Catcher In The Rye Character Analysis

Holden Caulfield is complex seventeen year that has multiple conflicts with himself and society, which is why he views the world extremely differently than most people do. Holden was sixteen when he got expelled from his third school, Pencey Prep. He flunked most of his classes and did not apply himself, but mainly gave up due to the amount of phonies in his previous schools. Holden states, “It was one of the worst schools I ever went to. It was full of phonies. And mean guys. You never saw so many mean guys.”( Page. 185) Holden did no longer want to attend school where they falsely advertise the audience, he knew the students and teachers were dishonest, which explains his hatred for people. Not only that, Holden had a huge dislike for movies,

Nevertheless, wanting to isolate himself from society led him into a deep depression. When he is alone, he has a difficult time trying to locate someone, which is why he always feels lonesome. He cannot connect to the people around him due to having a different mind set, which is why he separates himself, “I was standing way the hell on top of Thomsen Hill..”(Page 4). He tried frequently to contact a gal named Jane S. due to being interested in her but she never responded back. It seems that she does not view Holden in the same matter as he does, This led him to contact girls who he found unintelligent and display no character of themselves, but continues to communicate with them to cope with his loneliness. Besides that, he turns to drugs to deal with his depression, alcohol and cigarettes . Holden smokes cigarettes as a stress reliever and to fill up the emptiness he feels inside of him. While he drinks alcohol to seek a great time with people around him. When people consume drugs, it is just a sign that they want a better perspective in life. Furthermore, Holden’s main issue is that he has a difficult time letting go of his past and moving forwarding in