A Catcher In The Rye - Summary

The Catcher in the Rye is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a sixteen year-old boy recuperating in a rest home from a nervous breakdown, some time in 1950. Holden tells the story of his last day at a school called Pencey Prep, and of his subsequent psychological meltdown in New York City. Holden has been expelled from Pencey for academic failure, and after an unpleasant evening with his self-satisfied roommate Stradlater and their pimply next-door neighbor Ackley, he decides to leave Pencey for good and spend a few days alone in New York City before returning to his parents' Manhattan apartment. In New York, he succumbs to increasing feelings of loneliness and desperation brought on by the hypocrisy and ugliness of the adult world; he feels increasingly tormented by the memory of his younger brother Allie's death, and his life is complicated by his burgeoning sexuality. He wants to see his sister Phoebe and his old girlfriend Jane Gallagher, but instead he spends his time with Sally Hayes, a shallow socialite Holden's age, and Carl Luce, a pretentious Columbia student Holden treats as a source of sexual knowledge Increasingly lonely, Holden finally decides to sneak back to his parents' apartment to talk to Phoebe. He borrows some money from her, then goes to stay with his former English teacher, Mr. Antolini. When he believes Mr. Antolini to be making a homosexual advance toward him, Holden leaves his apartment, and spends the rest of the night on a bench in Grand Central Station. The next day Holden experiences the worst phase of his nervous breakdown. He wanders the streets, looking at children and talking to Allie. He tries to leave New York forever and hitchhike west, but when Phoebe insists on going with him he relents, agreeing to go back home to protect his sister from the ugliness of the world. He takes her to the park, and watches her ride on the merry-go-round; he suddenly feels overwhelmed by an inexplicable, intense happiness. Holden concludes his story by refusing to talk about what happened after that, but he fills in the most important details: he went home, was sent to the rest home, and will attend a new school next year. He regrets telling his story to so many people; talking about it, he says, makes him miss everyone

By: Anna
E-mail: Go0de2shu

The Impossible Job: Catcher in the Rye Recent studies show that depression is common among teenagers. Although the research may be new, it is not a new disease that has occupied teenagers. In the novel Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caufield is a depressed young man searching for good in the world; scenes in this story push Holden over the edge until he has an epiphany that eventually causes him to have a breakdown. Holden's constant inquiry about the location of the ducks in Central Park and his conversation with Sunny, instead of sexual intercourse, signify a lost boy in desperate need of help. Holden interrogates two taxi cab drivers about the location of the ducks during winter in Central Park. As Holden questions the second driver, Horwitz, the taxi cab driver responds by relating the ducks to the fish in the lake. The taxi cab driver irritably responds to Holden's barrage of questions by replying, "If you was a fish, Mother Nature'd take care of you, wouldn't she?" (109) The answer is satisfactory to Holden because he knows that wherever the ducks may be, they are taken care of. Holden's motive for wanting to know where the ducks fly in winter is that he cares for them because they relate to him. Similarly, Holden is subconsciously searching for help; he believes that by helping others, such as the ducks, he will find good in the world that will warm his heart and cure him of his depression. However, he finds the ducks do not cure his depression and again he discovers himself feeling lonely. Soon after the duck incident, Holden has his first encounter with Sunny. He starts talking to her and states his (phony) age. Sunny responds, "Like fun you are." (123) Then, Holden recognizes she is just a kid; prostitution is no way for a child to live. As Holden tries to reach out to her by initiating a conversation, instead of sex, she only pushes him away by stating, "Let's go." (125) Sunny eventually leaves and again Holden feels depressed. He only wishes to help her because subconsciously he could relate to her: they were both trapped in a world in which they did not want to participate. Mr. Antolini's discussion with Holden, identifying his problem, causes Holden's depression to soar to a new level. Holden calls Mr. Antolini because he remembers him as a decent man with whom he could hold a decent conversation. Thus Holden enters his apartment and Mr. Antolini recognizes something is wrong with Holden. Mr. Antolini vocalizes his concerns by stating that Holden is "riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall." (242) Holden