Examples Of Sexuality In Catcher In The Rye

Holden’s desperation for friendship causes him to turn against the people around him because his actions lead continually lead him into with rejection. For instants, Holden shows an effort to gain attention and sympathy from Stradlater by letting him borrow his hound’s tooth jacket and agreeing to write a composition for him even though Stradlater goes on a date with Jane, someone who Holden has strong feelings for. Rejection comes into play after Stradlater reads the composition of his dead brother’s baseball glove, and angrily tells Holden that it's no wonder he's getting expelled: he does not do anything "the way you're supposed to”(Salinger 46). Stradlater rejection affects Holden because he subconsciously feels that he is never good enough and that he’s pathetic. After the two of them got into a fist fight over Jane Holden is so isolated, he turns to Ackley, his neighbor who he can't stand and continuously calls a “phony.” Holden says after Ackley won't even help him that he “feels so lonesome, he wishes he were dead”(Salinger 50). Holden goes to call someone but then realizes that he has no one to call. When Holden was “giving old Jane a buzz…” he quickly hung up, claiming it was because he “was not in the mood,” but he can't deal with confrontation that might end up causing awkwardness, rejection, or emotional pain. It is Holden pain of rejection that causes him to feel frustration in the world, leading him to his depressed state of mind.

Throughout the book, Holden feared any sexual activities. He was also physically repelled by anything homosexual. This was an area he could not cope with. Thus it was not surprising that Holden ran in shock and fear when Mr Antolini was caressing

They weren't going to tell him he needs to go home so he really needed an adult to talk to because his depression was getting worse. Holden called this girl he got the number from from a guy he met at a party. “It was the address of this girl that wasn’t exactly a whore or anything but that didn’t mind doing it once in a while.” (63). Holden made another mistake by doing this because he needed to call his parents or another adult instead of this girl because this girl was not going to tell him he needs to go home. Holden also paid for a prostitute when he returned to the hotel. When she arrived, all he wanted to do was talk. “Don’t you feel like talking for a while? I asked her.” (95). Holden decided right when she came that he just wanted to talk. This did show him wanting to talk to someone about his depression but he picked the wrong person. If he would have realized that he really needed to talk to his parents or some other adult, then it would show him growing as a person. When Holden first asks for the prostitute to come over, he realizes that it wasn’t something he should do but he did it because he was depressed. “Okay, I said. It was against my principals and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn’t even think.” (91). This was another sign that Holden really wasn’t talking to the right person because he knew he shouldn’t do it but he did because he was so

The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger is about a 17-year-old boy named Holden. Holden gets in a very bad condition after his younger brother Allie dies from Leukemia. He gets mentally ill and suffers from serious depression. Holden goes through tough times in which he has a lot of trouble finding friends and keeping good relationships. Relationship and sexuality are big motifs in the novel, which come up very often. Holden is always on the look for a new friend but he always turns away in the last moment. When Holden interacts with women in the novel, he is very different than when he interacts with men. The women characters in the book all are very important because they represent and

Antolini. Holden was at Mr. Antolini’s house and was going to sleep at his house for the night. Mrs. Antolini goes to bed but Holden and Mr. Antolini talk for a while about life. Then Holden fell asleep while he was talking. “What he was doing was, he was sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark and all, and he was sort of petting me or patting me on the goddamn head” (Salinger 192). This quote is saying that weird things come up in the world very often. Holden never expected Mr. Antolini to ever just randomly touch him like he did. Holden just thinks that is very weird to him because he has never experienced something like that before. As people grow up, they experience many new things. The thing about adulthood is that kids that are going through have to face it sometime in their life. These are the reasons why Holden has had fear of losing his

Though Holden is still a maturing boy that is hyped up on testosterone, he thinks about women too provocatively. Any women she

One main thing Holden is interested in and he makes this clear would be sex. He harassed Luce constantly about questions to do with sex, and was aroused by the sexual behavior displayed at Edmont Hotel. Another example of how Holden gets guilty easily and feels nervous would be when he was alone with a prostitute and got flustered with her sitting on his lap. Holden was quick to

