The Catcher In The Rye Character Analysis

Holden allows the reader to hypothesize that he is attracted to a girl named Jane Gallagher, by constantly telling of his fond memories of her, but when push comes to shove his tendency to alienation himself from society, to "protect himself from losing his innocence", takes him over. On page 116 of the novel, Holden tells the reader that after he got his sister a record he went to a phone booth and called Jane's house. But when her mother picked up the phone he hung up. Holden tells the reader that he "didn't feel like getting into a long conversation with her mother" so he hung up but in reality Holden's personal preference of alienating himself frightened him and prevented him of making any contact with Jane.

Holden's childhood friend, Jane Gallagher, also needs protection. She is vulnerable because of her childhood. "` Her mother and father were divorced. Her mother was married again to some boozehound... [He would] run around the goddamn house, naked, with Jane around and all.'" (32) Holden was afraid that Jane's stepfather abused her. "I asked her on the way, if Mr. Cudahy- that was the boozehound's name- had ever tried to get wise with her." (79) Even though Holden likes Jane, he does not try to take advantage of her because she needs the safety of their friendship. Holden is angry with Stradlater because he threatened Jane, and could have harmed her.

He was unscrupulous.';(Salinger 40) Holden acknowledges Jane's purity and wishes not to have to think otherwise with Stradlater. Holden feels the responsibility to defend the pure and the innocent. Besides his conflict with Stradlater, he is also involved in a physical battle with Maurice.

Although Holden has qualms about Jane being with Stradlater, he lets go of his worries because he knows that Jane is not the type of girl to have “the time” with Stradlater.

Holden’s date with Sally Hayes exhibited his difficulty at cooperating with others. At first he gives us a dire impression of Sally, “I wasn’t too crazy about her, but I’d known her for years.” (p. 105) Later, he wants to marry Sally and says he is in love with her. The biggest mystery of all when it comes to women is with Jane Gallagher. Constantly mentioning Jane, Holden recalls playing checkers with her before he got sent to boarding school. When his roommate, Stradlater, has a date with Jane, Holden asks him a peculiar question, “Did you ask her if she still keeps all her kings in the back row?” (p. 42) Holden, jealous of Stradlater’s date with Jane, longs to see Jane but never has the courage to call her. Interactions with other people especially women perplex and overwhelm Holden. He therefore resorts to isolation, illustrating a characteristic of his mental state.

As the novel progresses, we realize that ironically Holden's alienation becomes the source of most of his pain throughout the book. Although he never realizes the fact that his pain is being derived from his isolation and lack of human interaction, Salinger places clues in the book that tell us that it is so. With the introduction of Sally Hayes, Salinger is able to craft a relationship that effectively depicts the conflict in Holden. It is loneliness that initially propels Holden into a date with Sally. However, during the date Holden's need for isolation returns, he "didn't even know why" he "started all that stuff with her. The truth is" he "probably wouldn't have taken her even if she wanted to go." Because Sally is unable to recognize the feelings on the "phoniness" of school that he projects, he becomes frustrated and uses a rampaging monologue to upset her and drive her away. The only time in the

This is evident with his underlying yearning for JaneGallagher but is too afraid to make any connection with her. Holden revels his

For example, Holden refuses to call his childhood friend, Jane Gallagher, in fear of discovering she has lost her naive innocence - he prefers to think of her as a terrible at checkers rather than a sexual being involved with Stradlater. In keeping himself disengaged from the rest of the world, he is able to defend himself from daunting metamorphosis from child to adult. Furthermore, this sentiment is expanded as Holden undergoes the beginnings of his breakdown with Sally. To demonstrate, Holden hatches an idea that involves “stay[ing] in [...] cabin camps” where he would “chop [his] own wood” (Salinger 132). The remote description implies a withdrawal from the rapid pace of life that Holden desperately tries to cling onto in order to remain innocent. Despite the signals from his body - his tall height and grey hair - warning him of adulthood, he is loath to succumb to it. Additionally, his ultimate goal, to stop time and protect children from evil, is highlighted by how he wishes for the Museum of Art to stay the same and his aversion of change each time he enters the building. The three days in which Holden spends wandering the streets of New

     This is shown when Holden meets Sunny, a prostitute at a hotel. He pays her, but sends her back without having sex with her. He feels depressed and sorry for her. The next morning Holden has a date with an old girlfriend, Sally Hayes.