cowers away from his advice by thinking to himself he is tired. However, Mr. Antolini hammers on stating, "But I do say that educated and scholarly men, if they're brilliant and scholarly to begin with-which, unfortunately, is rarely the case-tend to leave infinitely more valuable records behind them than men do who are merely brilliant and creative." (246) Mr. Antolini is trying to help Holden by saying that if he does not apply himself to receiving an education, he is ruining and depriving himself of a happy life; his future will depend on the degree of his education. Holden tells himself he is tired and in fact, he is actually establishing a wall in order to block out Mr. Antolini's advice. Later, Holden goes to bed and finds Mr. Antolini stroking his head. He exclaims, "What the hellya doing?" (249) Holden's new "wall" is the assumption that Mr. Antolini is a homosexual. As a result, Holden believes this gives him the right to flee from Mr. Antolini's apartment. Later, Holden becomes more depressed as he realizes Mr. Antolini was only admiring him but, he realizes this at a safe distance. It is another part of his "wall" to not hear more of Mr. Antolini's diagnosis; he knows he will never return to the Antolini's apartment. Holden's depression deepens as he has an epiphany both in the museum and at the carousel. For example, Holden stands in a tomb (in the museum) and again he views another "Fuck you" scrawled under the glass in red crayon. Holden narrates, "That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any." (264) Holden now realizes, depressingly, he cannot save all the innocent children from the evil of the adult world; he will never be a catcher in the rye. Next, Holden sees Phoebe as she approaches him with a suitcase. He asks, knowingly, what the suitcase is for and she responds, "I'm going with you. Can't I?" (267) Holden feels as if he is about to faint; he knows that taking Phoebe with him would be destroying her life too. He knows he cannot save Phoebe because he must help himself first. They cross over to the carousel; Holden consequently has a second epiphany. While Phoebe tries to grab hold of the gold ring Holden states, "The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them." (274) Holden realizes you cannot tell a kid not to act as a kid: they will no longer be innocent. It depresses him to know he will never again be innocent and that he cannot warn Phoebe of the adult world because she will no longer be innocent. The world is more knowledgeable today about depression in adolescents. However, depression was just as common long ago as it is today. In J.D. Salinger's book Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caufield is a troubled, depressed teen looking for a world that is not phony; eventually four scenes in the novel finally lead him to a breakdown. In the end, Holden discovers that being a catcher in the rye is an impossible job and that he cannot he even save Phoebe.
Catcher in the Rye: Theme By: Anonymous J.D. Salinger uses Holden Caulfield’s anti-heroic characteristics to develop the theme of innocence and childhood. Holden is afraid of growing up and would prefer to remain an innocent child. He seems unable to face the responsibilities that come as one gets older. His continued flunking at school shows this. “They kicked me out. I wasn’t suppose to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself at all.” (Page 4). School is normally where young children learn to become responsible adult members of society, but Holden rejects the values at Pency just as he did the other schools from which he was expelled. Flunking school is a way Holden can hold on to his innocence and childhood, instead of growing up. Holden’s relationship with Jane Gallagher also reveals his fear of growing up. Nostalgia and fond childhood memories are pleasant for Holden. His relationship with Jane was innocent, even though they kissed; Holden informs us it wasn’t on the mouth! “Then she really started to cry, and the next thing I knew, I was kissing her all over-anywhere-her eyes, her nose, her forehead, her eyebrows and all, her ears-her whole face except her mouth and all. She sort of wouold not let me get to her mouth.”