The CHARACTER OF HOLDEN CAULFEILD Catcher in the Rye The CHARACTER OF HOLDEN CAULFEILD By Gerogie Ross, alice taylor, christina tsalidis & amy scanu

What type of person is he? (behaviour, attitude, his opinions) Holden is cynical and has a negative point of view on everything. Whenever someone is trying to he something else, he hates it. In the beginning of the book when he’s still at Pencey, he talks about a guy who’s speaking to the school and he’s trying to make jokes, he says he’s a ‘very big deal’. This shows his sarcasm and pessimism He is immature and does not want to grow up, or progress beyond when Allie was alive. This is common in people who have experienced traumas. He makes lots of judgements on people, and often his judgement is ‘phonie’. This, in turn is a superficial judgement. Even the word ‘grand’ sets off his judgement with Sally Hayes- He lies to excuse himself from having to do things which make him uncomfortable, such as having sex with the prostitute Sunny. He says he’s just had an operation, getting sympathy so that he won’t be hated for getting out of things. - He also lies to please people, like Ernest Morrow’s mother.

What type of person is he What type of person is he? (behaviour, attitude, his opinions) (continued) He is immature and irrational in his behaviour, like when he asks Sally Hayes to run away with him and marry him, without any thought. He gets angry at Sally when she points this out. His depression makes him think the worst of any situation. He thinks he has cancer after reading an article (when he obviously doesn’t) and he just accepts it. He is scared to face the truth, and when people confront him, he tries to avoid their words, like Phoebe and Mr. Spencer. He often gets angry, or tries to change the subject, or just run away. He feels bad when he lets people down, but not enough so that he doesn’t flunk. When his mother gets him ice skates just before he’s kicked out, he feels bad about it, even though they’re the wrong type of skates.

Describe his attitudes towards school Holden has very pessimistic attitude towards his schooling life. Holden doesn’t apply himself and is failing most of his classes. Holden keeps himself very isolated and isn’t very social, and this is establishing Holden’s idea of phonies and he struggles to form relationships with others based on these views. For Holden, school isn’t much of a priority and he would rather spend a day in the Museum of Natural History, where nothing changes and brings him joyful memories of his childhood and of his departed brother, Allie. Throughout the book Holden demonstrates that he is very spontaneous and immature, caring less for his education and school life. “A lot a people, especially this one psychoanalyst guy they have here, keeps asking me if I am going to apply myself when I go back to school next September. It’s such a stupid question in my opinion. I mean how do you what you’re going to do till you do it?” Chapter 26

Discuss his relationship with parents, women and adults in general Holden has some very deeply rooted alienation problems, most likely originating from the death of his brother Allie, and his unwillingness to open up to what occurred. This issue has made him very uncomfortable around people and is reflected though his relationship with them. This has also brought upon a very strained relationship with his parents, who throughout the novel he never really talks about with strong emotive terms, giving the reader a feel that they are like strangers to him. “They’re nice and all...” One of the novels main themes is also change and the idea of growing up and entering adulthood. This is a change Holden does not wish to embrace, and thus adults are difficult for him to be around, because ift forces him to face the reality that he will soon be like them. The reason for his unwillingness to change relates again to the death of his brother Allie, who is a part of his childhood, and he feels that by growing up and leaving childhood he is also leaving his brother. Holden was deeply affected by this incident and it was the first step towards his declining mental health and depression. “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalysed and all...”

Discuss his relationship with parents, women and adults in general (continued) Finally, Holden is very interested in women throughout the novel, and is constantly relating them to sex. He has a good relationship with a girl named Sally who lives in New York and they meet up for a date when he is there. Other encounters with women occur when he is in the train on the way to New York and he meets the mother of another boy from Pency, the women in the Lavender room at the hotel bar, and with the prostitute he hires from Maurice, the elevator operator of the hotel. Also, he constantly talks about an old female friend named Jane Gallagher who he seems to have much interest in and is probably the only girl he has ever been close with. He constantly plans to call her but backs down every time claiming ‘he wasn’t in the mood’, the real reason being because he was probably nervous and wouldn’t know what to do – just like most other boys his age. He also toys with the idea of sex quite often, and believes it should be between two people who really care for each other. “I think if you don’t really like a girl, you shouldn’t horse around with her at all, and if you do like her, then you’re supposed to like her face...” It seems that when it comes to women, he wants to grow up and be with them in a more mature and intimate way, however other issues he has prevent him from growing up and he is torn in two.

What influences him as a person? Holden’s main positive influence is his sister, Phoebe. Holden feels that Phoebe understands him, although she questions his maturity and is able to determine that Holden is his own worst enemy. Phoebe’s child-like innocence is Holden’s main source of happiness. Phoebe is very attentive and listens what Holden has to say. “Old Phoebe didn’t say anything, but she was listening ... She always listens when you tell her something. And the funny part is she knows, half the time, what the hell you’re talking about. She really does.” Chapter 21 Holden is influenced by his idea of ‘Phonies’ in the adult world. Holden’s perception of the adult world being full of phonies demonstrates that Holden is being influenced through the idea that everything in the adult world is wrong and fake; this is then providing Holden with an excuse to withdraw from society into his cynical isolation. “Grand. There’s a word I really hate. It’s phony. I could puke every time I hear it.” Chapter 2

What influences him as a person? (continued) Holden was also influenced by a Poem/Song entitled ‘Coming Thro’ the Rye’ composed by Robert Burns. Holden imagines children playing in a field of rye on the top of a cliff, Holden believes he can protect the children from falling off the edge of the cliff and being able to ‘catch’ them before they stumble over, allowing Holden to be ‘the catcher in the rye’. “I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids and nobody’s around – nobody big, I mean – except me. And I am standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What do I have to do, I have to catch them if they start to go over the cliff ... I have to come out from somewhere and catch them” Chapter 22

How does he deal with change? (continued) Holden Caulfield doesn’t really deal with change; he avoids it and does not like it. He loves his childhood memories and doesn’t want to let them go. His childhood was one of innocence, freedom and fun. It was a time he got to share with his brother Allie. He doesn’t like the adult world which he is supposed to live according to society’s expectations. Holden has hatred towards fake people, calling them “phonies.” This is mentioned heavily through the book. It is almost as if he has a fear of turning into a ‘phony’ and that is one of the key factors of why he is so resistant to change. “Grand. There’s a word I really hate. It’s phony. I could puke every time I hear it.” chapter 2 Change is inevitable yet he resists it. He deals with the change in a bad way. In a way it ruins his life and health degrades as a result. He wants to stay young and innocent as he loves his past memories and feels as if, if he ‘grows up’ they will vanish and he will become a phony.

How does he deal with change? Change is a natural occurrence, whether it is physical, mental, and emotional or another change. In the book, Catcher in the Rye, Holden is experiencing physical change whilst resiting the emotional change with comes with it. Holden is of an age where society expects you to act like an adult and behave in certain ways, “life is a game boy. It is one where people play according to the rules” This quote is from Mr. Spencer who is Caulfield’s teacher, he respects Mr Spencer but doesn’t like to see him in the poor state he is in. This shows that he doesn’t like to see others in pain or be unhappy. This is an important aspect of his character.

By Gerogie Ross, alice taylor, christina tsalidis & amy scanu The End. By Gerogie Ross, alice taylor, christina tsalidis & amy scanu