Holden Caulfield Society

Sylvia Plath, in her novel The Bell Jar, said, “If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed”. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, reflects this idea of recognizing the falseness of society and distancing oneself from others in order to create a shield against societal superficiality. In the novel, we see Holden Caulfield interact with various personalities, all of whom bring out different aspects of his own character and attitude toward society. In order to convey the strong theme of Holden’s disillusionment with the “phoniness” in the adult world, Salinger utilizes the literary device of characterization, the act of presenting and describing characters’ distinctive natures within a story. The novel, told through the …show more content…
Take my word” (192). Holden’s view on Mr. Antolini changes rapidly, and with this shift also comes the most telling of all: the way he now characterizes Mr. Antolini. Before, he revered Mr. Antolini, thinking that he was one of the few authentic people left in society and even deriving hope for his own future from this optimistic characterization, but he now begins to characterize Mr. Antolini as someone who is just as phony as everyone else. Holden views Mr. Antolini as “trying to act very goddamn casual and cool”; the phrase “trying to act” is particularly telling because it reflects how Holden now sees Mr. Antolini as a man who truly does become a conformist and a phony, attempting to dodge the consequences of what he has been doing to Holden and pretending to be someone who he is not. Holden now characterizes Mr. Antolini as not “any goddamn cool” because Mr. Antolini’s inappropriate advance toward Holden has destroyed their relationship and Holden’s previously positive view of Mr. Antolini. Mr. Antolini betrays Holden’s trust in him by this improper act, which Holden perceives as attempted molestation; Holden feels taken advantage of and further deplores Mr. Antolini’s efforts to diffuse the tension by casually acting as though he has done nothing. Holden immediately leaves because …show more content…
Holden resents Sally and her desire to impose norms on Holden that make him feel even more unsure of what he will do in life, and this resentment shines through in his negative characterization of her. When Holden impulsively tells Sally to run away with him, she refuses out of practicality and a desire to conform to societal conventions: “‘It isn’t that at all,’ old Sally said. I was beginning to hate her, in a way. ‘We’ll have oodles of time to do those things--all those things. I mean after you go to college and all… There’ll be oodles of marvelous places to go to’” (133). Holden is “beginning to hate” Sally because he sees that unlike himself, Sally worries about conforming to social conventions. He hates her for her inauthenticity and characterizes her as another “phony” construction. He realizes that if he leads a life like Sally’s, it will be unfulfilling and always fixated on the future rather than the present. He understands that he cannot live a life like that of Sally, who he portrays as very shallow and superficial, but also hates her because she represents the fact that he has no other option in life. Holden wants to run away and escape the confines of society, but Sally prevents him from doing so and tells him that there will be “oodles of time”. Holden resents her assumptions of what he will do with his life- she tells him they can