(Page 79). Jane represents a symbol of innocence in the eyes of Holden. Throughout the novel Holden thinks of phoning Jane, but is unable to talk to her, probably because he is afraid of spoiling this innocence and childhood he feels with her. Again this shows his fear of growing up. The second anti-heroic characteristic of Holden that develops the theme of Innocence and childhood is his childlike qualities. Holden’s innocence and childlike qualities are exposed when he tries to act out his perceptions of adult behaviour. For example his initial attempts to get alcohol are unsuccessful and when he finally does get served he gets drunk and breaks his sister’s present. “Then something terrible happened just as I got in the park. I dropped old Phoebe’s record. It broke into about fifty pieces. It was in a big envelop and all but it broke anyway.” (Page 154). The record represented the bond he had with his sister, which was pure and innocent. It was the language of music, which also bonded his memories of their childhood. His experience with the prostitute shows his innocence regarding sex. “Ya got a watch on ya?” she asked me again, and then she stood up and pulled her dress over her head. I certainly felt peculier when she did that. I mean she did it so sudden and all. I know you’re supposed to feel pretty sexy when somebody gets up and pulls their dress over their head but I didn’t. Sexy was about the last thing I was feeling. I felt much more depressed than sexy. (Page 94)
Catcher in the Rye By: Katie Fels E-mail: TDKlion2000@aol.com The Catcher in the Rye In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, the first person narration is critical in helping the reader to know and understand the main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden, in his narration, relates a flashback of a significant period of his life, three days and nights on his own in New York City. Through his narration, Holden discloses to the reader his innermost thoughts and feelings. He thus provides the reader not only with information of what occurred, but also how he felt about what happened. Holden's thoughts and ideas reveal many of his character traits. One late Saturday night, four days before the beginning of school vacation, Holden is alone, bored and restless, wondering what to do. He decides to leave Pencey, his school, at once and travels to New York by train. He decides that, once in New York, he will stay in a cheap motel until Wednesday, when he is to return home. His plan shows the reader how very impetuous he is and how he acts on a whim. He is unrealistic, thinking that he has a foolproof plan, even though the extent of his plans are to "take a room in a hotel.., and just take it easy till Wednesday." Holden's excessive thoughts on death are not typical of most adolescents. His near obsession with death might come from having experienced two deaths in his early life. He constantly dwells on Allie, his brother's, death. From Holden's thoughts, it is obvious that he loves and misses Allie. In order to hold on to his brother and to minimize the pain of his loss, Holden brings Allie's baseball mitt along with him where ever he goes. The mitt has additional meaning and significance for Holden because Allie had written poetry, which Holden reads, on the baseball mitt. Holden's preoccupation with death can be seen in his contemplation of a dead classmate, James Castle. It tells the reader something about Holden that he lends his turtleneck sweater to this classmate, with whom he is not at all close. Holden's feelings about people reveal more of his positive traits. He constantly calls people phonies, even his brother, D.B., who " has sold out to Hollywood." Although insulting, his seemingly negative feelings show that Holden is a thinking and analyzing, outspoken individual who values honesty and sincerity. He is unimpressed with people who try to look good in other's eyes. Therefore, since it is obvious that Holden is bright, the reason for his flunking out of school would seem to be from a lack of interest. Holden has strong feelings of love towards children as evidenced through his caring for Phoebe, his little sister. He is protective of her, erasing bad words from the walls in her school and in a museum, in order that she not learn from the graffiti. His fondness for children can be inferred when he tells her that, at some time in the future, he wants to be the only grown-up with "all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all." He'll stand on the edge of a cliff and catch anybody who starts to fall off the edge of the cliff. He got this image from his misinterpretation of a line from the Robert Burns poem, " if a body catch a body comin' through the rye." When situations are described, in person or in a book, they are influenced by the one who describes them, and by his or her perceptions and experiences. Through Holden's expressions of his thoughts and feelings, the reader sees a youth, sensitive to his surroundings, who chooses to deal with life in unique ways. Holden is candid, spontaneous, analytical, thoughtful, and sensitive, as evidenced by his narration. Like most adolescents, feelings about people and relationships are often on his mind. Unfortunately, in Holden's case, he seems to expect the worst, believing that the result of getting close to people is pain. Pain when others reject you or pain when they leave you, such as when a friend walks off or a beloved brother dies. It would not have been possible to feel Holden's feelings or understand his thoughts nearly as well had the book been written in third person.


