Holden Caulfield's Madness

In J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caulfield’s apparent madness and irrational behavior plays an important role. The decisions that Holden makes at the time seem un-normal and irrational to characters in the novel, but to the reader they seem wise and reasonable. One example of this behavior is the way Holden treats women. Throughout the novel he has the temptation to be with women, but he can resist his urges. He doesn’t want to be with a girl, just to be with a girl, Caulfield actually wants it to mean something. At the time people would have thought Holden was mad for passing up some of his opportunities with women, but when a reader reads about it, they feel like Holden is making the right decision.