Catcher In The Rye :: essays papers

Catcher In The RyeHolden Caulfield is teen angst bull-crap with a pickax. Hes sarcastic,nasty, and only unlikeable. He also doesnt give a crap. He is bothteenager caught between the crapy little games of high school (youresupposed to kill yourself if the football team loses or something) andthe fear of adulthood (going to get an bunk job and make a lot of moneylike the rest of the phonies). The greatness in Holden Caulfield is that what he has to say is betterthan a million Celestine Prophecies or anything said by JonathanLivingston Seagull (save for the squawks after you shoot him) or Jesus(save for the apocryphal hey Peter I can fall upon your house from here). Holden Caulfield says that livelihood sucks, everyone is a phony, and youll beinevitably disappointed by everyone that you hold in awe. If you thinkthat this sounds awful, ask yourself one question. When was the last timeyou found any bliss in watching Barney or the Care Bears? It isnt just what he says but the way he says it. He goes through lifemaking dead-on observations that completely shoot the kneecaps out fromunder the terminally self-righteous. When a successful mortician tells theschool to follow his example and pray when things go bad, it is HoldenCaulfield who points out that the guy is praying for more people to die.Hes depressed by nuns and annoyed by shallow girlfriends, while in lovewith his platonic friend. Even more interesting is the fact that Caulfields widely distributed pissed offattitude and his hormones are inextricably linked. He practically wants tokill his roommate, Stradlatter, because Stradlatter might have screwed agirl he desires. He guiltily admits to making out with phonies, and in amajor confession he confesses to being a virgin. He gets the crap beat outof him by a disgruntled pimp after deciding that he doesnt want a to havesex with a prostitute for the silliest of reasons.(he just found itdisconcerting to see her take her clothes off without fanfare.)The fact that his little brother has just died and that hes being kicked out ofyet another school takes second place to the altogether sex question. In otherwords, Holden Caulfield is a guy stereotype away. What is also interesting is how closely Caulfield captures the attitudeand culture of adolescence. There is the caste system in which Caulfieldhates and wishes to be his roommate Stradlatter. Meanwhile zit-encrustedAckley, whom he maybe should feel sympathy for, is an annoying guy that