Catcher and the Rye
By: Kyle
E-mail: Hallydally@hotmail.com

CATCHER IN THE RYE FINAL ESSAY “Loneliness” Ever felt like there needs to be someone there to talk to, cry with, fight with, or just need a hug from? Those feelings dwell from loneliness, something Holden Caulfield knows all about. Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger’s main character in the book The Catcher In the Rye, is young man on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. One contributor to this breakdown, is the loneliness that Holden experiences. His loneliness is apparent through many ways including: his lack of friends, his longing for his dead brother, and the way he attempts to gain acceptance from others. Holden Caulfield is currently attending Pencey private school; well technically getting the boot from there for his poor academics, and this is his third school he has now been through. At Pencey, just as in the past two schools, Holden has troubles making friends. To Holden, everyone is either corny of phony. He used the term to describe what a person is if they don’t act naturally and follow other people’s manners and grace. Holden didn’t like phonies, he thought of them as if they were trying to show off. He didn’t like it when they showed off because it seemed so fake and unnatural every time they would do it. When Holden was on his way to the bar, he shared his insights about the piano player Earnie. “Earnie’s a big, fat, colored guy who plays the piano. He’s a terrific snob and won’t hardly talk to you unless you are a big shot or celebrity or something, but he can really play the piano. He’s so good, he’s almost corny in fact” (page 80). Also on page 126, he makes reference to Earnie’s playing again. “They [people outside the theater] acted a little bit the way old Earnie, down in the village, plays the piano. If you do something too good, then after a while if you don’t watch it, you start showing off. And then you’re not as good anymore.” Holden does not allow himself to have friendship because of his “he is corny” attitude. Right away in the beginning of the book, the reader knows that Holden is lonely when he separates himself from the rest of the Pencey students by watching the football game from Thomsen Hill and not the grand stands. “..you could hear them [students in grand stands] all yelling, deep and terrific on the Pencey side, because practically the whole school was there except me” (page 5). Holden wasn’t a very sociable person partly because he finds himself better than many others. He dislikes his roommate because of his generic leather luggage. “Its really hard to be roommates with someone if your luggage is better than theirs, it really is” (page 109), says Holden. He dislikes his roommate over something so insignificant as luggage. Holden sits in his room reading, cause he has no friends to be with. A kid named Ackely is his next door roommate, and he doesn’t seem to want a friendship with him either. Holden finds Ackely’s zit crusted face ridiculous and doesn’t want him in his room at first. This should light a bulb in the readers head and signify internal problems with Holden and shows he has a lot of loneliness. Holden’s loneliness is apparent in more than just him lacking friends. His loneliness shines through by the way he misses his deceased brother, Allie. Holden makes several references to Allie and how the two used to do stuff (page 38, 68, 98, 138, 140, 155, 198, 210). Holden deeply misses his brother and even talks to him out loud (page 98). I believe Holden misses his brother more than others because Holden never got that final closure to his brother’s death; Holden never went to Allie’s funeral, and so I believe that Holden didn’t get to say his good-bye. What Holden did do though, is punch out all the windows in the garage the night of Allie’s death. When Holden gets deeply depressed and lonely, he just talks to Allie- wishing that Allie was still here to do stuff with. By not letting go of Allie, it is visible to the reader how lonely Holden Caulfield is. Lastly, the final way to detect Holden’s loneliness, is portrayed through his ways of trying to gain acceptance from others. Holden tried all he could to fit in. He drank, cursed and criticized life in general to make it seem he was very knowing of these habits. Holden just wanted to be loved. I know he said he didn’t care about how people thought he looked when he wore his hunting cap, but deep inside I believe he wanted to be loved, and he attempted to do this by gaining acceptance of those around him. This is a very human behavior, though. I think we have all been guilty of this sometime in our lives. We have changed our clothing, our language, our lifestyle to be ‘normal.’ To try and fit in with the ‘popular group.’ When we do those things, it comes from insecurity within. We are insecure with who we are, and we want to change so that we are not an outsider. To me, Holden is insecure and is crying for help and for someone to comfort him. Holden Caulfield has had a rough, disturbing life. During this journey in his life, he has become very lonely. While reading this 214 paged book, The Catcher and the Rye, the reader can discover Holden’s loneliness by his lack of friends, his mourning of his younger brother, and his attempts to gain acceptance from others.


