Holden Caulfield Sympathetic Character

Holden’s depression about his brother’s death, affects his personal life. This matters because it explains why Holden always acts so negative in the book. These feelings are more remorse than the “normal” person. The book also goes heavily detail in these emotions, which could persuade the reader to feel these same emotions about others. Holden gets so wrapped up in all of his emotions, that he begins to critique others around him, even the people who are trying to help

Holden's childhood friend, Jane Gallagher, also needs protection. She is vulnerable because of her childhood. "` Her mother and father were divorced. Her mother was married again to some boozehound... [He would] run around the goddamn house, naked, with Jane around and all.'" (32) Holden was afraid that Jane's stepfather abused her. "I asked her on the way, if Mr. Cudahy- that was the boozehound's name- had ever tried to get wise with her." (79) Even though Holden likes Jane, he does not try to take advantage of her because she needs the safety of their friendship. Holden is angry with Stradlater because he threatened Jane, and could have harmed her.

Holden’s guiltiness towards mediocre things makes him a more sensitive stressful teenager that becomes more rebellious by each chapter. Another example of Holden feeling guilty would be the time he describes how he moved his suitcases to make it look as though his roommate had the more expensive ones. Holden seems to feel guilty for having expensive suitcases and sorry for his roommate, who has cheaper bags. A second example of Holden’s personality changing because of feeling guilty all the time would be the time Holden is eating breakfast. While he eats bacon and eggs, two nearby nuns only have coffee and toast. Holden feels really bad about this, saying, "That depressed me. I hate it if I’m eating bacon and eggs or something and somebody else is only eating toast and coffee." This again, shows how Holden apologizes for his money and is guilty about having more than others.

This character is going to tell it like it is, and he does. The most powerful emotional standpoint in the story is when Holden goes to his sister’s elementary school to deliver her a note. While he is there, he discovers two words scribbled on the wall. “Fuck you.” Most people would look at that and think nothing of it. Some would bow their heads in shame at the person who thought it was funny. Others might laugh. Not Holden. He did not think about the normal persons response to the note. He thought about the child’s response. About how a little kid is going to see that seemingly meaningless phrase and wonder what it means; about how some dirty kid would explain what it meant; and about the person who wrote it and how they are destroying the childhood of everyone who reads the ‘harmless’ graffiti. This section takes the reader to the door of Holden’s mind. It is at this point that one truly understands his emotions.

When Holden talks about his roommate Stradlater you can see both low self-esteem and insecure sense of self being portrayed. Most of the time when he is talking about him he sounds like he’s jealous. “ He always looked good when he was finished fixing himself up, but he was a secret slob anyway, if you knew him the way I did” (36). “He was pretty handsome, too-I’ll admit it. In both of these quotes you can see how he is pretty insecure.

Reveals about situation: This is a complete revolution from the last chapter. Previously, Holden described his love for Jesus, but his hate for organized religion. However, he is now giving nuns money for their next collection for charity. This proves that even if Holden disagrees with someone, he still respects them, their beliefs, and their actions. Additionally, it proves that Holden in fact has a big heart and cares about those he is around, even if he may not show it all the time.

Holden never understands how such an innocent child could be cursed with cancer, and this makes him extremely critical of people and of life, which he views as unfair. Holden’s underlying depression throughout the novel directly relates back to his brother’s death and ultimately stops him from enjoying the simple things in life. For instance, once his mom sends him skates in the mail as a present. Even though they were not the racing skates that he wants, he made a general statement saying: “Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad” (58). He feels like he is not worthy enough to be given a gift to, as if he did nothing to be rewarded for. Nothing eases his pain from the death of his innocent brother and gifts

The tone or attitude in which Holden speaks is based on sarcasm and rudeness which shapes him as a character. He uses sarcasm throughout the book such as on page 71. He says, “I told her, ‘you’re really lucky. You know that?’ She was a real moron. But what a dancer” (71). Here, Holden is being very sarcastic and rude with this girl which forms Holden into his character. His tone towards the world and to the people in it is just careless because he doesn’t care about being nice to anyone. He continues to act this way, even to people that matter, such as on page 13, he says, “You mean about my flunking out of Pencey and all? ‘ I said. I sort of wished he’d cover up his bumpy chest. It wasn’t such a beautiful view” (13). Mr. Spencer is one of Holden’s teachers at Pencey and he doesn’t appreciate that at all. When Mr. Spencer is being sincere towards him, all Holden can think about is the fact that Mr. Spencer’s chest is “bumpy”. This truly defines Holden as a character and what kind of person he is; a sarcastic and cynical individual, all shown through his tone of voice.

His entire work ethic from the start appeared minimal. This sluggard like attitude seemed to stem from his conceited opinion that he was emotionally superior to those around him. With this self-centered attitude Holden isolated himself from everyone and dragged the reader along on an emotional rollercoaster. Holden may have done an excellent job making his depressing life one that readers would connect with, but after delving deeper it is apparent that his way of life is not one to. Will’s assertion was valid: Holden Caulfield should not be viewed as a hero because he isolated himself from the world through his lethargic attitude and egotistical inclination.

