Literary Analysis Of The Catcher In The Rye By James Lundquist

Literary critic James Lundquist refers to Holden from The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, as “the lunatic in the tombs” (J.D. Salinger, 42). This assessment implies that Holden is similar to the man from the Bible who was afflicted with demons, and correctly identifies Holden as a man who has to face his own inner demons. However, these demons manifest themselves to Holden as a part of his personality. Throughout the novel, his persistent attachment to his dead brother Allie and his battle between maturity and childhood become Holden’s demons and cause injury to Holden; these demons overpower Holden even until the end.
One demon that Holden commonly encounters throughout the novel is the fixation on his dead brother Allie. Although it happened many years prior, the death of his brother affects Holden significantly in his journey, impacting his social encounters with other people and his actions throughout the novel. Holden’s inability to move on from Allie’s death is first demonstrated in his time at Pencey, when Holden writes Stradlater’s essay about Allie’s baseball glove. Stradlater does not appreciate the baseball glove in the way that Holden does, saying “For Chrissake, Holden, This is about a goddam baseball glove” …show more content…
This lack of healing exorcism haunts Holden until the end of the novel. For example, Allie’s death has a lasting impact on Holden. Holden’s hunting hat, which color reminds Holden of Allie’s hair and brings him comfort in times of distress, is still on Holden’s head at the end of the novel. Holden’s reliance on the hat to give him stability but also perpetuates his need for Allie to bring him that stability. Holden also does not receive healing from his inner conflicts about maturity. Instead of soldiering into maturity, Holden suppresses it in the end and refuses to mature. Holden’s deliberate avoidance leaves him stuck with his demon at the end of the