Catcher in the Rye



The book Catcher in the Rye tells of Holden Caulfield's insight about life and the world around him. Holden shares many of his opinions about people and leads the reader on a 5 day visit into his mind. Holden, throughout the book, made other people feel inferior to his own. I can relate to this because although I do not view people inferior to myself, I do judge others unequally. Holden and I both have similar judgements of people from the way they act and behave. We also share feelings about motivation as well as lack of it. After reading this book, I came to the conclusion that Holden and I are much more similar than I initially believed. Holden portrayed others to be inferior to his own kind all throughout the book. He made several references as to how people aren't as perfect as he was. "The reason he [Stradlater] fixed himself up to look good was because he was madly in love with himself." (pg. 27) Holden had an inferiority complex. He was afraid of not having any special talents or abilities and used other methods to make him out to be a rough tough boy. "Boy, I sat at that goddam bar till around one o'clock or so, getting drunk as a bastard. I could hardly see straight." (pg. 150) Holden tried all he could to fit in. He drank, cursed and criticized life in general to make it seem he was very knowing of these habits. I myself have found me doing this at times, also. I, at times, feel the need to fit in to a group and do things similar to what others do in order to gain acceptance by them. I smoked a cigar once with two friends of mine because they kept going on and on about how great cigars were, but that was only once. Holden and I both place people on levels other than our own for amount of knowledge and likeness to ourselves. Holden used the term 'phonies' to describe more than a few people in this book. He used the term to be what a person is if they don't act naturally and follow other people's manners and grace. Holden didn't like phonies, he thought of them as if they were trying to show off. He didn't like it when they showed off because it seemed so fake and unnatural every time they would do so. "At the end of the first act we went out with all the other jerks for a cigarette. What a deal that was. You never saw so many phonies in all your life, everybody smoking their ears off and talking about the play so that everybody could hear how sharp they were." (pg. 126) I know many people like this as well. I do not like phonies either. I have many friends who talk using full vocabulary just to try to impress you, and others who make note of everything they see to show you how perceptible they are. People do this when they have a fear of their own individuality and feel that they need to ace different to get people to like them. Holden and I both dislike phonies. We do not like people who take on roles of others to seem more likeable because they are insecure. Throughout the book Holden displays a lack of motivation for many things in which he should do. Holden couldn't even call up an old girlfriend whom he knew a long time ago. "But when I got inside this phone booth, I wasn't much in the mood any more to give old Jane a buzz." (Pg. 150) Holden also had a problem getting his motivation together in order to complete schoolwork and succeed in his prep school. I have similar problems with my motivation and find at times I must be in the mood to do something in order for me to accomplish it. This stems from our experience in the past being that we can get through life, or the part we've been through already, with minimal effort. Holden has had this opportunity to notice this as his parents have been shuffling him around to different schools every time he flunks. He feels his parents will be there to move him somewhere else and take care of him every time something goes wrong. I found out in eighth grade that the schoolwork I had was far less than the schoolwork I did and I began to slack off, this caused me to believe that I could get away with minimal true effort in my schoolwork and it has also followed me into other courses of my daily routine. I find my forgetting to do things and having my parents doing them for me. I find I am basically pampered to my every will and need at home. This is a bad habit though and I am trying to get out of this lifestyle because I realize I won't always have someone to fall back on. Holden and I both have similar motivational problems stemming from our childhood. Holden Caulfield and I are very similar in many ways. We tend to judge different people similar ways. We both dislike people who act phony because of insecurity. We also both lack motivation because of previous childhood experiences which have shaped our lives. Holden Caulfield and I have began our great journey through life with similar ideas to each other.


Catcher in the Rye
By: HeMaN

The title of the book A Catcher in the Rye is reflected in the mistaken words of a poem by Robert Burns. Holden thought it was "If a body catch a body coming through the rye." That's what he wanted to be. The only older individual in a group of kids in the rye, that he would catch them before they fall off the cliff. Many events caused this belief or illusion that he could stop people falling off and eventually he came to many realisations. Holden Caulfield was (believe it or not) an average teenager in an adult world with many conflicting ideas and thoughts. He was trying to establish his own personality, and was searching for secure values. Yet, he found nearly everyone and everything to be "phoney". He observed that the principal shook hands with rich parents while discarding the poorer and that most people were hypocrites. It was these (plus many more "phoney) elements that Holden did not want the kids to see - kids like Phoebe. He