Holden: A Catcher in the Rye
While Holden may only be sixteen years old, his outlook on life makes him seem much older. He has this idea that he is different from everyone else because he does not conform to what society expects, and he criticizes those around him, which makes him feel better about himself.
Another one of Holden's ideas is that children are innocent until corrupted, meaning children are the purest forms of life in society. Still, they soon enter a world of stress, dishonesty, and a "phony" lifestyle. Holden sees himself being a kind of savior to the children in the world. He pictures children running around, playing in a rye field, and suddenly jumping into an abyss, and he wants to catch them before they fall. This "falling" is Holden referencing the way children mature in real life, becoming hypocritical adults instead of innocent children. The image of the children playing before falling represents their youth and their carefree way of life. Holden wants to save the children from growing older because once you've fallen, you can't get up.
Holden is not thoroughly practicing what he preaches. While Holden talks about dishonest and phony adults, he also dabbles in deceit. He seems to want acceptance from adults but also despises the ordinary people he interacts with. He finds himself running around New York City, going to bars, and getting very drunk with a group of adults who see him for what he is; an immature 16-year-old boy. He also attempted to have sex with a prostitute, but that didn't work out in his favor.
Going back to Holden's idea that children are the purest beings, he sees much of this in his Phoebe. He tries to protect her by telling her to go to school, again not living up to the standards he set for himself as he cannot seem to stay at a school for an extended time. Holden thinks Phoebe gets him better than any other person can, regardless of age. In the story, Phoebe is very emotionally intelligent and listens to her brother, making her seem more mature to Holden than other kids do. Holden truly thinks Phoebe can do no wrong and that she will always be the most genuine person to him. Holden trusts Phoebe, which is why he tells her about his plan to become a catcher in the rye and save all the innocent children of the world from a tragic fall into adulthood.
This gives serious Peter Pan vibes in the sense that Holden is Peter Pan, and he is convincing Phoebe to stay in Neverland forever. Much like Peter, Holden is also resentful of maturity and getting older. His escape from that is to do whatever he wants, making NYC into his personal Neverland.
Overall, Holden is just a sixteen-year-old kid who doesn't want to grow up and wants to influence other kids to follow him. Will he succeed in catching every falling child? The image of Phoebe on the carousel is a good depiction of how Holden feels about saving children. He sees Phoebe struggle to stay on the horse, but he doesn't interfere. This references his new outlook, where he lets things happen because they should. Instead of trying to catch Phoebe (catch the children in the rye) if she falls off the horse (the children falling off the cliff), he lets her continue riding because he knows that's how she'll learn for the next time she's on it (a symbol of maturing).
I definitely agree with you that Holden acts like a much more cynical Peter Pan, refusing to grow up and trying to prevent others from growing up as well. However, it's hard to tell if, like Peter Pan, he has a hatred for adult life, or just a misguided, consuming adoration for the innocence of childhood. I think the main difference between them is that Peter Pan is just avoiding adulthood, while Holden is avoiding adulthood because he idolizes being a child so much. And, it's very sad to think about the fact that he might not catch every falling child. I wish that Salinger had published his mythical second book so that we could know the true ending!
ReplyDeleteI wish we'd had a little more time in class to dig into the famous carousel scene. It can be read as Holden wanting to preserve Phoebe's youth, to suspend her in an endless loop, circling around on a children's amusment with no aim or progress or goal.
ReplyDeleteBut it can also be read as Holden coming to some form of acceptance of the inevitability of change, as he does agree not to run away and to return home in this scene. He is aware that Phoebe is already a little too big for the ride--her legs hang low on the horse--but he encourages her to go for one more spin anyway, and she is into it. It starts pouring rain, but for once Holden is crying because he's "so damn happy." He has just talked Phoebe out of running away with him, and he's agreed to give up his own plans and face the music at home. All the "other parents" (which makes Holden something of a "parent" in this scenario) run for cover from the rain, but he just lets it soak him, "protected" by his trusty hunting cap. Among other things, I see acceptance here--some rain will fall, Phoebe will get too big for the carousel, but he is going to stick around for the duration. It's quite a beautiful and multifaceted scene, and I confess that it often chokes me up when I read it--even though I've read it dozens of times by now.