Catcher In The Rye

Reflection in The Catcher in the Rye
In 1981, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was simultaneously the most frequently censored novel and the second-most frequently taught novel in American high schools (Andrychuk 6). The main protagonist of the novel is Holden Caulfield, a 16-year old boy who smokes like a chimney, swears like a sailor, and drinks to deal with his angst. He is also the narrator of his own story, telling the tale of the 48 hours he spent in New York City after getting expelled from his fourth prep school. He rented a seedy hotel room, saw a show with his girlfriend, got dangerously drunk in multiple bars, had an interesting encounter with an old teacher, and contemplated the intricacies of growing up in the 1940s. The most important part- he’s telling it all from one year after it happened. This awareness of the outcome of his story changes the way Holden narrates.
One notable instance of this occurs in Holden’s
narration of the girls in the Lavender room. His depiction of them is a product of embarrassment and he only insults them in his narration as an attempt to salvage his pride. Holden was young and everyone around him could tell: even the bartender would not sell him alcohol. In spite of this, he approached three women who were twice his age and on a girls’ weekend: “‘Would any of you girls care to dance?’ I didn’t ask them crudely or anything. Very suave, in fact. But God damn it, they thought that was a panic, too. They started giggling some more. I’m not kidding, they were three real morons” (Salinger 70). He insults the women because they giggled at his proposition. In reality it is very unlikely that they were moronic or too low beneath him to be worth the trouble. Holden himself speaks to their worth later on: “Anyway, it took me about a half hour to find out where they all worked and all in Seattle. They all worked in the same insurance office. I asked them if they liked it, but do you think you could get an intelligent answer out of those three dopes?” (Salinger 73). These women were on their own in New York City- the opposite side of the country from their homes- at a time when it was incredibly uncommon for a woman to take a trip with her friends. They also had jobs at a time when every workforce was male-dominated. If anything, these women had to be incredibly smart and independent. Holden, however, was so embarrassed at having been rejected and looked down upon, that he recounted the story in such a way as to blame them and spare his pride.
In a similar vein, Holden shifts the attention to Sally during their conversation at the ice rink in order to be less embarrassed and detract from his own instability. He had an uncomfortable discussion with her, which appears to border on an emotional breakdown. During this, Sally asked Holden not to yell twice, and both times he says in his narration that he wasn’t yelling: “‘Don’t shout, please’ Old Sally said, which was very funny, because I wasn’t even shouting” and “‘Stop screaming at me, please,’ she said. Which was crap, because I wasn’t even screaming at her” (Salinger 130,132). This is another example of Holden trying to salvage his pride. Later on in his narration, he remarks “You could see there wasn’t any sense trying to have an intelligent conversation. I was sorry as hell I’d started it” (Salinger 133). He insults Sally’s intelligence in order to downplay the importance of her reaction. After he left the rink, he explains in his narration “I probably wouldn’t’ve taken her even if she’d wanted to go with me. She wouldn’t have been anybody to go with. The terrible part, though, is that I meant it when I asked her. That’s the terrible part. I swear to God I’m a madman” (Salinger 134). This is to detract from his own instability during the scene and shift the focus to Sally’s apparent deficiency so as to save himself from reliving the embarrassment of rejection by someone he loved.
Similarly, Holden uses exhaustion as an excuse for not following the advice that Mr. Antolini gave him. Throughout his time at Mr. Antolini’s, Holden speaks about feeling ill four times, and tired seven times. At one point in their conversation, Mr. Antolini advises him to be cautious: “‘This fall I think you’re riding for- it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling’” (Salinger 187). Shortly after, Holden says he was tired for the first time in his narration: “It was nice of him to go to all that trouble. It really was. The thing was, though, I didn’t feel much like concentrating. Boy, I felt so damn tired all of a sudden” (Salinger 188). This suggests that being too tired was his excuse for not acting on Mr. Antolini’s advice. In reality, it is more likely that Holden felt too uncomfortable about not taking the advice of a man who had become a close family friend. After the incident in which Holden woke up to Mr. Antolini petting him, Holden was too scared by him to act upon his advice. As he narrates the story, Holden is embarrassed about his decision to ignore Mr. Antolini’s advice, and tells the story in such a way that it appears he was unable to act upon it in the first place.
Holden’s narrative voice changes the story due to his pride.
He omits facts and makes excuses for his past actions because they embarrass him. Perhaps this is another reason why many people find The Catcher in the Rye relatable. Most readers have never experienced any of the things that Holden went through over the course of the novel and yet, since it was first published, it has been known to many “as an essential rite of passage, almost as important as getting your learner’s permit” (McGrath A1). Often, the theme of occasional 2nd person narration is credited with the novel’s relatability. While Holden narrates the novel in 1st person, there are many instances when he speaks directly to the reader: “You should’ve heard the crowd, though, when he was finished. You would’ve puked” (Salinger 84). However, it is also very easy to relate to people who are reflecting upon their pasts. To be proud is a universal human experience, and as such everyone can understand the urge to salvage one’s pride when recalling embarrassing
memories.
Lena Johnson