Holden's Desire for Something New
Among the many unique features of Catcher in the Rye, the particularly memorable aspect was Holden Caufield’s mass generalizations and claims of phoniness. One way to view these claims from Holden is that these claims show immaturity and youth in Holden’s mind. However, I think these claims actually show Holden’s desire to move out of New York and have a fundamentally different experience than the one he is having right now.
The first piece of evidence of this is the claims that Holden makes themselves. His claims are characterized not only by bitterness toward those around him but by confidence in his ‘experiences’ and the generalizations he makes from them. He is constantly telling the reader that a person will act a certain way, or that a person is some kind of categorial trope and is therefore ‘phony.’ I think this sentiment is indicative that Holden wants to be an expert in his current environment. In other words, he does not want to be surprised or excited by something new in his environment, and would rather seem as though he had been living here for a long time. This is important because it shows that whether or not he is actually experienced in New York, he wants to be ready to go somewhere else and have a different experience. More specifically, his claims of phoniness originate from the fact that he is tired of his environment.
Another important part of Holden’s desire to have a different experience is his desire to move to the country. On his date with Sally, Holden almost involuntarily begins spewing plans to move out to Vermont and get married to Sally in the country. His desire to move to the country is significant because it is precisely the opposite experience of New York. He wants to be in a place with fewer people, with less noise, and importantly he wants to be there only with Sally. In this way we can see that Holden wants to be in a place fundamentally different from his current environment, namely with fewer, but more important, people.
I think Holden’s constant criticism of his current environment in New York and prep schools, combined with his almost subconscious fantasies about the countryside, is indicative of Holden's burnt out attitude towards his environment and his desire to move somewhere different. His distinct narrative style is one born from a desire to find a different experience than the one he is currently having.
The first piece of evidence of this is the claims that Holden makes themselves. His claims are characterized not only by bitterness toward those around him but by confidence in his ‘experiences’ and the generalizations he makes from them. He is constantly telling the reader that a person will act a certain way, or that a person is some kind of categorial trope and is therefore ‘phony.’ I think this sentiment is indicative that Holden wants to be an expert in his current environment. In other words, he does not want to be surprised or excited by something new in his environment, and would rather seem as though he had been living here for a long time. This is important because it shows that whether or not he is actually experienced in New York, he wants to be ready to go somewhere else and have a different experience. More specifically, his claims of phoniness originate from the fact that he is tired of his environment.
Another important part of Holden’s desire to have a different experience is his desire to move to the country. On his date with Sally, Holden almost involuntarily begins spewing plans to move out to Vermont and get married to Sally in the country. His desire to move to the country is significant because it is precisely the opposite experience of New York. He wants to be in a place with fewer people, with less noise, and importantly he wants to be there only with Sally. In this way we can see that Holden wants to be in a place fundamentally different from his current environment, namely with fewer, but more important, people.
I think Holden’s constant criticism of his current environment in New York and prep schools, combined with his almost subconscious fantasies about the countryside, is indicative of Holden's burnt out attitude towards his environment and his desire to move somewhere different. His distinct narrative style is one born from a desire to find a different experience than the one he is currently having.
I really like your post! I think it truly captures Holden as a character. He does not seem content in New York and really doesn't seem to like many people there because most of them are phonies as he calls them. I believe that when he tells Sally to move with him, it is because he wants to escape and live somewhere where he doesn't feel pressure or to be around phonies. He does definitely want to have a different experience than the rest of the prep school kids. I think that's why he criticizes New York and the prep schools so much. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely not how I read Holden's tone/speech initially, but I think you might be right that he is begging for escape from New York with his sarcasm and projected knowledge of everything there. He's tired of the conveyor belt lifestyle (?) and his tone indicates that. This raises the question of whether he would speak the same way if he really was living in the country with Sally. My gut reaction is yes, he would start making generalizations about the trees and bug bites or something, but it's worth considering that his exhaustion with his current situation plays a big role in his perspective.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, well written! I really like this topic you brought up about how Holden's discontent partially stems from the environment he is in; he's stuck in one prestigious prep school after another, in which he is receiving all kinds of very specific messages as to the path he is supposed to pursue in life (going to an Ivy League and getting a certain type of job) and the activities he's supposed to enjoy (watching football games and going out with girls). Thus, when he finds that he doesn't find joy out of any part of this lifestyle, part of his reaction is to run away somewhere else different, such as the countryside. I think it is really hard to say exactly if this is entirely stemmed from New York and prep schools in particular, because I also believe he is also having trouble reconciling Allie's death and just the fact that he is no longer a kid and moving on with life when Allie never will: this wouldn't change with a different lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I definitely agree that Holden's inability to find happiness within "normal" society is one of the big reasons why he makes such harsh claims about others. I think also seeing people thrive in places like New York and the prep school frustrates him, as on some level his desire to be somewhere where he can fit in causes him to be envious of those he perceives as having an easy time in society.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Holden very much needs something NEW in his life, and this repeated cycle of enrolling in new elite prep schools and then "flunking out" is doing nothing to add any variety or novelty to his life. He keeps citing examples of former roommates and classmates at other schools, in addition to Pencey, and there is an overarching sense of sameness to it all. And the common denominator comes to be that Holden views the whole system as insincere and inauthentic.
ReplyDeleteI'm less sure how much this has to do with New York. He does express fatigue and exasperation with New York in a similar way as he talks about school--like remarking how lonely the city can feel when you hear a single voice laughing in the middle of the night.
But MOST of his complaints have to do with toxic boy culture at these private schools. New York is his hometown, and he has a characteristic ambivalence about his place of birth that is common to coming-of-age narratives. But New York is also the location of places that are very special to him--Central Park, the Museum of Natural History. He has no such emotional connection to the schools he attends. I would worry less about Holden returning to New York after his time "out west" than if he were going to another prep school in New York State or Pennsylvania.
Of course, if you ask him, he'd say he wants to live on a ranch in Colorado and pretend he's a deaf-mute.
I found this part of the book very interesting, because of how often he creates these pretty absurd fantasies, especially the one about moving west and pretending to be a deaf-mute and finding a deaf-mute girl to settle down with..? What makes this more interesting is that it could somewhat feasibly be possible. He does have quite a lot of money, and with a job he could definitely move out west. However, I doubt whether that would truly end up making him feel any better in the long run. (Also, I like your blog background picture)
ReplyDeleteReally cool post! I definitely agree that Holden's constant claims of phoniness are a reflection of his desire to see something new. I thought your evidence with how he sort of lost himself blabbering to Sally about his fantasy moving into the country was very supportive of this. But I think that ultimately moving to a new environment would help him mature, and facing his current issues is something he should do first.
ReplyDelete