The Catcher in the Rye: Holden Caulfield

Character Analysis
Michael Cardiosk, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Apr 10, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

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Catcher in the Rye
Holden Caulfield
The Catcher in the Rye

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Although The Catcher in the Rye was written and set in 1950s, Salinger's story about a
thoughtful, sensitive adolescent who is struggling to find his own identity retains much
interest and relevance to readers today. Many teenagers can relate to Holden Caulfield's
opinionated and emotional personality, as well as the issues he faces, which include sexually
related encounters and desire for independence. Holden rebels the adult world around him he
views as full of "phonies", searching for innocence and truth, even though many of his actions
would define him as a "phony" as well. As the end of the novel approaches, Holden's finds it
increasingly more difficult to cope with living in the society he is in, while confronting his
worsening depression.
Holden is definitely sensitive, and can be overly emotional at times. When the death of his
younger sibling, Allie, occurred, he dealt with the traumatic event by breaking all the
windows in the garage "just for the hell of it." When he wakes up to find Mr Antolini
touching his forehead, Holden runs out of the house, even though Holden perceives Mr
Antolini as a trusted mentor. Holden still feels guilty about Allie death, such as when he
reminisces about the time he excluded Allie from a BB gun game. This feeling of guilt, as
well as the onset of depression may help explain the display of over sensitivity Holden shows
at times. Holden also views himself as the "catcher in the rye", saving children and their
innocence from entering the adult world that is full of "phonies" When he sees all the graffiti
saying "fuck you", he becomes very distressed as they demonstrate the innocent world of
children already being infected by the vulgarness of the adult world. Holden abuses the
"phony" world of adults often, such as when he listens to Ernie, the pianist, playing and states,
"I swear to God, if I were a piano player or an actor or something and all those dopes thought
I was terrific, I'd hate it. I wouldn't even want them to clap for me.... I'd play it in the goddam
closet." Even though he enjoys Ernie's music, he believes he is too fine a piano player, so he
doesn't play from the heart anymore.
Whether Holden Caulfield is self conscious depends on the situation. Holden is searching for
independence. As a symbol of independence, he wears a red hunting hat, which he grows fond
of during the events of the novel because it displays uniqueness and individuality. Holden
uses the red hunting hat to prove he is better than everybody around him, therefore not
needing to interact with them. He wishes not "to have any goddam stupid useless
conversations with anyone", which not only supports that Holden is a phony himself, as he
strikes up conversations with various people he meets, but also alienates himself from society.

His loneliness and alienation causes him much pain as he seeks for human contact and love.
However, when talking about his family, Holden says, "My brother D.B.'s a writer and all,
and my brother Allie, the one that died, that I told you about, was a wizard. I'm the only really
dumb one". This statement shows Holden's lack of self confidence and feeling that he is a
failure to his family.
Holden also displays self consciousness at certain events during the book. When Sally tells
him he gives her a "royal pain in the ass", he got embarrassed and "laughed." Also, Holden is
interested in sex. He pestered Luce constantly about questions to do with sex, and was
aroused by the sexual behaviour displayed at Edmont Hotel. However, when alone with a
prostitute and flustered with her sitting on his lap, Holden gets nervous and is quick to make
an excuse, saying that he can't have sex because he is recovering from an operation on his
"clavichord."
Holden fails to cope with living in 1950s Conformist New York. Mr Spencer tells Holden that
"Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules." However, Holden
doesn't accept the rules that are set out by "phony" adults. He wishes life was more like a
museum. "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right
where it was. Nobody'd move. . . . Nobody'd be different." Holden does not know how to
handle confusion and change. He fears interacting with people. He would prefer life to be
frozen like the displays in the museum, frozen, silent and always the same. Instead of facing
the challenges around him in the real world, Holden instead retreats to this fantasy world he
creates. Another fantasy Holden retreats to is his dream of being "The Catcher in the Rye",
saving children who go to close to the cliff and falling in the adult world, saved by Holden
personally. It seems impossible, however, as children don't want this crazy teenager
interfering with their lives, as Holden notes, "you could tell they didn't want me around, so I
let them alone." Holden seems to be unable to distinguish between the fantasy world from the
real world.
Holden is unable to handle his responsibilities as a teenager. His family is fairly wealthy, and
his parents send him to a prep school, as they want him to grow up to be successful. However,
Holden is failing academically, Pencey Prep being the third secondary school he is being
kicked out of. On consolidating about schools with his younger sister Phoebe, his judgement
indicates that schools are "phony" places and their main goal is to prepare students to become
adequately "phony" to survive in the adult world. He does show empathy for his family.
When his mum sends his the wrong type of ice skating shoes, he doesn't want to send them
back as the though of his mum having to ask 100 questions to the salesman and resend them
to him distresses Holden. He also buys a record he knows Phoebe would love. But he gets
drunk and drops the record while it shatters into broken fragments. Holden gets engaged in
the 'adult' activities of drinking and smoking often, even though he wants to preserve his
childhood, which again shows Holden's hypocrisy of himself and therefore his "phoniness".
Holden is also unable to cope with, and find help for, his state of mental health. He is also
unable to find a real friend who is able to converse with. Lonely and broken down, by the end
of the novel Holden returns to his family and is hospitalised.
Holden Caulfield offers the reader an interesting perspective on dealing with adolescent issues
and adult life through the eyes of a teenager suffering through depression. Depression and the
death of his brother Allie play a significant role in Holden's personality, especially his
sensitivity to people around him and the emotional response he has in certain situations. He is
self conscious of himself, but at the same time strives for independence and individuality.

Holden does fail to cope with his life and his responsibilities. He desires to preserve his
childhood, staying away from the adult world. However, Holden's story ends with saying "I
sort of miss everybody I told you about," suggesting he has finally grown up and matured, and
these experiences he has recounted are just boyhood memories.