Catcher In The Rye Holden Character Analysis

In Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden is an unreliable narrator who, through his digressions, illustrates himself and his personality. In these digressions, Holden reveals many of his characteristics that readers would otherwise never know. In one digression about an old roommate of his, Holden talks about how his roommate, Dick Slagle, has cheap-looking suitcases which he always hides under the bed instead of putting them on the rack next to Holden’s. Holden initially believes that the reason Dick hides his suitcases is because he feels ashamed that they are cheaper than Holden’s and he does not want anyone to see them. He even says, “I kept wanting to throw mine out or something, or even trade with him (Salinger 121).” This illustrates

his eye for purity and innocence—a theme that appears quite often in the story. Holden also pities Slagle, feels depressed for him, and wants to make him feel better. This leads him to hide his own suitcases under his bed so Dick would not have to see them and feel bad about his own inexpensive suitcases. Later, Slagle replaces Holden’s bags back on display on the rack. After a while, Holden sees the real motives behind his roommate’s actions: he wants people to think the nice, expensive suitcases are his. Holden is surprised by Slagle’s intentions because he always says “snotty” things about Holden’s belongings, especially his suitcases. This digression also reveals that Holden is nonmaterialistic and does not care much for expensive things. For example, when he is talking about his suitcases, he says, “mine came from Mark Cross, and they were genuine cowhide and all that crap, and I guess they cost quite a pretty penny (121).” Since he believes that Dick Slagle is a materialistic person, Holden decides that he would rather room with someone who does not place their self-worth solely on the monetary value of their belongings. For this reason, he likes sharing a room with someone like Stradlater who does not care about trivial things like the worth of his suitcases. Holden Caulfield is a person who sees people’s intrinsic values and characteristics. Holden reveals and illustrates his own characteristics unknowingly through his many digressions.