JOURNAL POST 5
A character analysis based on the quote.
“Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad.” (52)
“In my mind, I’m probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw. Sometimes I can think of very crumby stuff I wouldn’t mind doing if the opportunity came up.” (62)
Based on this quote, I’ve determined that Holden Caulfield is indeed a bit mental. After countless hours of reading The Catcher in the Rye, I noticed that Holden constantly uses the term “phoney.” In this context he means someone or something that is false. It is not normal for anyone to regularly use that term without thinking. The first quote itself reflects that Holden is an emotional rollercoaster. He gets sad for the wrong reasons. Likewise, Holden also gets mad for the wrong reasons, such as assuming that Stradlater gave Jane “the time.” On the other hand, Holden is also a sex-crazed maniac. When he first got onto the train to New York, he tried to seduce his classmate’s mother, but failed. In addition, he’s willing to experiment disturbing things as reflected in the second quote. His perverse nature also reveals his desperate side. He was desperate to find anyone that was willing to have “the time” with him, going as far as trusting a random stranger from the elevator named Maurice.
In regards to the first quote, it’s significant to me because there shouldn’t be any reason for sadness from a present unless it was linked to a loved one that’s passed away. If you get sad from EVERY present you receive, than you clearly have an issue with your emotions. I strongly oppose the second quote in that you can experiment with whatever you like, but you also should be morally ethical and respectful of others. The two quotes are important to the novel because they make up who we know as Holden Caulfield, the extra-terrestrial sixteen year old boy that he is. It added extra spice to the novel which would’ve been otherwise boring. Of the two quotes, the first one connected hand-in-hand with the real world. People should be happy with what they have and live life thoroughly versus getting emotional at every crossroad. There are much larger problems to be worrying about rather than the little things.