was protecting them against the adult and materialistic world and was 'catching' them before they fell. He had already seen too many 'falls' and in fact it was these people who 'fell' who fell into the category of non-phoniness. This was probably because Holden's memories of them remained pure. Many people fell. James Castle 'fell' out of the window and Allie 'fell' to death. He thought that these innocent people had gone. They had been eaten by the phoniness and that they didn't have a 'catcher' to protect them from harm. Holden wanted to prevent any more of this happening by being the 'catcher' himself. But being the 'catcher' it distanced himself from many characters in the book. He stayed away from everyone who he thought was phony, hypocritical, or had bad habits. In fact, he did not come past many people who were not in the above category. What made him stay away? As mentioned before, it was the adult world. He rejected them and they rejected him. Only a few people like Phoebe even listened to him. He had told Sally to run away with him to the west, but she thought he was crazy. Both Carl Luce and Robert Ackley had told him to grow up. In the end Holden regards them as phonies. Hence, staying away from them all. The only people that he approached or admired, were kids or people who were dead. Therefore, it was this idea of being a 'catcher' that made him what he thought was the fine line between the world of good and phoniess. At the same time, Holden's want to be the 'catcher' also shows his immaturity. The fact that he believed he could change the world, the way people behaved, and that he could stop all the phoniess in the world. He attempted to rub out a 'f*** you' sign outside of Phoebe's school. He was successful. He completely removed all the traces of the two words and he was quite satisfied that did so. But it only late that he came to realisation that could not alter everything. He later found another "f*** you' sign. This time, scratched with a rock. He found himself hopeless. Holden tried as hard as he could to remove the sign but he started thinking. He thought that there would be a million signs just like that one in the world. There was no way he could rub out all of them At this point, he was helpless. The more the thought about it, the more he realised how impotent he was in the world. He could not be the 'catcher in the rye'. Could the reason for Holden's wanting to be a catcher be because there was no one to catch him? When he went home, his parents were not there. That was a symbol that he lacked his parents' love. To Holden, no one really cared for him. Even though Mr Spencer tried to encourage him to do better and Mr Antolini gave him warmth and shelter when he needed it, he believed that Spencer was a 'phony' and made up a half-witted excuse to 'get the hell out', while he thought Mr Antolini had some sort of sexual thing toward guys. No one was really there for him when he needed them. Surely there were the girls and and his roommates, but he simply treated them as a joke, as if their existence had never really mattered. Probably the only one that came close was Phoebe. With her, Holden talked (to a degree) intimately and openly about his thoughts. Even though she was young and naive (yes, even though she is smart for her age), it gave comfort to Holden that someone was listening to him. His lack of love brought him the want to be someone that others could love, a lending hand, some sort of security. He wanted to be there for others so that they do not fall into the phoney world. Because Holden saw the world as phoney and pretentious, he wanted to be a 'catcher' to stop a few of the innocent, such as Phoebe from going into the materialistic adult world. His wish to be a 'catcher' showed his insecurity, immaturity and his illusioned view towards everyone and everything. It resolves in the end when he came to realise that he was incapable of being the catcher. He was useless in such a big world. The significance of the title revolved around Holden, and because the book did the same, it was one of the most important themes in The Catcher in the Rye.

Catcher in the Rye By: Matthew J. Previts E-mail: mjp8379@csi.com Holden Caulfied: Saint, Snob, or Somewhere In-between? Although J.D. Salinger has only one novel to his credit, that novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is recognized as an exceptional literary work. The key to the success of The Catcher in the Rye is the main character, Holden Caulfield. There are many different critics that view Holden in many different ways. Some believe Holden to be a conceited snob, while others see Holden as a Christ-like figure. It is my opinion, however, that Holden is somewhere in the middle. Holden Caulfield is a character who has a definite code of honor that he attempts to live up to and expects to as abide by as well. Since the death of his brother Allie, Holden has experienced almost a complete sense of alienation from the world around him. This alienation is evident in every part of his life. Holden is unable to relate to anyone at the three prep schools he has attended. While standing on Thomsen Hill, Holden cannot help but feel isolated when he observes the football game, “you were supposed to commit suicide or something if Old Pencey didn’t win” (Salinger 2). Not only does Holden feel isolated at the schools he has attended; he has this feeling when it comes to his family as well. Upon his return to New York City, Holden does not go home. Instead, he chooses to hide out from his family. According to Ernest Jones, “with his alienation go assorted hatreds – of movies, of night clubs, of social and intellectual pretension, and so on. And physical disgust: pimples, sex, an old man picking his nose are all equal cause for nausea” (Jones 7). Holden feels