike, is a “phony.” At one point, his roommate Stradlater goes out with a girl who ends up being Jane Gallagher, a childhood friend and crush of Holden. In his eyes, this is a betrayal. Holden is annoyed
Holden’s first betrayal was that of his memory and innocence by an egotistical peer. At Pencey Prep, he roomed with a student named Stradlater; the epitome of a teenage jock. Stradlater was openly very vain; as Holden stated as he watched Stradlater gaze at himself in the mirror, “he was madly in love with himself. He thought he was the handsomest guy in the Western Hemisphere” (27). Because of his inflated ego and good looks, Stradlater figured that he would steal the breath from any girl he wanted. To Holden, he admitted that the girl of the hour was a “Jean Gallagher” (31). Here was the betrayal: this “Jean” and the Jane that Holden had spent childhood summers with playing a cool game of checkers on the porch were one and the same. Holden had ...
Part of the irony in Holden’s story is that physically, he looks mature, but mentally, he is still very much a child: “I act quite young for my age, sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now … I’m six foot two and a half and I have gray hair ” (9). There is no middle ground, adolescence, for Holden. He can only be an adult, physically, or a child, mentally. Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tries to appeal to him by using a metaphor: “Life is a game, boy.
Holden struggles to make connections with other people, and usually resorts to calling them phonies whenever they upset him. He finds natural human flaws in people and runs away from connection immediately. His date with Sally shows this. Near the end of the date, Holden tells Sally about his plans to run away from life. When Sally gives him practical advice, Holden is quick to escape connection by calling her “a pain”. Sally’s advice would definitely guide Holden in a more realistic direction, but that is not what he wants to hear. Conflict always arises in his mind even if there is little in reality. His struggles with finding connection also make him too apprehensive to call his old friend Jane. Holden likes to think of Jane as a pure and perfect girl that he can
Holden’s endless journey begins when he received the call when he is expelled from Pencey Prep because of his low grades. Holden starts out as a college student that is damaged deep down his heart. The world before his journey was full of phonies as he commented, “Also at the threshold, the initiate will encounter a helper” (Ariane Publications 9). The helper usually leads the main character into the essential path before any accomplishments. In this condition, Holden’s former History teacher Mr. Spencer takes the role. He asks Holden,” Do you feel absolutely no concern for your future, boy?” (Salinger 20). He warns Holden about the difficulties that are waiting for him ahead but also pushed Holden forward to the journey. Even though Holden did refuse the journey by lingering at school after he got the expel letter. Nevertheless, the talk with Mr. Spencer may have aff...
Jane, a girl Holden loved dearly, was outside of his dorm waiting downstairs for stradlater and Holden could have went and spoken with her, but he refused to do so and never got the chance to
Jane Gallagher has a lot of influence on Holden. For example he states, “…You never even worried, with Jane, whether your hand was sweaty or not. All you knew was, you were happy. You really were.” In this scene, Holden shows how Holden feels when he gets around Jane. Holden says that he feels good and happy when around Jane. Another scene where Jane demonstrates her influence over Holden, is when he states, “…Then I’d crawl back to my room and call up Jane and have her come over and bandage up my guts. I pictured her holding a cigarette for me to smoke while I was…” Here, Holden imagines Jane coming over to help him, which reveals that Holden feels secure and protected by her. It also shows how Holden feels about Jane, the girl of his dreams, who he feels in love with. Jane clearly has much influence over Holden.
Holden’s sexual struggles are visible through his interactions with Sunny, Sally Hayes, and Carl Luce. Holden’s fascination with sex interferes with his elevated morals; as much as he wants to engage in intercourse, he voices his need to establish an emotional connection with his partner first, which prevents him from having casual sex. As much as physical intimacy is important to him, Holden needs to be taken care of and understood emotionally, as well, displaying that he holds sex in high regards and does not view it as something to be done carelessly. Holden just needs to be loved; but, unfortunately, his romantic life is sub-par at best, and until that changes, he’ll always feel confused – and very, very lonely.
that he is trying to hide his true identity. He does not want people to know who he really is or that he was kicked out of his fourth school. Holden is always using fake names and tries speaking in a tone to persuade someone to think a cretin way. He does this when he talks to women. While he is talking to the psychiatrist he explains peoples reactions to his lies like they really believe him, when it is very possible that he is a horrible liar and they are looking at him with a “what are you talking a bout?” expression. Holden often lies to the point where he is lying to him self.