If Holden didn’t care about fairness, he would’ve given the five dollars to Maurice, preventing a fight from occurring. Moreover, Holden does not feel as if the five dollars are for a good cause; he would rather give more money to a better cause than to a prostitute. A second example of when Holden sees meanness through money is in Chapter Fifteen, when he recalls a memory from his previous school, Elkton Hills. Holden explains that his roommate, Dick Slagle, had a cheap, inexpensive suitcase, meanwhile he had an expensive suitcase. Self conscious about his own wealth, Holden later says that he, “put [his] suitcases under [his] bed, instead of on the rack” (121), so as not to hurt Slagles feelings and

Rather, he is saddened by her sitting in his room in her slip. He imagines her buying the dress she has just taken off and realizes that she is a real person and not just a toy to be used for his pleasure. Holden's desire to understand and feel for other people stops him. Holden also admits to being a coward, but the reader realizes he is just a scared boy trying to act like a man in an adult world. Even so, he doesn't flinch in the face of danger when threatened by bullies, such as his roommate Stradlater or the pimp, Maurice. Much more important than his physical courage is the moral tenacity with which he clings to his beliefs in the face of a hostile society. (Lettis, 5)

J.D. Salinger published Catcher in The Rye in 1951. The main protagonist in the novel, Holden Caulfield experiences many conflicts and predicaments. It is common for Holden to hold opinions on characters throughout the book. His opinionated nature shows that human interactions mean a lot to him. Holden generally likes genuine people opposed to phony people. The comparison of genuine and phony is shown throughout the novel, especially when Holden meets new people. His true personality is shown to the reader when we see whom he respects and despises.

Later on Holden recalls when he was attending Pencey College how his gloves were stolen by some crook. He continues describing the situation of confrontation hypothetically, at first with assertion and authority. Eventually he admits to himself, “Only, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I’d just stand there, trying to look tough” (Salinger P. 99). Holden goes on to describe to the reader his unaware fear of confrontation and violence, hinting at a dread of vulnerability and a closed off persona, another clear sign of Major Depressive Disorder. When Holden was a younger boy he knew a girl named Jane Gallagher whom he was childhood friends with, they often even held hands and had an emotional bond. Ever since he heard about Stradlator (his old roommate) taking her out on a date he’d been thinking of calling her up. Finally on page 130 he calls her up and her mother picks up. Startled, she hangs up and admits he should’ve asked for Jane, “But I didn’t feel like it. You really have to be in the mood for that stuff” (Salinger P. 130). His inability to feel motivated to make an effort for somebody he once loved shows his social-isolation.

This passage proves that Holden is dissatisfied with the boys at his school, he believes they are fake and he does not social well with them. Although Holden doesn’t want to interact much, when he does end up interacting with people, he usually gets the short end of the stick. For instance he invites Ackley, a boy he meets at Pency Prep, along to the movies, but Ackley won't return the favor by letting Holden sleep in his roommate's bed. ‘“I’m not worried about it. Only, I’d hate like hell if Ely came in all of a sudden and found some guy-”’ (Salinger 49). Another instance is when Holden pays Sunny even though they don’t have sex, and ends up getting scammed. At a young age, Holden lost his younger brother, Allie. This had a huge traumatizing effect on him; Holden felt useless because he was unable to help his brother. Holden turns his emotions into anger; stating that he punched out all the windows in the garage. Another time Holden felt unable to help was when his peer, James Castle, was harassed and bullied, leading to James’s suicide. Holden says, “... and there was old James Castle laying right on the stone steps and all. He was dead, and his teeth, and blood, were all over the place, and nobody would even go near him. He had on this turtleneck sweater I'd lent him”’ (Salinger 170). Holden feels that society had

When the reader looks back at Holden’s history they can make assumptions as to why Holden wants things to stay the way they are. The general assumption would be because Holden is very distant to people who are dear to him. He mentions his younger sister, Phoebe frequently but cannot connect with her in any way due to Holden’s enrollment in a relatively distant school. Holden also recalls his two brothers, Allie and D.B., whom he is exiled from in result of Allie’s tragic fate and D.B.’s migration to California. The death of Holden’s favorite person, Allie, results ultimately in the unstable mental condition that controls Holden. Holden’s fascination with children and their mentalities is driven from Holden’s mourning of Allie’s death. While Holden tries to resist changing, he is identifying himself with Allie. Critic, Hermit Vanderbilt, agrees that, “Obviously despairing at the cosmic injustice of such an early death, Holden falls into a schizophrenic disorder interested in keeping him from growing up and keeping the role of Allie alive.” (Vanderbilt 299). In addition to the laments of personal loss, Holden also desires a stagnancy of time because of his fear of losing his moral purity. This is shown when Holden speaks about how his older brother, D.B., has lost his moral standards in the pursuit of fame. Holden feels D.B. has strayed far from his truly respectable writing when D.B. “sold himself out” to the expectations of Hollywood. Holden refers to D.B. as a