In his novel, The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger demonstrates his mastery of writing in his ability to utilize minor characters to subtly, yet powerfully develop themes and motifs. Set in the 1950s, The Catcher in the Rye comprises forty-eight hours in the life of Holden Caulfield. Following his expulsion from Pencey Preparatory Academy, Holden wanders New York City on the edge of emotional collapse. Holden’s deep, underlying psychological problems become apparent through his first-person narration and social interactions. The book deals with complex issues of identity, alienation, sincerity, and innocence. Three of the most prevalent themes can be labeled as “phoniness vs. authenticity,” “desire for connection vs. alienation/loneliness,” …show more content…
authenticity.” Though this theme is prevalent throughout the novel, perhaps one of the best concrete examples is during a conversation between Holden and Mrs. Morrow. While riding the subway, Holden meets the mother of one of his classmates, Ernest Morrow, and the consequent conversation is riddled with Holden’s deceptiveness and inauthenticity. For example, when she asks what her son is like, Holden responds, “‘He’s a very sensitive boy. [...] Perhaps he takes things a little more seriously than he should at his age.’ Sensitive. That killed me. That guy Morrow was about as sensitive as a goddam toilet seat. ” (54). Here, Holden is seen being less than honest, or “phony.” In contrast, Mrs. Morrow is very genuine in her responses to Holden: “Old Mrs. Morrow didn't say anything, but boy, you should've seen her. I had her glued to her seat. You take somebody's mother, all they want to hear about is what a hotshot their son is. [...] I had her in a trance, like. I really did.” (56). Holden goes on to admit, “Then I started reading this timetable I had in my pocket. Just to stop lying. Once I get started, I can go on for hours if I feel like it. No kidding. Hours.” (58). Holden’s phoniness is very obviously demonstrated throughout this passage, through Holden’s tireless lying. The duality of this theme, the “authenticity,” is also seen in the sincerity with which Mrs. Morrow responds to Holden. This …show more content…
alienation/loneliness.” Much like the previous theme, “desire for connection vs. alienation/loneliness” is prevalent throughout the novel; however it can be seen most concretely in certain scenes. One such scene is Holden’s date with Sally Hayes. Sally, Holden’s longtime friend and romantic partner, is an attractive girl with conventional tastes. During a date with her, one can see the clash between Holden’s desperate attempts for connection and his inability to handle interactions with real people. Holden’s awkwardness and lack of interpersonal skills are made obvious through his interactions with Sally. For example, when Holden sees Sally repeatedly looking at a boy whom she finds attractive, he tells Sally to “go on over and give him a big soul kiss, if you [Sally] know him.” (127). A second good example is when Holden asks Sally to run away with him. When Sally replies that his plan is impractical, Holden gets upset, and calls her “a royal pain in the ass.” (133). This insult upsets Sally, and although Holden first tries to remedy the situation by apologizing: “‘I’m sorry,’ I kept telling her. [...] She was still sort of crying, and [...] I did feel sort of sorry I said it.” (134)., he quickly gives up: “I stuck around for a while, apologizing and trying to get her to excuse me, but she wouldn't. She kept telling me to go away and leave her alone. So finally I did it.
In his fight with Stradlater, Holden’s character is shown as a defender of innocence. He defends the memory of his brother through the report he writes for Stradlater. Because of Stradlater’s criticism on his brother’s death, Holden destroys the essay and says “All right, give it back to me, then,’ I said. I went over and pulled it right out of his goddamn hand. Then I tore it up.” Holden is tormented by the memory of his brother throughout the novel, and in this fight he defends his brothers memory by protecting the baseball glove. Later in this scene Holden is upset with Stradlater’s relationship with Jane. Holden explains, “If you knew Stradlater, you 'd have been worried, too. I 'd double-dated with the bastard a couple of times, and I know what I 'm talking about. He was unscrupulous.” Holden tries to defend Jane’s innocence and the reader is able to see Holden’s ethical code to protect the innocence and memory of others. In Holden’s confrontation with Maurice, Holden displays his detestation of the evil phony. “All of a sudden I started to cry. I 'd give anything if I hadn 't, but I did. 'No, you 're no crooks, ' I said. 'You 're just steeling five ' 'Shut up, ' old Maurice said and gave me a shove.” The scene between Maurice and Holden over the prostitute Sunny shows his emotions when it comes to fake people. In this scene he
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 ...
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 experiences both alienation and disillusionment when meeting with people like Sally Hayes, Sunny and Ackley. Holden is so desperate to have human connection yet, when he starts to talk to them, he experiences them as ‘phonies’. This makes him more depressed, continuing his downward spiral. Holden is caught in a trap of his own making.
Although Holden’s interest in sex often presents itself in a juvenile way, he does have sensible ideas about it. Perhaps
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
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.
Since Holden relies on his isolation to sustain his detachment from the world and to keep intact a level of self-protection, he frequently sabotages his own efforts to end his seclusion. When Mr. Spencer explains that “life is a game that one plays according to rules” Holden reveals that he feels imprisoned on the “other side of life” where there are no “hot-shots”. Here, Mr. Spencer is lecturing Holden on his failed attempts at schooling and illuminating key aspects of Holden’s character. After hearing this advice from Mr. Spencer, Holden immediately goes on the defensive and internalizes his thoughts of not belonging in this world. This event shows Holden’s failed attempts at trying to find his way in this “phony” world that he feels is against him and leaves him feeling alone and victimized.
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's nervous impulse to protect women seems to have sprung up in his psyche from a very young age. After his brother, Allie, started to experience more severe symptoms of leukemia, Holden notes that his mother seemed "nervous as hell." His own mother's emotional problems (Lombardi) transfer to Holden on a very deep, psychological level because he feels partially responsible for his brother's fate in the first place. Seeing his mother in such a distraught state makes him feel even guiltier. The unintended consequence of this is that Holden grows up with a constant fear that he is going to hurt any woman that he grows close to. This manifests itself many times during his time in New York, with one of the earliest examples being his meeting with Sunny in the hotel room. Holden protects her innocence, but not for any particularly noble reason. He hangs her dress back up and insists that he just wants to talk, but Holden did not do this in an attempt to be some paragon of righteousness. Holden, on a deep, psychological lev...
To begin with, Holden’s love for the innocence and purity of childhood makes him very hesitant to transition into an adult life. Generally, he finds children to be straightforward, easygoing, and simply pure in every way. This is because they always say what they mean, and never try to set a false façade for...
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
Sally Hayes is dim person whose phoniness blinds her from Holden’s cries for help and dismisses him when he needs her most, her phoniness changes Holden and he himself is forced into bad decisions because of it.
Holden goes to great lengths to avoid creating meaningful relationships with others, preferring to alienate himself and be left alone with his thoughts and memories. A representation of this in the form of song lyrics from Holden’s theme song go: