A Wild Holden in his (un)Natural Habitat

Within The Catcher in the Rye, we constantly see how Holden fits into society—or better yet—doesn't fit into society. Holden is a bit of a strange cat, we've all come to realize this, but it now more apparent than ever. When he's in public, he exhibits a wide range of unique behaviors that not only make him stick out from others but also be completely unable to assimilate with them.

First off, one aspect of Holden's beliefs that I believe has a significant impact on his behavior is his views on religion. Holden is an admitted atheist, a belief that was much less common in the fifties when this book was published. I believe that since this was much rarer during his time, being an atheist makes connecting with people—especially those who are religious themselves—much harder for Holden. Two examples come from when Holden is speaking with the two nuns, he says, "Catholics are always trying to find out if you're a Catholic," and, "He was enjoying the conversation about tennis and all, but you could tell he would've enjoyed it more if I was a Catholic and all." These quotes tell a lot about how Holden feels about religion and other groups in society. To Holden, being a member of a specific group in society acts as a barricade that helps to keep people of different groups away. This is why he often finds it difficult to interact with others in society; Holden doesn't seem to identify with any belief system but his own, which makes it increasingly difficult to interact with others as their ideas are so foreign to him.

My belief is that religion not only helps to isolate Holden from members of society, but it also makes him more confused by the world around him. Take for example, when he finally travels to the notorious pond in Central Park to see where the ducks are. During this time, Holden is reminded of his deceased brother Allie. He remembers how he missed Allie's funeral since he was in the hospital for his hands that he smashed through several windows. This may seem like a strange time to think about this, but it makes perfect sense. Since Holden is an atheist, he is completely puzzled by life after death. Holden isn't so bewildered by the ducks because of a secret love for animals, he gets so focused on it because he wants to know where people go after they die. This is why the pond reminded him of Allie, and why he still frequently mentions him; Holden has never found closure in Allie's death because the idea that he just vanished from existence is impossible to him, so he searches the world around him for answers.

Another part of Holden's personality that we have already gotten a taste for already, is his polarized opinions on childhood versus adulthood. Throughout the entire story, Holden has expressed a clear hatred for adulthood and a love for childhood. Holden is often sickened by adult actions, an example of this is at the hotel when he watched in disgust and curiosity as strangers explored peculiar sexual behavior, calling those involved, "perverts." In complete contrast to this, Holden is brought a sense of joy out of watching a boy sing, "If a body catch a body coming through the rye." These emotions come from an inability to accept change, as well as being unable to grow up. Holden has expressed curiosity for adult life, wanting to act more like an adult in front of certain women and trying adult things like drinking, smoking, and sex, but none of it ever works out well for him. This dislike for change is also why Holden loves the Museum of Natural History so much, saying, "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was." Here we see the same sense of joy that Holden felt when he saw the boy singing return when he talks about the non-changing museum. These same feelings of sameness and familiarity that are comforting to Holden, are also largely responsible for his difficulties functioning in a society that is prominently run by adults.

Another separate aspect of Holden's childlike behavior is seen on his date with Sally Hayes. During the time Holden spends with Sally, his head just doesn't seem to be working right. Holden becomes so confused and caught in the moment with her, that at one point, he admits that he is in love with her, despite not knowing why after he said it. These feelings of joy-induced-confusion that Holden explores would later make him reveal an entire plan to flee society with Sally and live together in a cabin. Holden would then become instantly annoyed with Sally after she begins to act rational and questions his flawed plan. This would then cause Holden to call Sally, "a royal pain in the ass," with his anger only shifting into sympathy after she begins to cry. Something I had realized from this was how Holden's feelings during this moment shifted. Holden started off happy and "in a haze" when he was engaging in lighthearted activities with Sally, then became angry when she expressed mature and practical thinking with his plan and then only felt bad about insulting her after she displayed signs of childlike helplessness. I believe that this entire situation shows his inability to grow up and conform to mature thinking and adult behavior. This is also an example of how he tends to run away from his problems, as he wanted to completely leave society because he is unable to find his place in it. (As a side note: I believe Holden proceeded to laugh at Sally because he regretted opening up to her moments prior to making her cry. Holden has been one to create excuses to make up for his shortcomings in the past and I believe this is another one of those times.)

Holden has a toxic personality that makes him severely negative, opinionated, and disconnected from the rest of the world. He displays a method of retreating from his problems, ignoring his own flaws, constantly pointing out flaws in others, and being unable to accept change in a society that is always changing. It is because of this that I believe his views should be rejected. I believe that encouraging Holden's isolated behavior would create a society that is unable to solve it's own problems and lack the ability to work with one another. So there, I said it...