The Catcher in the Rye Blog 4

The protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye is Holden Caulfield.  This book is unique because Holden is in a way the villain also.  When the book opens up, Caulfield is a sixteen year old boy who just flunked out of another high school.  He is an emotionally confused teenager who does not know if he wants to grow up or not.  Throughout the novel, he attempts to reach out and get to know other people.  The problem is that he always pulls away before he can truly connect with them.  “If you want to know the truth, I don’t even know why I started all that stuff with her.  I mean about going away somewhere, to Massachusetts and Vermont and all.  I probably wouldn’t have been anybody to go with.  The terrible part, though, is that I meant it when I asked her.  That’s the terrible part.  I swear to God I’m a madman.”  (Salinger 134).  This is just one of the many times that Holden tried to reach out to someone, and became frustrated that it did not work out.  Holden Caulfield is portrayed as a kid trying to find happiness in the world.  He is always quick to judge and slow to forgive though.   He is also a “phony” himself; the things he calls superficial about others are the same things he does.   “However, the criticisms that Holden aims at people around him are also aimed at himself. He is uncomfortable with his own weaknesses, and at times displays as much phoniness, meanness, and superficiality as anyone else in the book.” (Sparknotes 1).  Holden Caulfield represents the abstract idea of missing identity.  He does not really know who he is, which results in poor personal decisions and searching in the wrong places for meaning in life.  This gets him in trouble on multiple occasions like getting kicked out of school and his run in with the prostitute.  Throughout the book, Holden never really grows up, but he does learn a lot about the how other people function. 

"The Catcher in the Rye." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2012. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/catcher/context.html.

 

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.