References to sex, drugs, and alcohol are prevalent in the novel, as they play a significant role in the main character’s life. Holden uses drugs and alcohol as an escape from the problems he encounters while at Pencey and in New York, worsening as his depression and loneliness intensify. Aware of his issues, but refusing to acknowledge them, Holden reflects that “I sat at that goddamn bar till around 1 o’clock or so, getting drunk as a bastard. I could hardly see straight,” (Salinger 166). Holden also states that he “must've smoked around two packs since [he] left Pencey,” (Salinger 112). With the previous lessons upheld, exposure to the use of these products is not a substantial enough force that would drive teens to engage in said activities. Beginning at a young age, children learn in school how to say no to drug and alcohol use and what to do when faced with a situation in which they are available. Furthermore, older children learn how to be safe if engaging in sex through sex education classes in school; in fact, “23 percent of sex education in public schools” teach abstinence-only sex education (Livni). In The Catcher in the Rye, sexual references are limited and portrayed with a negative connotation when Holden says, “sex is something I really understand too hot,” (Salinger 70). Most of Holden’s acquaintances do not have the same ideology, showing readers that it is not degrading to go against societal normalities. Seeing how Holden handles situations with drugs,

Much later in the book, Holden meets up with an old friend, Carl Luce, to catch up on each other’s lives. Holden attempts to talk with him about sex because it’s the only thing they did talk about when they both went to Whooton, which Holden flunked out of a few years back. Holden tries to connect with Luce by talking about their sex lives and how Holden wants it to be like anything Luce is talking about, but he ends up disappointing Luce into the expectation that he has grown. He reminds him of what Holden needed last time they saw each other, and Holden remembers: “‘You mean go to a psychoanalyst and all?’ I said … ‘What would he do to me? I mean that would he do to me?’ ‘He wouldn’t do a goddam thing to you He’d simply talk to you, and you’d talk to him, for God’s sake. For one thing, he’d help recognize the patterns of your mind.’ … Old Luce. He was strictly a pain in the ass …” (Salinger 192-193). Holden once again shows a lack of wanting to accept and listen to people who are trying to give him advice. He doesn’t want to go to a psychoanalyst and be told what is wrong with him because he cannot accept the painful truth that he is not able to grow up and change how he is, which Luce did do. When Holden says to himself “He was strictly a pain in the ass”, he shows that he doesn’t care what Luce had to say to help Holden. He only cared about staying the way he is and

Holden’s date with Sally Hayes exhibited his difficulty at cooperating with others. At first he gives us a dire impression of Sally, “I wasn’t too crazy about her, but I’d known her for years.” (p. 105) Later, he wants to marry Sally and says he is in love with her. The biggest mystery of all when it comes to women is with Jane Gallagher. Constantly mentioning Jane, Holden recalls playing checkers with her before he got sent to boarding school. When his roommate, Stradlater, has a date with Jane, Holden asks him a peculiar question, “Did you ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row?” (p. 42) Holden, jealous of Stradlater’s date with Jane, longs to see Jane but never has the courage to call her. Interactions with other people especially women perplex and overwhelm Holden. He therefore resorts to isolation, illustrating a characteristic of his mental state.

Although representation of the LGBT+ community is becoming more common in books, especially those targeted towards teenagers, it is still lacking in the majority of literature. This has caused members and supporters of the community to look for representation in places where most people would say there isn’t any. For example, to most people, The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger is either about a pretentious teenager who complains about nothing or a depressed teenager coping with a disillusioning loss of innocence. The first analysis can be backed by reading the book at the surface level, the second by a more in depth understanding of symbolism used throughout. However, there is a third narrative that eludes many people. Holden Caulfield is attracted to men, but having experienced sexual abuse and living in a homophobic time, represses his sexuality.

Yet another issue Holden endures throughout this novel is loneliness . There are many reasons that he is very lonely all throughout the novel. The biggest reason he doesn't talk to anybody is because he is afraid he is going to get hurt emotionally. For example he is scared to call Jane and is scared to let her in his heart because he doesn't want to loose another person he loves, like his deceased brother Allie. Another example of his loneliness is when he meets the prostitute in the hotel. Holden knows that he can have the comfort of another human for a little while, but he doesn't want to do anything with her because he knows she will just leave after they are done having sex. In a way he is looking for something that will last longer, like a relationship, but he is too scared of being hurt . Although, “loneliness is difficult to fess up

Holden thinks the people he met once earlier in life and made friend with will be his future wife. Holden takes everyone else’s sex advice except his own. By not listening to himself Holden is in a way wounded. Holden finds other people’s stories fascinating. Holden describes, “The only thing he ever did, though, was give these sex talks and all, late at night when there was a bunch of guys in his room.

Holden feels that he must really make a meaningful connection with a girl or else he will lose desire for her. An example of Holden's sensitivity in action comes in the form of his reaction to Sunny, the prostitute, removing her dress before him:

Holden thinks that knows everything there is to know about sex. When to do it, where to do it, and especially how to do it. But Holden is a virgin, the things he describes is all coming from his imagination. Made up stories that he got from Stradlater and Ackley while he was at Pencey. But everyone