A universe of contradictions.

                                           

Adolescence is usually one of the most confusing periods in everybody's life. In a place between the good old days and a promising future, the real fight occurs when dealing with other people's expectations, society's order and ways, and the need for staying true to oneself. The Catcher in the rye, by J. D. Salinger, is a novel about Holden Caulfield, a 17-year-old boy who tells the story of some past events that reflects his own conceptions and perceptions of life and the world.

Holden's experiences and interpretations of them allows us to see and understand his personal conflicts when interacting with a world of appearances and contradictions. These same contradictions present not only in the world around him, but also in himself are the decisive aspects that will shape the way the story evolves. Is this situation, Holden's inner conflicts and possible immaturity, what makes him an unreliable narrator? Or is it his quality of character in the story which may limit his point of view?

From an early start, we can somehow evidence his attitude towards many things, his family, adults and cynical people, and appearances. For example, he starts by saying:

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

He seems not to like very much the idea of telling the reader about his story, but we get the idea that he will do it anyways. This careless, almost as if uninterested and childish attitude will remain along the novel, showing his inability to face his own conflicts and the avoidant features in his personality. Further in the same chapter, we learn his dislike for many things. One of them is “phony” people pretending to be something they are not; however, the more we go on through the book, the more we realize the “good” liar he is, and how he uses this ability to, in a way, distance himself from people around him in his journey and search for honest and supporting interactions.

Another important subject in the novel is the way he deals with, or his stand on sexuality, his own sexual drives and emotions, and his judgment of other people's actions on the matter. After finishing the book, it is evident that this is a recurrent subject in Holden's mind. In his interactions with other characters such as Stradlater, a “sexy” roommate of his at Pencey; Jane, his old “crush”; Sunny, the prostitute he hired at the hotel; and Sally, the he met some time before and who he dated later on in the story, we can notice that sexuality, attraction and affection are thing frequently present in his mind. We get the feeling that his sexual urges are constantly haunting him because of his contradictory thoughts. He seems to believe that sexuality and love are two different things, and he is not able to fully grasp or properly act on any of the two. When interacting with Stradlater, his roommate, he criticizes both Stradlater's “phoniness” when trying to “get” girls, and the looseness which he lives his sexuality with.

Furthermore, we could say that an important duality in the story, and Holden himself, is represented by two members of his family, D.B., his older brother, and Phoebe, his young sister. They are two important characters in Holden's life, representing opposing moments and views in life. On the one hand, Holden seems to care for and admire his older brother, but somehow he feels he became part of the adult world he greatly despises. For instance, the first time he refers to his brother he says “Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute.” On the other hand, When referring to Phoebe, he is always suggesting that she is an adorable, friendly, and trustworthy kid. She seems to be the only person he is able to go to when needing real advice or just when looking for comfort.

Moreover, I personally believe this same duality is reflected in Holden's own personality. His longing for the past, the innocence and honesty of childhood, his fear of the future and adulthood with possibility of becoming something he hates, and his desire for stopping time and avoid his own evolution and change. However, we can make a clear distinction between Holden who is telling the story, specially at the end of the book, and the version of himself in the past when going through all the events. Even though he may still have some difficulties when dealing with the world, he seems to have learned and grown up a little bit, finding in his sister Phoebe the support and the feeling he was looking for, the feeling of being held in familiar and comforting arms of a family.

References

• Salinger, J. D., Mitchell, E. M., & Jacobi, L. (1951). The Catcher in the Rye.