Introduction
The main character in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is cautious of losing his innocence and feels threatened when his understanding of the world is disrupted and informed by decisions that do not conform to his understanding of the world. I have focused on how Holden experiences the adolescence development process and how it impacts a person’s assertions concerning the world. The main character indicates various instances in which this dissociation is clear and evident. I would like to use Holden’s relationships with his friends and teacher to illustrate how his fear damages connections with those around him.
Discussion
Holden fights with his roommate, Ward Stradlater, over his right to the details of Stradlater’s date with Jane Gallagher, a girl that Holden is infatuated with and deems himself her protector. Holden has a negative image of Sally Hayes, deeming her a phony, though he calls her to attend a play, failing to note it is her character. Caulfield damages his relationship with Carl Luce by asking intimate and impolite questions concerning his sex life to determine if he is gay, not realizing he exhibits similar traits to Robert Ackley, who he claims shows this behavior. Finally, Holden fails to realize Mr. Antolini pats his head like a friendly adult rather than making sexual advances toward him. Holden fears losing his innocence and exhibits this problem when other characters are involved.
Behrman illustrates that Holden’s fantasy arises from his notions of people he knew as a child. He uses three individuals, Jane Gallagher, his sister Phoebe, and his dead brother Allie as an emotional frame to gauge other people’s behavior. While Holden does not exhibit sexual attraction to Jane, he constantly thinks about her and wants to call her, losing the courage to do so every time. Stradlater’s decision to take Jane on a date violates Holden’s inaccurate notion of the girl, making it impossible to determine if the character remains consecrated. He wishes Jane’s memory remains ‘pure’ like Allie’s. Behrman further indicates that Holden may be afraid that Stradlater has tarnished Jane’s innocence. The main character has a problem merging reality with fiction and does not want to face the possibility that Stradlater may have turned her into what he hates, a phony. His roommate, Stradlater, does not help alleviate the notion of sleeping with Jane, leading Holden to act irrationally and fight with him despite his physical build. Holden’s false image and assertions of his duty to protect Jane’s image are erroneous as she chooses to go on a date with Stradlater. His determination as her protector is fictitious since he does not know the mature version of the girl, and if he did, it is not his right to act as he did with Stradlater, ruining their friendship despite his roommate’s attempts to calm him down.
Reid illustrates that Holden calls Sally Hayes a phony when he calls her after realizing he cannot call Jane Gallagher. Holden’s aloof nature makes him segregate people as he uses superficial notions to describe people without analyzing them deeply. The main character calls Hayes a very superficial person whose character is seen in her desire to have people like her rather than living honestly. He does not determine the connection he has with the girl is due to their similarities instead choosing to isolate himself from such notions despite his apparent attraction as he does not want to lose his innocence. Holden does not mention sexual attraction to any individual despite calling Hayes pretty, illustrating that he is actively fighting against acknowledging women as attractive. His main attraction towards Gallagher is based on her childhood nature, a feature that is not evident in Hayes. This misguided assertion indicates that Holden does not believe people should have flaws despite his academic and social skills problems. The character’s inability to inflect has led him to criticize others for the behavior he exhibits.
Lingdi Chen illustrates that adolescent issues have a major effect on Holden’s life and how he views others around him. The author discerns that Holden’s actions are sometimes erratic given the situation while he behaves impulsively, exhibiting a negative take on almost everyone and everything he meets. Holden claims that many people dislike Robert Ackley because he constantly asks inappropriate and impolite questions. It is interesting to note that Holden does not define Ackley as phony despite noting this behavior as negative. In this way, Holden loses Carl Luce as a friend because he suspects he is gay. He does not want to note the changes that are evident in his friends and becomes disillusioned if they do not indicate the traits he wishes to see. He uses Ackley’s form of communication, knowing it is erroneous, further signifying he does not conduct any form of infection. Holden does not determine he may have flaws as he conducts himself similarly to Stradlater and comments to Sally that she is a pain in the (edited for profanity) because of not conforming to his fear of innocence. People in this stage are prone to self-absorption, a phase that Holden may be going through and not accepting to realize they are growing older and must adhere to different issues than when they were younger.
Conclusion
Salinger indicates that Holden understands his age difference compared to Mr. Antolini based on when the student visits the history teacher’s home and is housed there after getting kicked out of Pencey Prep. When Holden is older and more mature than when they first met with Mr. Antolini, his assertions that his teacher is making sexual advances toward him are understandable. Salinger claims that Antolini has won Holden’s trust by giving him advice and has acted as a paternal figure in the past. He used to stroke the main character’s head or patted him at a young age. In this incident, Holden wakes up to find Antolini doing so and feels uncomfortable because of this despite its paternal form of gesture. Holden communicates that he is grown and would prefer to get personal space with his teacher and his teacher responds that he did not know the student was awake. This indicates Holden’s growth as future situations indicate he is aware of his age and does not perceive issues as a child, returning to school after the escapade.