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Characterisation of Holden Caulfield

Holden Caulfield is a troubled teenage boy struggling with the transition to adulthood due to a traumatic childhood. He was deeply affected by his younger brother's death from leukemia at a young age. This caused him to view all children as pure and innocent, unlike dishonest adults. Throughout the novel, his frequent use of the word "old" suggests trying to avoid growing up himself. In the end, though flawed, Holden provides insights into the difficulties of maturing and conformity to society that many readers find relatable.

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121 views1 page

Characterisation of Holden Caulfield

Holden Caulfield is a troubled teenage boy struggling with the transition to adulthood due to a traumatic childhood. He was deeply affected by his younger brother's death from leukemia at a young age. This caused him to view all children as pure and innocent, unlike dishonest adults. Throughout the novel, his frequent use of the word "old" suggests trying to avoid growing up himself. In the end, though flawed, Holden provides insights into the difficulties of maturing and conformity to society that many readers find relatable.

Uploaded by

kubik369
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Characterisation of Holden Caulfield

Character of Holden Caulfield, as described by J.D.Salinger in the novel The Catcher in the Rye,
is a really troubled teenage boy, who struggles with the well-known problems of transiting into the
adulthood. His problems were caused mainly by his traumatizing childhood, resulting in his
personality change, which causes him difficulties with engagement in basic conversations in his
subsequent life.
Holden took his first blow in his early teenage years, when his beloved little brother died due to
leukaemia. This event has had a major effect on his life. His judgement of the adult world became
centred on the pureness of Allie's and Pheobe's innocent souls, which is reflected in many chapters
of the book. This can be seen in the hotel when Sunny, the prostitute, comes into his room. Holden
describes her as young as hell and around his age. Her behaviour also resembles that of a kid,
from jiggling her foot to never saying thank you. She represents the innocence that Holden sees in
Pheobe, even though she works as a prostitute, and because of this he cannot follow through.
The language used by Holden throughout the book also shows his maturing, even though he
does not want to become an adult and be just like them. One of his most used words is old, which
could refer to him trying to convince himself, that he is not growing up and losing all of his childish
innocence. On the other hand he uses lots of vulgar words, mainly in his inner monologues. By this
he becomes a vivid and trustworthy character, who does not give a damn about impressing people
and is therefore not being a phoney. He thinks that all adults, who are in his words phony,
cannot be honest as young children are, that they are long gone from the territory of probity, with no
chance of ever coming back.
In the short stories written by Salinger, of which the Catcher mainly consists, we can find a story
of Holden's brother announcing Holden being reported as missing in action. Even though the time
frames of the short stories and the Catcher slightly differ, Holden's disappearance could mean his
loss of innocence and conformance with the society, him finding the answer to his question asked
throughout the book. Holden's curiosity about the ducks during the cruel wintertime might refer to
children, who are growing up. They have to leave the warm and cosy childhood, and prepare
themselves for the hard reality of the adulthood.
In the end, Holden might be a liar, a judgemental and childish person, but there is certainly a lot
to be learnt from his behaviour. The struggles he faces and the vivid way he puts his discontent are
what makes him such an easy character for the reader to identify with. Teens, as much as adults, can
reconsider their views of the world and the society they live in, as they proceed through Holden's
character development.
Word count: 492

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