What Does Holden Caulfield Teach

Worth Reading and Teaching

Ever since its publication in 1951, the quality of J. D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye, has been a controversy. The story has been praised for its enlightening views on society, but criticized for its use of slang and sexual content. Nevertheless, the story is worth both reading and teaching, for the story still relates to the lives of today’s teenagers, introduces a unique writing style to its readers, and teaches its readers an important lesson about phoniness. Throughout the novel, the main character, Holden Caulfield, attempts to catch innocent children before they fall off the cliff and die or before they lose their innocence and become a corrupt and phony adult. While doing so, he suffers isolation
and severe depression because he realizes that he is unable to prevent children from growing up. At first glance, the story seems to be about an immature teenager confused about life who criticizes almost everyone and everything around him. But when the story is given some deeper thought, it can be seen as a story about a boy’s struggle with adolescence and his transition between childhood and adulthood. Although the story may seem outdated because it was written in the early twentieth century, it still has to do with the basic ideas of what teenagers go through today, including their search for independence and their impulsiveness.
Throughout the story, Holden isolates himself from everyone else. One way he isolates himself is by wearing a red hunting hat, which he bought all by himself in New York. A red hunting hat alone is an odd and unique hat for a teenager to wear, but Holden even wears it in a weird fashion. Today’s teenagers strive to be different from each other, and one way they express themselves is through their clothes. Another reason for Holden’s isolation is his impulsiveness throughout the whole story. In the beginning of the novel, Holden thinks that his roommate Stradlater took advantage of Jane and gets into a fight with him. After getting a hard hit in the face, Holden tells Stradlater “to go wash his own moron face – which was a pretty childish thing to say, but [he] was mad as hell” (45). Today’s teenagers often get into fights and become impulsive because of the anger built up from their fights. After Sally refuses Holden’s request to run away with him, he becomes annoyed and calls her a “royal pain in the ass” (133). He quickly regrets it, but he is unable to take back what he said. Holden’s inconsiderate words show the trouble he has communicating with others, and give a reason to why he is isolated and friendless. Even today’s teenagers have situations when they say careless things and lose a possible friend. On the night that his little brother, Allie, died, he slept in the garage and “broke all the goddam windows with [his] fist, just for the hell of it” (39). The loss of a loved family member is something everyone can relate to at least once in their lifetimes, and surely it will be a painful experience that will drive one to do impulsive things. Everyone will, is, or has been a teenager in their lives so they are able to relate to
Holden’s situations throughout the story, making the timeless novel a story worth reading for any age group. The story uses a great amount of symbolism, which comes in handy when teaching symbolism in school. Holden’s red hunting hat is a major symbol throughout the whole story. He wears it to be independent and to relate to Phoebe and Allie’s innocence since their hair is red. He wears it backwards not only because he wants to be unique, but also to “hide” from growing up. Another important symbol is the museum. Holden is fond of the museum because nothing changes there and everything stays still. Holden likes the fact that “[nobody would] be different” (121). He also says that certain things “should stay the way they are” (121). Holden obviously wants to live a still and simple life like the lives of the museum’s displays. The last important symbol is the catcher in the rye, which is also the title of the novel. When Phoebe asks Holden what he wants do when he grows up, he simply answers that he wants to be a catcher in the rye. He wants to “catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff” (173). Symbolically, he wants to prevent innocent children from losing their purity and becoming phony adults. The Catcher in the Rye can be useful when teaching how to effectively develop a plot with important symbols in school. The story is not only worth reading and teaching because of its effective use of symbolism, but also because it teaches a very valuable lesson about phoniness. Holden uses the word “phony” to describe the superficiality, hypocrisy, pretension, and shallowness that he encounters in the world around him. Holden’s first view of phoniness is used when he describes his older brother, D.B. who is out in Hollywood, “being a prostitute” (2). He dislikes the fact that D.B. writes for movies instead of writing what he wants, making him a phony. Holden also talks about how Ossenburger is a great hypocrite and is obsessed with making money by giving cheap funerals. He also criticizes how Ossenburger made a big speech about how everyone should pray all of the time. Holden says that he “can just see the big phony bastard shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few mores stiffs” (17). Phoniness exists in our society today just as it does in the book. If a person talks with a made up accent, as Faith Cavendish did when Holden calls her on the phone once he arrives in New York, they can sound phony. Holden points out that it is important for people to do what they want instead of unwillingly living life by the rules. Although the story may seem like just another coming-of-age novel, or a long and pointless rant by an immature and confused adolescent who does not know what to do with his life, it still deals with today’s society, has an interesting writing style that is not seen in most books, and teaches a lesson about how phoniness is an unattractive feature in people. The Catcher in the Rye has been urged to be banned for containing improper language and inappropriate occurrences with prostitutes. But young adults should be able to maturely deal with such disturbances. The important message that the story gives overall about phoniness is much more important than some slang talk and sexual content. The Catcher in the Rye is a timeless story worth reading and teaching for people of all ages. The effective use of writing everything in first person and using symbolism to get ones point across is an important skill for young adults to learn in school. Everyone can relate to the novel in some way. Holden experiences many difficult life situations that everyone will deal with at least once in their lives. The story also gives an important life lesson about how phoniness can be degrading and that people should do what they want to do instead of doing what is expected of them. One can learn a great deal just from reading the simple novel about a boy’s transition between childhood and adulthood.