The first half of the twentieth century
was marred by the chaos and conflict of the World Wars that tore at the fibers
of human morality. Much of the literature of the time mirrored society’s
feelings of alienation and disenfranchisement. However, while the juvenile
nature and colorful language of JD Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye”
create a tone of alienation, they conceal an underlying theme of Holden
Caulfield’s basic desire to find meaning in human connection, faith and
spirituality.
The main protagonist of JD Salinger’s
“The Catcher in the Rye” is Holden Caulfield. The story is told as Holden sits
in a psychiatric sanitarium in California and recounts the experiences that led
to him being sent to the hospital to “take it easy” (Salinger, 1). Holden is a troubled teenager greatly
affected by both the death of his younger brother and by constantly being let
down by those around him. In short, Holden is losing his faith in humanity and
spirituality. Instead of seeking out aid for his emotional problems Holden
searches for meaning in superficial relationships and juvenile vices.
Eventually, Holden finds himself left wanting when his decisions produce no
lasting fulfillment and he has an emotional breakdown.
Holden initially comes off as an alienated teenager, often neglecting
his studies and shying away from relationships. “I never seem to have anything
that if I lost it I’d care too much about,” Holden says (Salinger, 89). He
seems to not care about anything. His relationship with his parents is indifferent.
He has no real friends and he views everyone as a “phony.” “Throughout the novel, Holden speaks of his loneliness
and depression; the story of a few days in his life indicates how sad and
lonely his search for moral values is in a society in which he finds them
sorely lacking,” says Gordon Walters. Even so,
Holden’s visible alienation is merely a veil that he uses to conceal his
innocent desires to find meaning in human connection and spirituality. This is
evident every time Holden speaks about his younger siblings or childhood.
One of the only instances where Holden
describes himself as feeling happy occurs near the end of the novel as he sits
in the rain and watches his little sister ride the carousel. Holden says, “ I felt so damn happy all of a sudden, the way old
Phoebe kept going around and around. I was damn near bawling, I felt so damn
happy, if you want to know the truth. I don't know why. It was just that she
looked so damn nice, the
way she kept going around and around, in her blue coat and all. God, I wish you
could've been there” (Salinger, 213). Despite his earlier statement that he did
not “seem to have anything that if [he] lost it [he]’d care too much,” Holden obviously owns a very special connection with
his little sister. She represents everything that is innocent and pure about
human connection. From this relationship with his sister stems Holden’s desires
to find further meaning in his relationships with those around him.
Unfortunately, Holden’s lack of faith
in people stems from the lack of devotion and care given to him by his family
members and mentors who fail to foster Holden’s emotional and spiritual needs.
Holden is notorious for avoiding his feelings and shutting himself off from the
world. This is evident when Holden visits his professor, Mr. Spencer, before he
is kicked out of school. Mr. Spencer invites Holden to visit him before he
leaves because he knows that Holden has been “given the ax” (Salinger, 4).
Holden decides to visit his old teacher, perhaps searching for some sort of
encouragement or compassion. Instead, Mr. Spencer begins to scold and lecture
Holden for being lazy. Holden grins and bears the lecture while inwardly hating
his teacher for not being sympathetic and for hurting his feelings. This is a
perfect example of how Holden’s relationships lead him to believe that they
lack meaning. Instead of receiving counsel and guidance from the “mentors”
around him, Holden is often met with contempt and condescension and finds no
value in his human connections. Because Holden cannot find significant
connection from his “conventional” relationships with his mentors, he searches
for meaningful human connection from unconventional sources.
On one occasion as he meanders through
the streets of New York, Holden solicits the services of a young prostitute.
Listening to his carnal instincts, Holden intends to find meaningful human
connection in a literal sense. However, overcome with sadness and pity for the
young girl, Holden tries to engage in conversation with her. His attempt
backfires as the prostitute fails to comply with Holden’s simple wish to
converse and she leaves Holden alone in his room. Throughout the story, Holden
continues to have similar experiences with those around him. He cannot seem to
be able to rely on anyone. His frustration with people grows until he visits
his little sister in New York.
According to the Cyclopedia of Literary
Characters, Phoebe Josephine Caulfield is Holden’s “wiry, red-headed, bright
ten-year-old sister,” and for Holden she embodies everything that is pure and
good in the world. She also happens to be a “living copy of all that he loved
in his little brother Allie” (Rollins). Holden sneaks into his home one night
in search of meaningful companionship and understanding, and finds it in his
non-judgmental little sister. Their subsequent conversation is telling of how
badly Holden yearns for meaning and purpose in his life. In a rant of
semi-coherent stream of consciousness, Holden reveals to the reader a rare
introspective glimpse into his mind. While speaking with Phoebe, Holden says, “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.” Holden relates everything that is
good and meaningful in the world to his childhood when he was free from pain
and suffering; when he had faith in humanity. He continues, “And I'm standing
on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody
if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't
look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them.
