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Three myths about Holden Caulfield in JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye

With the death of my favorite “coming of age” author a few years ago, I began to think about my version of Holden Caulfield. It sure has been fifty years since my first reading, but I was wondering how I would feel about Holden now that I am past my teens. Was he one of the good guys or the bad guys? Was he still a hero in my mind? In the process of re-evaluating Holden and his world, three myths surrounding this famous literary character arose in my mind. I mean, these are myths because I thought they were true when I was a teenager, but not now. And just for the sake of seeing this in print, I’ll drop several words along the way.

1. Although the book has been banned by some schools, there is nothing in “Catcher in the Rye” on the first page that bothers the typical reader; after all, it is a classic. Well, the first word bomb appears at the top of page five, “shit,” and then “bleeds,” “beep,” “beep,” and “beep.” In 1951, many readers thought those words were quite vulgar, especially my parents and Aunt Dolores. Now if you ever had the pleasure of meeting Aunt Dolores, she would have blown your mind. Besides being gorgeous, she was my godmother. He hated the book from the first page. That puzzled me at sixteen because I loved it. I thought he was so honest! So authentic! I wondered, “You mean there were other junior books that might be like this one?” And that novel inspired me to become a “reader” of many youth books.

2. Holden Caulfield played mostly by the rules, but the world was trying to catch him..Aunt Dolores thought you should follow the rules, or at least her rules. He wouldn’t have gotten along with Holden. Did Holden think that life was like a game and that it was best to follow the rules? He said (on page 8): “Play my whistle. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot shots are, then it’s a game, I admit it. But if you get on the other side … Nothing. . There is no game “.

Not long ago in Holden’s world, the reader discovers that he is not a reliable storyteller. He is excellent at the details of what he sees, but is poor at putting what he sees in full perspective, as are many teenagers struggling to find their place in the world. Adults don’t make much sense to them. To teenagers, we look like aliens from outer space who have to tolerate. Holden tends to see the negatives first in people like Ackley’s pimples, Stradlate’s messy toiletries, Mr. Antolini’s drinking problem and Mr. Spencer’s old bathrobe and bumpy chest. He fixes on these things instead of exploring and enjoying the talents of others. In other words, you miss out on a lot of simple pleasures.

3. Holden is such a beloved character in American literature because he marches with a different drummer. Holden has a mind of his own, but he’s really not willing to grow up like a normal person or learn from his mistakes. When he says goodbye to his old history teacher, Mr. Spencer, he describes it this way on page 9: “I’m not too crazy about sick people anyway. Which made it even more depressing, old man Spencer He had in this very sad and tattered old bathrobe that he was probably born with. ” Holden is quick to belittle the adults who expect him to become more responsible. I’d rather avoid any immediate emotional pain and act like the future doesn’t matter. Mr. Spencer tells Holden that he wants to help him, but Holden thinks (on page 15): “We were on opposite sides of the pole, that’s all.” That is underestimating it.

By reuniting with Mr. Spencer, Holden appears to be closing out his haunting days at Pencey Prep, but Holden is simply going through the motions of life. He doesn’t want to share any real feelings or think about what’s next for him, although Mr. Spencer strongly urges him to do so, even to the point of being quite frank with him on page 14: “Doesn’t it bother you at all? for your future boy? “Holden says,” … not too much I guess. ” Holden uses “denial” as a defensive weapon to repel self-knowledge and change.

Holden wants to escape any self-introspection he can and live in a more innocent world where he can rescue children from slipping into adulthood, where the “phonies” are and where they may not even know they are phonies.

However, it was Holden’s story that inspired me at sixteen to read more and be more aware of phonies, especially when I was being one.

Thanks, Holden Caulfield.