Essay Sample on Holden Caulfield's Relation to "The Sound of Silence" and "I am a Rock"

"The Sound of Silence'' written by Simon and Garfunkel shares multiple similarities to Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. First, Holden correlates with the beginning of the song since he is in a place of darkness and is filled with sadness: "Hello, darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again" ("The Sound of Silence"1-2). The song states how sadness is a common and recurring feeling. Holden since the beginning of the novel has been in a constant state of sorrow and torment from his brother, Allie's death. This feeling lingers until the end of the novel where during his visit to Mr. Antolini, he describes Holden's current state: "'This fall I think you’re riding for – it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling" (Salinger 101). To Holden, sadness is common as he's been in a condition of continuous pain from the beginning of the story to the end. The next relation between the song and Holden is the connection between his relationship with his mother and the mass of people. The people in the song are described as, "People hearing without listening" ("The Sound of Silence'' 20). This relates to Holden as his mother listens partially to what he has to say, found when Holden is packing away his skates his mom bought him: "She bought me the wrong kind of skates--I wanted racing skates and she bought hockey…"(Salinger end of chapter 7). Like this lyric, Holden's mom hears what he has to say, but doesn't listen fully. The last comparison between the song and Holden is the similarity of how Holden perceives the people around him and their lifestyle. The song describes the people as fools: "'Fools,' said I, ''you do not know / Silence like a cancer grows" ("The Sound of Silence" 24-25). Being compared to something deadly like cancer that grows in silence, the song is saying that if people continue to live their life of silence and not speak up, it will eventually lead to bigger issues. While the song says this, it also refers to the people in it as fools, showing that the song disagrees with the lifestyles of these people. Similar to Holden, the way he refers to people is by referring to them as crooks or phonies. Along with this, Holden disagrees with their lifestyles. His brother D.B. was a fantastic writer who now Holden describes as a "...prostitute"  for becoming a writer for movies in Hollywood instead, implying that Holden thinks D.B. is a phony because he disagrees with how D.B. in Holden's eyes sold himself out and didn't put his talent to good use (Salinger 1).

"I am a Rock" is another song that demonstrates various connections to Holden Caulfield. The first example comes from the chorus of the song which relates to Holden as he is isolated and all alone: "I am a rock / I am an island" ("I am a Rock" 7-8). A rock is an object that has no feelings, it's emotionless, inanimate, and lifeless while an island is by itself, surrounded by ocean representing isolation and loneliness. Holden throughout the story conceals his emotions, like a rock, so he doesn't have to process his grief and cope with the death of his brother, Allie. Like an island, Holden is isolated and alone. While navigating the city after getting kicked out of Pency, Holden is more alone than ever. He has nobody he can talk to, "…I went into this phone booth. I felt like giving somebody a buzz…as soon as I was inside, I couldn't think of anybody to call up (Salinger chapter 9). Holden also refrains from close relationships like the song: "I have no need for friendship / Friendship causes pain" ("I am a Rock" 12-13). Throughout the novel, it becomes evident that there are very few people whom Holden loves, as he sees the rest of the world as phonies and crooks. As one of those people who he loves being Allie, when he left Holden's life from dying of cancer it torments Holden for years, causing him to go in a downward spiral. He refrains from becoming friends with people because the few friends he has had have left him. The last tie between Holden and the song is that similar to the song, Holden puts up walls so he can escape from the real world: "I've built walls / A fortress deep and mighty / That none may penetrate"("I am a Rock" 9-11). Holden has built walls, isolating himself from the real world so he doesn't have to process growing up and dealing with adulthood. Holden describes his ideal job as, "...the catcher in the rye" saving children from falling off of the cliff that transitions them into adulthood (Salinger 93). Holden loves the purity and innocence that is found in children and wants to preserve his own. He however comes to realize that he can't preserve his innocence forever and growing up is inevitable. Holden isolates himself from everything so that he doesn't have to become an adult and turns into what every adult is in his eyes, a phony.