Sally Hayes Catcher In The Rye

In literature as in a life, an individual’s true identity is revealed not only by the person himself but by the people who surround him. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, Sally Hayes, Holden’s old girlfriend, plays a necessary part in showing who Holden really is. Although often overlooked, Sally Hayes is second only to Holden as the most important character in The Catcher in the Rye. Sally captures Holden’s story by mirroring all of Holden’s major flaws, being his answer at his weakest point, and representing all of Holden’s relationships, which ultimately end in one way: failure.

Sally Hayes’s significance is found in her personality by which she epitomizes all of Holden’s worst qualities. Throughout the story, Holden can always be counted upon to ignore what he knows to be the right choice. This character flaw leads to his downfall. He flunks out of

Holden wants to be with Sally only when he is not thinking straight. After his long rant about school, he asks her to move to “these cabin camps… in Vermont” with him (132). Holden is not being level headed, which can be observed by Sally telling him to “stop screaming at (her)” multiple times (132). Later, after Holden calmed down, he realized he only “meant it when he asked her,” and “wouldn’t have taken her even if she’d wanted to” (134). When Holden is in a bad state of mind and is “too drunk… to give Jane a buzz,” he decides to give, “old Sally Hayes a buzz” (150). Holden feels attached to her and always seems to need her in these bad moments, but afterwards, he “wished to God (he) hadn’t even phoned her” (151). In moments of foolishness for Holden, he always falls back on Sally, and only later when he reflects on it, does he regret the decisions he made. Sally in Catcher in the Rye, is involved with many of Holden’s regrets, making her one of the necessary characters throughout Holden’s