Previts 2 as though all of these people have failed him in some way or that they are all “phonies” or “corny” in some way or another. It is Holden’s perception of those around him as “phonies” and again according to Jones; “Holden’s belief that he has a superior moral standard that few people, only his dead brother, his 10-year-old sister, and a fleeting friend [Jane] can live up to” that make him a snob (7). Presenting Holden as “snobbish” hardly does him justice. Critics such Frederick L. Gwynn, Joseph L. Blotner, and Frederic I. Carpenter view Holden as a character who is “Christ-like in his ambition to protect children before they enter the world of destruction and phoniness” (Carpenter 24). Holden’s experiences throughout the course of his life have created a desire in him to preserve the innocence of those he considers to be innocent. He attempts to physically overpower Stradlater when he realizes that Stradlater may have “screwed around” with Jane Gallagher, whom Holden considers to be innocent simply because she “plays checkers with more regard for the symmetry of the pieces on the board than for the outcome of the game”(Gwynn 13). Along with Jane Gallagher, Holden wishes to protect his sister Phoebe, who is very much like Allie in that she has a mix of youthful innocence and generosity that overwhelms Holden. The best example of this generosity is when Holden is moved to tears because Phoebe gave him all of her Christmas money. Simple acts like this motivated Holden to want to be Christ-like. Holden’s desire to be Christ-like is best evidenced in the following quotation: “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousand of little kids, and nobody’s around- nobody big, I mean, except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff…” Previts 3 Not only is Holden Christ-like in his desire to protect those who are “innocent” but he, like Jesus, truly “loves his neighbors, especially the poor in goods, appearance, and spirit” (Gwynn 14). Not only does Holden give ten dollars to the nuns in the station, but he is also depressed by their meagre breakfast and the fact that they will never be “going anywhere swanky for lunch” (Salinger 110). He also worries about the ducks freezing in Central Park, sympathizes with the ugly daughter of Pencey’s headmaster and even Sunny the prostitute (Carpenter 24). Perhaps the quality that is most Christ-like in Holden is his ability to “forgive like Jesus with his Judas, he [Holden] forgives Stradlater and the bellboy Maurice who have betrayed and beaten him” (Gwynn 14). Because of his compassion and ability to forgive others, Holden can also be viewed as a Christ-like figure. While there is evidence to support Holden as both a snob and a saint, I believe that Holden is a mix between the two. The Catcher in the Rye is the choice of nine of ten murders, whackos, serial killers and, oddly enough, disgruntled teenagers. John Lennon was killed to promote this book. In the movie Silence of the Lambs, the serial killer John Hinkley was also a big Catcher in the Rye fan as well. The level of general craziness surrounding the book is so bad the movie Conspiracy Theory made it a running joke, even tracking the protagonist portrayed by Mel Gibson by monitoring purchases of The Catcher in the Rye. The reason that this book has a universal appeal to such a variety of people lies in the main character, Holden Caulfield. He can be saintly or snooty, cynical or sincere. Holden is generous to charitable to nuns and protective or children, or be agitated at the “zit-encrusted” Ackely. Still yet, Holden is capable of being quite cynical, Previts 4 the best example of this is in the very opening of the book when Holden states, “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know that truth” (Salinger 1). Despite his ability to be pejorative, Holden can still be able to be quite sincere. This is evident in his dealings with Phoebe. When Phoebe begins to cry, Holden first “wanted her to cry until her eyes practically dropped out. [He] almost hated her” (Salinger 207). Yet, a few seconds later he wants to take Phoebe to the zoo and the park to assuage her pain. That is what I believe makes Holden Caulfied such a fascinating and widely admired character. One minute he can be bashing “phonies” then the next he will be acting “phoney” to a mother of a classmates as he was on the train to New York City. So, Holden is neither a saint nor a snob. He is a sarcastic yet sincere teenager who is pursuing Quixotistic ideals of moral order. Holden is caught between the anxiety of childhood and the maturity of the adult world. The appeal of J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye is due in no small part to the main character and sole provider of information, the one and only Holden Caulfied. While some view Holden strictly as an elitist or as a Christ-like figure, I find Holden to a curious mix of the two. Holden is capable of displaying qualities associated with either at any moment throughout the novel. It is this mixture of qualities that makes Holden one of the most fascinating and popular characters in modern literature. Previts 5 Bibliography Works Cited Carpenter, Frederic I. “The Adolescent in American Fiction” English Journal, 46, No.6 (September 1957): 315-6. Rpt. in Holden Caulfield ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1990. 24. Gwynn, Frederick L., Joseph L. Blotner. “The Catcher in the Rye” The Fiction of J.D. Salinger (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1958): 28-31. Rpt. in Holden Caulfield. ed. Harold Bloom New York: Chelsea House, 1990. 13-14 Jones, Ernest “Case History of all of Us.” Nation (September 1, 1951): p176. Rpt. in Holden Caulfield. ed. Harold Bloom New York: Chelsea House, 1990. 7 Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1951.