The Demise of Holden Caulfield's Ego (Is Holden Cauliflower Field a sigma?)
Holden Caulfield sure is one hell of a guy, and I don't mean that in the positive metaphorical way. The average person's coming of age is often a long, slow process that takes years or even decades. Holden Caulfield's coming of age, however, is a far cry from what most people experience. His adventure of a coming of age takes the span of just a few days, and while massive shifts in his person do occur, judging by how he leaves us at the end of the story, we are left with evidence that his condition is still far from ideal. Rather than an accumulation of good, useful things, I see Holden's coming of age as more of a decumulation of bad things. As the story builds, Holden's ego is deflated and his connections with other people deepen.
Throughout the first few chapters of J.D. Salinger's the Catcher in the Rye, Holden is portrayed as a fiercely independent, self reliant teenager who does not conform to social norms: "The game with Saxon Hall was supposed to be a very big deal around Pencey. It was the last game of the year, and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn't win. I remember around three o'clock that afternoon I was standing way the hell up on top of Thomsen Hill," (4,5). At this point in the story, Holden's ego is high. He emphasizes the importance of this game to his school, and despite this he chooses to sit up on a hill while his entire school is down at the field cheering for their team. His lack of care for things outside of himself is at an all-time high. His disrespect for Spencer is an another example of this. As Spencer is trying to give him honest advice, all Holden can think is, "I didn't feel like being lectured to and smell Vicks Nose Drops and look at old Spencer in his pajamas and bathrobe all at the same time. I really didn't" (14). Here, Holden chooses to not listen to Spencer, going into his usual tangent of saying he doesn't "feel" like doing something, and then describing everything unpleasant about the person he is talking to. It will take a lot to get Holden to internalize something someone tells him.
Holden's encounter with Sunny and Maurice in the middle of the story shakes him up a bit. While he has a confident conversation with Maurice in the elevator, Holden starts to break as soon as Sunny enters his room, "I was getting more and more nonchalant as it went along. I really was." (122). Sunny challenges Holden's idea of the confident and collected character he likes to think of himself as, eventually forcing Holden to give up on himself, "Look,' I said. 'I don't feel very much like myself tonight. I've had a rough night.' ... The trouble was, I just didn't want to do it. I felt more depressed than sexy, if you want to know the truth" (125). The idea of Holden as a potent young man is greatly reduced in this scene, as a girl who he claims is the same age as him completely disempowers him. Holden likes to feel empowered, and when it is taken away from him, things go downhill. Later, when Maurice and Sunny return to Holden's room to confront him, Holden goes from disempowered to powerless as the two scammers overpower him to steal his money, "Boy, my voice was shaking like hell." (132), "Boy, was I nervous." (133). Holden's transformation from an egotistical, free boy to a nervous boy shaking like hell is quite staggering, especially when you take into account that this transformation was caused by a elevator boy and a prostitute. Holden is left with damage that he will live with for the rest of the story.
Even more staggering than an elevator boy and a prostitute is Phoebe, Holden's little sister, to whom Holden seeks refuge. Phoebe cares deeply about Holden and is hurt by all the negative things she hears coming from Holden. The sibling connection and Phoebes anticipation for the date of Holden's return allows Phoebe to realize that something fishy is going on when he returns home early. Judging from his past, she is quickly able to realize that Holden was kicked out of Pencey, "'Oh, why did you do it?' She meant why did I get the ax again. It made me sort of sad the way she said it. 'Oh, God, Phoebe, don't ask me. I'm sick of everybody asking me that,' I said" (217). Holden clearly doesn't want to talk about what he is going through, but Phoebe's pestering him about it forces him to become more self concious and feel bad about himself. This scene helps Holden understand other people's concern for him by the means of Phoebe, a person with whom he has a deep relationship with.
Holden's trip to Mr. Antolini's house in the final chapters of the story ties together the impacts that his previous experiences have had on him. In his conversation with his former teacher, he is much more admitting to his mistakes, "'I flunked oral expression, though.' ... I didn't feel much like going into it. I was still feeling sort of dizzy or something, and I had a helluva headache all of a sudden. I really did. But you could tell he was interested, so I told him a little bit about it" (237,238). What struck me most about this passage was how it connects to a passage which I discussed previously, namely Holden's annoyed interaction with Spencer. Throughout the story, Holden expresses himself through what he "feels like" doing and what he doesn't "feel like" doing. In his interaction with Spencer at the beginning of the story, Holden doesn't feel like listening to Spencer, so he completely ignores him. However, in his conversation with Mr. Antolini, Holden still does not feel like talking, which is even furthered by dizziness and a sudden headache, but Holden chooses to go through and admit his mistakes to Mr. Antolini. If it was one thing Holden gained in this story, it is openness to other people. What Holden will do next, we might never know. It is likely resting with J.D. Salinger at this very moment. Anyways, thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed.
Pieter Duursma
Great post, Pieter! I do agree that Holden learned openness (to a certain extent), judging from the ending of the book. When the psychiatrist asks him if he's going to apply himself in school, he says that he doesn't know, instead of the snark comment that he would have made at the start. Overall, he seems a lot less likely to jump to conclusions and overly generalize, which does seem like a coming of age element. Looking forward to more awesome posts from you!
ReplyDeleteI totally see what you mean by Holden going from an entitled, self-centered person at the beginning of the book to seeming a lot more insecure, and also open to others, by the end. First, there's his encounter with Sunny that makes him insecure, and then it's his own kid sister. Also, you have the scene of Spencer at the beginning of the book where Holden is constantly undermining him but then with Antolini at the end he's much more open and actually seeking out the advice. Overall I really like your use of evidence to prove your point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that much of this novel was about going through Holden's perspective and seeing the way he judges people and society. In the beginning, it's often his labeling things, characters, and actions quickly without considering additional context. However, after seeing the fragility of his mentality and the short road ahead if he were to continue with this "life approach" of his, he decides to be more open in the final chapters and that is the coming-of-age that defines the book.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I tried to post a lengthy comment on this excellent post, but it somehow disappeared into the Blogger realm, never to surface again. I will try to reconstruct the gist here: I agree that the scene with Sunny and Maurice signals a shift in Holden's easy confidence (or POSE of easy confidence), as he suddenly depicts himself in vulnerable and very much "uncool" terms--nervous, inarticulate, whining about unfairness, crying, and of course this episode culminates with Holden reaching his lowest point emotionally in the novel so far, contemplating suicide. We see him getting subtly called out by others as he tries to make his way through New York City, making wisecracks and offering reams of "proof" that he is right about all these phonies ruining everything for you--the women in the Lavender lounge constantly refer to how young he looks, joking about him calling his dad to come out, etc. But Holden can blow this off by dismissing them as "dopes." What he encounters in Maurice and especially Sunny, however, is a much more unsettling glimpse at the corrupt adult world spoiling innocence, as Holden is genuinely freaked out at the thought that he and Sunny are likely around the same age.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Holden seems to go from a "when my eyes turn red, run 😈" type of personality to a fragile and anxious character. I previously read his coming of age as straightforward as possible, where he grows to be a less judgmental character, but you pointed out that it could also be read as the shattering of his ego. It could also be possible that Holden was always this insecure character and just wanted to put up a facade of confidence.
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