That's all I do all day.” Holden’s metaphorical cliff acts as a symbol for
growing up. To Holden, adulthood represents the death of innocence and the
beginning of grief. Holden finds meaning in his basic duty as the “catcher” in
the field of rye. Like a shepherd watching the flock, Holden wishes he could
prevent others from experiencing the pains that he has dealt with and preserve
the value that children find in their connections with the world. Finally,
Holden reveals the phrase that also gives the novel its title when he says,
“I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the
only thing I'd really like to be.” Coincidently, this is the first example of
Holden caring about anything other than himself. He recognizes the importance
of meaningful human connection and relates that to innocence and childhood.
Unfortunately, Holden has lost all faith that he could find such meaning in
adult relationships.
Similar to his outlook on meaningful
human connection is Holden’s view of religion. He recognizes the superficiality
and “phoniness” attached to religion. Holden recalls an instance in chapel when
a man named Ossenburger, a successful undertaker who gave the school a sizeable
endowment, came to Pencey to speak to the students about success. Holden recounts, “He told us we should
always pray to God—talk to Him and all—wherever we were. He said he talked to Jesus all the time. Even
when he was driving his car. That killed me. I could just see the phony
shifting into first gear and asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs”
(Salinger, 17). Holden sees right through the superficiality of what this man is
saying. He recognizes the hypocrisy and irony of an undertaker praying from the
pulpit for God to give him work. From his point of view, Holden sees no
sincerity in religion or the people attached to it. Instead of receiving
spiritual nourishment and comfort, Holden only observes money-driven
institutions that claim to help people. This fuels his already existing desire
to find meaning in faith and spirituality.
Despite his problems with organized
religion, Holden does not write off faith and spirituality altogether. He
obviously is familiar with the Bible and has a unique admiration for Christ and
the compassion that he often showed to the troubled and afflicted people.
Holden says:
In the first place,
I'm sort of an atheist. I like Jesus and all, but I don't care too much for most of the other stuff in the Bible.
Take the Disciples, for instance. They annoy the hell out of me, if you want to
know the truth. They were all right after Jesus was dead and all, but
while He was alive, they were about as much use to Him as a hole in the head.
All they did was keep letting Him down. I like almost anybody in the Bible
better than the Disciples. If you want to know the truth, the guy I like best
in the Bible, next to Jesus, was that lunatic and all, that lived in the tombs
and kept cutting himself with stones. I like him ten times as much as the
Disciples. (Salinger, 99)
This passage summarizes Holden’s relationship with
God. It is interesting to note that Holden admires Christ for the compassion
that he showed the lunatic. In a way, the lunatic represents Holden as he
struggles with emotional and behavioral problems. He is not in his right mind.
The passage serves as an allegory for Holden’s life and unmasks his veiled
desire for a meaningful and spiritual relationship. The parallelism between
Holden and the lunatic allows the reader to peer into Holden’s mind and see how
he relates himself to religion and spirituality. Holden wishes he could feel
some sort of compassion from somebody who understands him; much like the
compassion that Christ showed the lunatic. Ultimately, after several bad
experiences, Holden is left without hope of finding meaning in faith and
spirituality.
By the end of the
novel, Holden comes to the realization that all of his seemingly meaningless
relationships have done their part to influence him. Holden says:
D.B. asked me
what I thought about all this stuff I just finished telling you about. I didn't
know what to say. If you want to know the truth, I don't know what I think
about it. I'm sorry I told so many people about it. All I know about it is, I
sort of miss everybody I told about. Even old Stradlater and Ackley, for
instance. I think I even miss that damn Maurice. It's funny. Don't ever
tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. (Salinger,
213-214)
As Holden looks back on all the people
he has criticized and mocked, he realizes that there is meaning in every human
connection. Much like the protagonists in James Joyce’s stories, Holden has an
epiphany at the end about human connection. He realizes the importance of these
seemingly meaningless characters in his life and the role that each played in
giving his own life significance. The meaning that he so desperately sought
after was right in front of him the whole time.
As we experience life through the eyes
of Holden Caulfield, we begin to realize that this seemingly alienated and
indifferent boy resonates a basic desire to find meaning in human connection,
faith and spirituality. With every conversation and experience comes the
realization that our “catcher” in the rye is just a misguided boy searching for
something lasting. After constantly being let down by those around him and
finding nothing to satisfy his desires to find meaning in human connection,
faith and spirituality, Holden breaks down and is left to ponder his life from
the safe confines of a mental institution. It is only after this reflection
that Holden discovers the meaning and spirituality that were present all along
in the hollow relationships of his past.
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