Holden Caulfield a Boy Full of Excuses

In many ways Holden strives too hard to remain not "phony". However, he also does the opposite and doesn't try hard enough. Holden picks fights, but can never do much except antagonize the person hurting him. He never seems to actually say what he really thinks till he lets his emotions get the better of him in the midst of being beat up. For example, when he imagines Jane with Stradlater he finally lashes out and reveals his true emotions about Stradlater, but before always acts kind and nice to Stradlater despite despising his personality.

When in chapter 5 when Holden gets in the one sided fight with Stradlater he calls back to his story of how he broke all the windows in the garage after finding out that Allie had died. He gives this as the reason that he wasn't able to connect properly with Stradlater's face. This seems like such an interesting detail to mention to me for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it seems like a petty, but possibly somewhat honest, excuse. Secondly, the excuse seems like if anything it should be evidence for why Holden should have punched Stradlater. Although he was fighting Stradlater because of the thought of him ruining Jane's innocence, he could have at least hit Stradlater instead of some windows for Allie's sake. 

Holden also seems to have many other excuses like this, where they could be plausible exuses, but they are clearly not what's going on. Not just that but he also uses not being phony as an excuse to not perform. He hates the idea of performing for the gratification of others attention, but at the same time it seems like he may be afraid of what they have to say. This really proves that Holden is just a 16 year old. Despite all his thoughts and all the experiences he has had he still has the same emotional maturity of a 16 year old, not to mention how previous trauma has affected him.

Comments

  1. Emily SFebruary 8, 2023 at 4:37 PM

    nah fr, i'd immediately get fed up with holden if i had to interact with him in public. he's very hypocritical with his expectations of phoniness. interested in "not just that but he also uses not being phony as an excuse not to perform", i think he just sorta calls whatever he doesn't feel like doing an effort not to be phony

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  2. MitchellMarch 8, 2023 at 2:52 PM

    In this same "fight scene" with Stradlater, he talks about how he also hates the weird kind of intimacy of a physical fight, and how hard it is to *actually* punch someone in the face. This seems like less of an "excuse" than the hurt-hand thing, but it's also a harder idea for Holden to explain. I admit I do relate to his views here, as there IS a discomfiting intimacy in having someone who hates you get so physically close (you smell breath and body odor, feel spit, the world narrows to just the two of you, with all this grunting and gasping). And it IS very hard to actually punch someone--at least in my experience. Like Holden, I guess I'm basically a "pacifist," but to really let loose with a solid punch to someone's face is extremely difficult to actually do. I guess I've never been in a fight that I actually WANTED to be in--I always wanted them to end as soon as possible. This book was the first I'd ever read that described how deeply unsettling and unpleasant the actual experience of physical fighting is.

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  3. Walter KraatzMarch 10, 2023 at 6:55 AM

    Holden's refusal to express his emotions and fear of upsetting his parents is some serious hypocrisy when you consider how often he's talking trash about other people and calling them phonies for trying to fit in with others.

    ReplyDelete
  4. David RMarch 10, 2023 at 3:17 PM

    I find this probably one of the funniest parts about his character actually. I think if I actually had to deal with him in real life, he would be very frustrating, but being a passive observer is quite entertaining. He constantly makes jabs and accusations of other people only to often do the same things. I think I do this too, so it is also nice way to laugh at yourself.

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