The "Catcher in the Rye" in the Catcher in the Rye

Holden Caulfield is a deeply troubled character who may appear hateful of the world, but deep down inside, he remains a compassionate character. His desire to be the “catcher in the rye”, saving others from the worries of adulthood, is one of the main themes of the novel and shows Holden’s caring but flawed attitude towards others.

Throughout the novel, Holden tells the reader about his struggles and his alienation from the rest of the world. He considers others to be phonies and makes fun of them by acting similarly phony. And when he is given good advice, he doesn’t seem to take it to heart. But it’s not necessarily as though he hates these people. It’s simply as though he is distrustful of the world and that (almost) nobody can understand his true feelings.

This distrust of the world can be traced back to his childhood. He still struggles to get over his brother’s death, which leads to him shutting himself off from the rest of the world. This makes him unable to connect with others and learn about their troubles, some of which are likely to be similar to Holden’s, which consequently leads to him feeling even more alienated. He also thinks fondly of his childhood when his brother was still alive, which is also part of the reason he cannot grow up and remains alienated from others who have become more mature.

Thus, he wishes to be like the “catcher in the rye”, protecting others from the dangers of adulthood. He doesn’t act like he is some savior because he believes he is superior, but rather because he is compassionate albeit a bit short-sighted in terms of what adulthood truly means. He is still longing for the life he had in the past, and he truly believes that adulthood only comes with negatives, thus why he wishes to catch children before they fall off the cliff of innocence and youth.

What Holden needs is simply to be understood. Mr. Antolini almost made it through to Holden because he didn’t give the traditional “phony” advice that others like Mr. Spencer had given. Instead, Mr. Antolini made Holden feel wanted and validated. He let Holden into his home at a moment’s notice without worrying about revealing his private life to his student. And he made it clear that he knew Holden was different and that he should try to discover his own voice in school. Unfortunately, when Holden awoke to Mr. Antolini stroking his forehead, Holden immediately thought the worst and started to distrust Mr. Antolini as well. But in many ways, Mr. Antolini was like the true “catcher in the rye.”

 

Comments

  1. Nyla Kyles March 6, 2023 at 12:41 PM

    I agree with you I don't think Holden particularly hates the people but I think he has a general distain and distrust(as you said) for the way people don't question certain social practices that don't reflect their true feelings. I think he dislikes that as people get older they lose their 'spark' or uniqueness in a way which makes them appear phony. I also agree with your analysis of Mr. Antolini I think its interesting and sad how he was Holden's Catcher in the Rye but in the end that he became anther person Holden distrusted. I think it kinda says that no matter how great an adult is there is still a level of pollution/ twistedness that they gain after leaving childhood

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  2. ArjunMarch 6, 2023 at 9:27 PM

    I agree with you when you say that deep down, Holden is a compassionate person. Though he is pretty angsty, I think the affection he shows for Phoebe and Allie throughout the novel and his ultimate goal to be a Catcher in the Rye shows that his seemingly hateful attitude towards adulthood mostly comes from a love for childhood and innocence.

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  3. MitchellMarch 10, 2023 at 1:05 PM

    Antolini is obviously a controversial and ambiguous character, but I like how you point out that the advice he gives is in no way compromised by whatever is going on with the head-patting incident. Holden can still feel "validated," he can still take Antolini's good insights about how he can actually get something meaningful out of school, and indeed he "still has" the scrap of paper with the aphorism on it, the distillation of everything Antolini tells him.
    We get a similar kind of ambivalence toward a "mentor" in _Fun Home_ (which actually features Bruce trying to get a discussion going about Antolini in his English class--as Alison comments, "Awesome capacity for cognitive dissonance"!). Bruce may be a flawed vessel in many ways, but his mentorship can still entail pointing Alison toward the right books. Mentors can be complicated.

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