Holden is deathly afraid of conforming, growing up, and having to assimilate into the phony adult world. As a result he comes off as hypocritical as he is the most prominent phony in the novel. He constantly lies, refuses to connect with others and overlooks his own pain, letting it deeply impact his life. Holden is a compulsive liar; he does not have one honest conversation with anyone except his sister and Jane for the duration of the novel. When he is on the train with Mrs. Morrow, for instance, he claims his name is Rudolf Schmidt and preaches about what an amazing guy her son is, even though he is “the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey, in the whole crumby history of the school.” (61) This shows that Holden falls victim to the same social conventions as everyone else. He says exactly what Mrs. Morrow wants to hear, despite the fact that he

Another female that takes part in Holden's life is Sally Hayes. She is a beautiful but shallow girl that Holden has dated in the past. To Holden's standards, Sally is another "phony" person but her beauty makes Holden put his standards aside for the moment. The unusual thing is that Holden made it clear that he disliked the girl, yet he said that the minute he saw her, he felt like marrying her. On their date together, he tells her that he loved her even though it was a lie, and yet he meant it when he said it. In return, Sally tells Holden that she loved him as well. After exchanging their false feelings for each other, Holden tries to explain what is happening in his life, but she is incapable of understanding his problems.

However, he admits that while the couple’s actions are “crumby” (Salinger 81) and crude, he is still aroused and “wouldn’t mind” (Salinger 81) doing it, especially to a girl he is attracted to. While Holden wants to preserve his innocence by not thinking about sex at all, he agrees that he is a “sex maniac” (Salinger 81), and is a fiend about losing his virginity. Holden even goes as far as to make rules for himself. On page 82, he recounts, “I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ass. I broke it, though, the same week I made it-the same night, as a matter of fact” (Salinger). He is slowly losing his innocence, and while he hates to admit it, Holden’s constant thoughts about sexuality is a sign of adulthood. To him, one should only have sex with someone they truly love. Holden is almost proud of himself for having such a morally correct view of sex. This is why he is so riled when he discovers that Stradlater had sex with Jane Gallagher. Holden realized that Jane barely knew Stradlater and felt that he, if anyone, should be dating Jane. His increasing thoughts on sexuality and loss of a conventional or shielded view of sex show that his loss of innocence is apparent.

Jane Gallagher remains a constant though out the entire novel. She represents the way of life he once followed, and the track he should be on but doesn't get back to. He never calls her because he claims he isn't "in the mood" (Salinger 33). This emphasizes that Holden is trying to avoid finding his purpose, his track, because the truth, like the

Later on Holden recalls when he was attending Pencey College how his gloves were stolen by some crook. He continues describing the situation of confrontation hypothetically, at first with assertion and authority. Eventually he admits to himself, “Only, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I’d just stand there, trying to look tough” (Salinger P. 99). Holden goes on to describe to the reader his unaware fear of confrontation and violence, hinting at a dread of vulnerability and a closed off persona, another clear sign of Major Depressive Disorder. When Holden was a younger boy he knew a girl named Jane Gallagher whom he was childhood friends with, they often even held hands and had an emotional bond. Ever since he heard about Stradlator (his old roommate) taking her out on a date he’d been thinking of calling her up. Finally on page 130 he calls her up and her mother picks up. Startled, she hangs up and admits he should’ve asked for Jane, “But I didn’t feel like it. You really have to be in the mood for that stuff” (Salinger P. 130). His inability to feel motivated to make an effort for somebody he once loved shows his social-isolation.

“She was the only one, outside my family, that I ever showed Allie’s baseball mitt to, with all the poems written on it…I told her quite a lot about him” (101). Holden felt a rare connection and trust towards Jane. He remembers good memories with her to help ease the pain of losing her. Consequently, his pain catches up to him when Stradlater and Jane go on a date. “’If you didn’t go to New York, where’d ya go with her?’ I asked him, after a little while. I could hardly keep my voice from shaking all over the place. Boy was I getting nervous. I just had a feeling something had gone funny” (55). All the pain Holden has kept within seems to burst out. He starts to feel nervous and jealous and this contributes to his negative attitude. We see here that Holden truly cares for Jane and this hints that he has feelings for her. He is in a lot of pain due to losing his close friendship with Jane. Holden feels repentant yet reminiscent of the memories he once had with Jane.