Holden Caulfield in Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" Essay Sample

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is a bildungsroman novel that uses social commentary to observe important themes present during the 1950’s Cold War era. J.D. Salinger explores ideas that are commonly felt by adolescents such as self-alienation as a form of self-protection and a loss of innocence as a result of growing up. The main character, Holden Caulfield, is the archetype for these ideas, his internal and external conflicts resonate with teenagers today as much as they did when the book was written.

As a result of the atomic bomb ending WWII the 1950s was a time of intense angst. For this reason, there was ongoing societal pressure to adhere to rules to ‘protect’ the community and not following these rules would result in isolation from everyone else. Holden envisions himself as a non-conformist and true to himself making him believe that he is better than everyone else who he considers ‘phony’.  This idea is demonstrated through the quote “Anyway it was Sunday of the football game... I remember around 3 o’clock that afternoon I was standing way up on Thomsen Hill… You could see the whole field from here”, with the use of exclusive language it is evident that Holden has purposefully isolated himself, whilst placing him on top of a hill above everyone else gives the reader the perception that Holden believes himself better than everybody and above interacting with them. This drive to be a non-conformist is furthered by Holden’s red hunting hat, one of the most important motifs in the ‘Catcher in the Rye’, as it highlights Holden’s individuality. “I took my red hunting hat out of my pocket and put it on – I didn’t give damn how I looked. I even put the earlaps down”, through this symbolism Holden is determined to separate and alienate himself from everyone else. However, the constant repetition of how ridiculous the hat is shows Holden’s insecurities within himself and his struggle between conforming and maintaining his own individuality. One of Holden’s early interactions with another adult in the book is his History teacher, Mr Spencer.  During a conversation with Holden, Mr Spencer tells him that “Life is a game boy. A game one must play by the rules”. This metaphor emphasises and reinforces one of the main expectations of society at the time, that rules are they to be followed and if you disobey these rules you will be excluded from the rest of civilisation. Despite Holden’s conscious attempts to isolate himself from everybody it becomes obvious that he is extremely lonely and insecure within himself, and instead of self-imposed alienation protecting him it is actually preventing him from reaching out for help, adversely affecting his mental wellbeing.

The ‘Catcher in the Rye’ is a coming-of-age novel which explores the conflicting emotions felt from the transition of childhood to adulthood, with J.D. Salinger portraying Holden as a teenager struggling with his loss of innocence and his fear of growing up, set against the  backdrop of 1950s America.  Holden sees the adult world as ‘phony’ and believes that all adults are hypocrites and therefore tries to protect children from growing up. In an attempt to preserve his sister’s childhood, he purchases a Shirley Beans record which he: “(I) dropped old Phoebe’s record it broke into a million pieces”, using hyperbole ‘million pieces’ represents Phoebe’s childhood, and despite his intentions Phoebe will inevitably grow up and that as much as Holden tries, he can’t stop her from reaching adulthood. One of the main struggles Holden deals with is his balance between adulthood and innocence, with Holden often being at extreme ends of the spectrum rather than at a middle ground. “Sometimes I act a lot older than I am - I really do - but people never notice it. People never notice anything.” J.D Salinger’s use of direct address here helps the audience understand Holden’s perspective of the way he can often act and how oblivious people around him are as a result of being so self-involved. The constant juxtaposition from Holden acting immature to him partaking in activities like smoking and drinking demonstrates his mental battle within himself surrounding his identity. Holden’s fear of growing up and hatred of the adult world can be traced back to his defiance of change. When Holden visits the museum, he states that “The best thing about the museum was that everything stayed right where it was… Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you”, from this quote you can infer through the repetition of ‘different’ that the reason Holden enjoys museums so much is because no matter how much time passes everything will still be the same. This directly relates to Holden’s anxiety surrounding adulthood as it demonstrates how he wishes things for things to stay the same, even though the further life progresses more change will occur. J.D Salinger portrays Holden Caulfield as a character reminiscent of the past and scared of the grown-up world, a characteristic which allows for adolescents to identify often with Holden.

J.D Salinger uses Holden Caulfield to portray themes often felt during the adolescent years of life. He utilizes Holden’s experiences from Pencey to New York to showcase ideas such as isolation and the journey to reaching adulthood.