When it comes to relationships, Holden is a paradox in creating them. He often finds himself ostracizing the people surrounding him, believing that they are “phony” and spurious. While encountering numerous people during his three day journey, “he remains fundamentally withdrawn and isolated … most of his interactions are superficial, and many of his relationships are insincere” (Evans). Because of this, Holden fails at forming authentic relationships, being contradictory to his words and actions. He frequently reacts amiss in a situation and doesn’t endeavor to form connections with people, or goes to the wrong people for the types of relationships he searches for; the only person Holden is able to have a true bond with is his sister Phoebe,
…show more content…
Throughout J.D. Salinger’s the Catcher in the Rye, Holden finds himself wandering towards a telephone booth, aching for a person to call. Often, he will pick up the phone, think of someone to call, and then make up an excuse as to why he shouldn’t call, hanging up. The relationship longed for by Holden is at his fingertips; all he has to do is commit to the call. Along with struggling to go through with calls, Holden has very few friends he is able to talk to. He runs into the problem that his “address book only has about three people in it” (Salinger 136). Holden has alienated everyone he knows to the point in which he is traveling through life with almost no one by his side. With no one to talk to, he struggles to find direction in his life. “He rarely finds- and rarely seeks- a sincere, enduring bond with another person. His relationships are fleeting, disappointing, and often disillusioning” (Evans). It is clear that Holden wants a permanent connection with someone, yet he puts forth so little effort to maintain what little relationship he has that he makes this impossible for …show more content…
Instead of having this type of relationship with a person like Jane, who he has known since childhood, he is going to strangers for advice when all they want is to have a casual conversation with him. He calls up an old friend who he used to go to school with, Luce, and goes to meet him at a bar hoping to have an intellectual discussion with him. However, according to Holden, “intellectual guys never want to discuss anything serious unless they feel like it” (Salinger 144). However, this generalization Holden makes is not always true; it takes both time and effort to form a lasting and meaningful relationship, and a deep conversation cannot be sparked in the spur of the moment with someone Holden didn’t even like to begin with. What Holden really wants is to be listened to, something that he has a hard time with because he fails to achieve to form a meaningful bond with the right
Throughout J.D. Salinger’s the Catcher in the Rye, Holden finds himself wandering towards a telephone booth, aching for a person to call. Often, he will pick up the phone, think of someone to call, and then make up an excuse as to why he shouldn’t call, hanging up. The relationship longed for by Holden is at his fingertips; all he has to do is commit to the call. Along with struggling to go through with calls, Holden has very few friends he is able to talk to. He runs into the problem that his “address book only has about three people in it” (Salinger 136). Holden has alienated everyone he knows to the point in which he is traveling through life with almost no one by his side. With no one to talk to, he struggles to find direction in his life. “He rarely finds- and rarely seeks- a sincere, enduring bond with another person. His relationships are fleeting, disappointing, and often disillusioning” (Evans). It is clear that Holden wants a permanent connection with someone, yet he puts forth so little effort to maintain what little relationship he has that he makes this impossible for …show more content…
Instead of having this type of relationship with a person like Jane, who he has known since childhood, he is going to strangers for advice when all they want is to have a casual conversation with him. He calls up an old friend who he used to go to school with, Luce, and goes to meet him at a bar hoping to have an intellectual discussion with him. However, according to Holden, “intellectual guys never want to discuss anything serious unless they feel like it” (Salinger 144). However, this generalization Holden makes is not always true; it takes both time and effort to form a lasting and meaningful relationship, and a deep conversation cannot be sparked in the spur of the moment with someone Holden didn’t even like to begin with. What Holden really wants is to be listened to, something that he has a hard time with because he fails to achieve to form a meaningful bond with the right