Examples Of Empathy In Catcher In The Rye

Empathy
As the novel comes to a close the depth of Holden Caulfield’s character advances. As Holden comes to terms with his emotions and learns how to deal with them effectively. At the same time, he learns about others’ sentiments and how to react to their emotions. When talking to his sister, Phoebe, Holden withdraws from the conversation as it progresses into more emotional depth than he is comfortable with. Aware that his sister “gets very emotional” Holden shy’s away from the conversation as, at this point in time, Holden has not prepared himself to cope with her emotions (Salinger 182). His unwillingness is due to Holden’s inability to endure his own feelings, let alone the emotions of another person. Later in the novel, Holden insinuates

his emotions in a way he has not before; “I started to cry” (198).

The tears shed in this scene are crucial as Holden becomes aware of the situation caused by his actions, which is a turning point in the novel as previously Holden has ignored his own well being and has not thought of the consequences of his actions. As Holden’s personal empathy grows, he also becomes au courant of what is occurring around him and how relationships have had an impact on his life; “don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start to miss everybody” (234). By the end of the novel, Holden is developing skills to understand his emotions and how to deal with them in an ordinary manner. In doing so, he learns that having great memories comes at a price. Holden ends up missing the memories and the people more than he thought he would. The emotional depth of Holden’s character has grown extravagant amounts throughout

the novel.
Innocence
The animosity within Holden, between remaining innocent, young, and naïve or facing the idea of adulthood, continues throughout the rest of the novel.

When in New York City, Holden reacquaints himself with an old friend: Carl Luce. Carl is attending school at Columbia University and is far more mature, emotionally, physically, and sexually than Holden. Carl even elucidates on Holden’s immaturity during the conversation they share over martinis; “‘same old Caulfield. When are you going to grow up?’” (Salinger 159). Holden refuses to acknowledge, let alone confront, his childish mind-set. However, when Carl, someone he respects, remarks upon his callowness it begins to sink in that remaining young forever is not the most desirable trait to have. Holden’s young and innocent nature is further revealed by his behaviour when he observes performances at Radio City. He recognises a drum player and explains that “[he has] watched that guy since [he] was about eight years old” (153). Holden, whilst attempting to be independent and grow up in New York City by himself, is still fascinated by the same thing he was when he was eight. He is still young and innocent despite his attempts to not be. Whilst attempting to grow up and mature, Holden actually remains young and innocent of the world throughout this

novel.
Lies and Imagination
Holden’s lies and imagination in the last third of the novel are less intense than previously. Previously, Holden focused his lies on the people around him and he did not actually believe them. However, as the novel progresses, Holden lies to himself about the present, past, and future in order to cope with the disarray his life is falling into. Wishing to escape his life, Holden attempts to create plausible plans to run away, believing it to be his only option. When on his date with Sally Hayes, Holden offers to take her with him; “‘what we could do is, tomorrow morning we could drive up to Massachusetts and Vermont, and all there, see’” (Salinger 146). Holden’s idea is entirely ridiculous as he is only sixteen and does not have the means to carry out this plan. However he believes it is possible as he considers that an absurd idea is far better than facing the truth and what the future holds. When conversing with his sister Phoebe, Holden has a similar reaction. He has been expelled from yet another school and Phoebe asks what he is going to do when their father discovers this fact. Holden replies with “‘I’ll probably be in Colorado on this ranch’” (184) and therefore will not have to deal with the consequences of his actions. The way in which Holden uses lying has progressed throughout the novel, but it is still a crucial piece to his overall character.
Phonies
A continuing theme of this novel is Holden’s distaste for phony people as he simply despises people that he considers phony and frequently uses the word as an insult; “I once called him a fat-assed phony” (Salinger 151). However as the novel draws to a close, it becomes evident why Holden calls everyone around him a phony. Holden fears becoming a one himself; “how would you know you weren’t being a phony” (190). This fear of becoming phony can be traced back to his father’s actions, as Holden believes everything his father does to be phony and he has no desire for his life to turn out the same way. Whilst the word phony appears less in the last third of half of the novel it is still a key theme as a phony is the opposite of what Holden wishes to become.
Loneliness
Holden continually isolates himself, especially in highly social situations. He presupposes that he is independent and therefore does not rely on anyone else, creating an extremely isolated mind-set. However, Holden begins to find himself crumbling under these intense feelings of loneliness, to the point at which he practically explodes. After bottling up his emotions Holden, whilst on his date with Sally Hayes, starts to ask Sally questions that reveal a lot about his mind-set; “‘did you ever get fed up?’ I said. ‘I mean did you ever get scared that everything was going to be lousy unless you did something?’” (Salinger 144). Holden is verbalising his fears, something that has not happened previously in the novel. This is a turning point for Holden’s character as he finally confronts his fears of isolation, specifically his emotional confinement. The constant theme of loneliness is key to Holden’s character as whilst many other parts of his persona change, the loneliness remains.