Holden is not just abnormal, he has problems that other teenagers, including the students at Pencey, experience going through adolescence. An example of this is Holden's jealousy towards Stradlater when he finds out he is going on a date with Jane Gallagher, “Boy,was I getting nervous” (42). Every teenager has bouts of jealously especially about the opposite sex, and Holden is no different. Holden's rebellious nature, to an extent, is typical for a teenage boy. His rebellious nature of smoking when it is not allowed, “You weren't allowed to smoke in the dorm...I went right on smoking like a madman.” (41-42). Holden is also anxious about change, which again to an extent is normal, “Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks...”(60), and he has the right to be; change,especially during adolescence, is a terrifying but exciting ride into the unknown, and similar to other adolescents Holden is afraid but intrigued about the unknown.
Holden has a respect for women that he views as unnatural. He feels that his sexual desires should be similar to those of his roommate Stradlater and peer, Luce. Holden shows his confusion by saying, "The thing is, most of the time when you're coming close to doing it with a girl, a girl that isn't ...
Compulsive lying is another characteristic that Holden exhibits. Holden would tell people lies just so they could not become closer to the real Holden. Holden tells lies on numerous occasions to gain. Holden pathetically tells Mrs. Morrow, " I have to have a tiny operation… it isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on my brain" (58). She tells Holden that she is very sorry and she is hopeful that he shall be well soon. Holden then catches him self in a lie and he remarkes, "Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it," (58). This compulsive lying shows that Holden is not satisfied with himself and that he feels that people will judge him critically.
Holden's idealism is first brought forth when he describes his life at Pency Prep. It is full of phonies, morons and bastards. His roommate, Stradlater, " was at least a pretty friendly guy, It was partly a phony kind of friendly..." (26) and his other roommate, Ackley is "a very nosy bastard" (33). Holden can't stand to be around either one of them for a very long time. Later, he gets into a fight with Stradlater over his date with Jane. Holden is upset because he thinks that Stradlater "gave her the time" and that he doesn't care about her; 'the reason he didn't care was because he was a goddam stupid moron. All morons hate it when you call them a moron' (44). Holden not only sees his roommates as phonies and bastards, but he also sees his headmaster at Pency Prep as a "phony slob" (3). This type of person is exactly what Holden doesn't want to be. He strives to be a mature adult; caring, compassionate, and sensitive.
At the beginning of his story, Holden is a student at Pencey Prep School. Having been expelled for failing four out of his five classes, Holden leaves school and spends 72 hours in New York City before returning home. There, Holden encounters new ideas, people, and experiences. Holden's psychological battle within himself serves as the tool that uncovers the coming-of-age novel's underlying themes of teen angst, depression, and the disingenuous nature of society. The novel tackles issues of blatant profanity, teenage sex, and other erratic behavior.
While Holden was attending Pencey Prep, he formed a relationship with his history teacher, Old Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer was really the only teacher that Holden liked. While Holden was getting ready to go into Mr. Spencer?s bedroom, he said, ?His door was open, but I sort of knocked on it anyway, just to be polite and all.? (7). This showed his respect for Mr. Spencer and his privacy. It also showed that Holden had manners but had enough of a friendship with Old Spencer to talk with him in his own home. However, Holden felt a little uncomfortable with the situation when he actually saw Mr. Spencer, started talking to him, and felt a lecture coming on. Holden often thought about Mr. Spencer. While walking to Mr. Spencer?s room, Holden thought, ?? If you thought about him too much, you wondered what the heck he was still living for?. But if you thought about him just enough and not too much, you could figure it out that he wasn?t doing too bad for himself.? (2-3). Holden saw Mr. Spencer as childlike and helpless which made it easier for him to form a relationship with an adult.