Revealing the Truth: Holden's true emotions
J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye follows Holden Caulfield as he travels through the depths of New York City, dealing with feelings of loneliness, grief, an frustration. While Holden often hides his true emotions when he's talking to us, the readers, there are moments when he tells people how he truly feels about them--usually during arguments or altercations. Whether it's his fight with Stradlater, his violent beat down with Maurice, or his heated moment with Sally, these conflicts bring out his raw emotions and thoughts to people that's not the readers.
One of the first major altercations in the novel occurs when Holden fights with his roommate, Stradlater. The fight is sparked by Stradlater's date with Jane Gallagher, as we know a girl Holden deeply cares about. Which leads Holden to be extremely anxious about what occurred between them, knowing what type of "techniques" he does in the Coach's car. As they fight Holden starts calling him out, letting him know how he really feels about him: "You're a dirty stupid sonuvabitch of a moron," "That's just the trouble with all you morons. You never want to discuss anything. That's the way you can always tell a moron. They never want to discuss anything intellig--"(Salinger 25). Holden often keeps what he's truly thinking about other in his thoughts. His violent reaction isn't just about the fight itself--it's an emotional outburst rooted from his deep-seated insecurities and fears. Jane represents innocence and comfort to Holden, and the idea that Stradlater, whom he views as shallow and phony, might have taken advantage of her is unbearable to think about to him. Rather than admitting that he's afraid of what happened between them, Holden gets aggressive and starts to tell Stradlater how he really feels about him.
Holden's argument with Sally Hayes reveals his growing frustration with the world and his desperate need for connection. Usually if someone is a "phony" in Holden eyes he doesn't tell them directly, but if he is angry or if someone is depressing him he is quick to tell them how they are in his perspective. Initially, he asks Sally to run away with him, but when she refuses and calls his ideas "ridiculous," Holden snaps: "'C'mon, let's get outta here here,' I said. 'You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth.'" (Salinger 72). Holden's outburst is special because, despite wanting to escape his loneliness he constantly pushes people away when they don't respond the way he hopes. His frustration with Sally isn't just about her refusal: it's about his inability to find someone who truly understands him. His impulsive words and actions highlight his inner conflicts.
Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden's truest emotions emerge during moments of conflict. Whether he's throwing punches, getting beaten up, or lashing out in anger, these scenes reveal the "raw" in Holden thoughts about others that he tries hide. Which is relatable because all of us when we're angry or upset our truest emotions begins to crack open here and there.
Work Cited
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company, 1951
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DeleteHey Jesse, I completely agree with your point about how Holdens true emotions reveal themselves when he is angry, or very emotional. Your post made me consider another thing though, how it seems that the only way for Holden to achieve a "connection", is for these outbursts. What I mean is that he feels very lonely throughout the novel, and his way of "connecting" is getting hit or beat up, almost as a distraction from the reality. So in a way, his outbursts are a combination of repression and saying what he really thinks.
DeleteI definitely understand what you mean by Holden's true emotions only being visible to others in moments of altercation. It seems like Holden can only stomach so much "phoniness" before he has to reveal his true feelings to others. As you pointed out, this mostly happens when he is angry. He never actually lashes out at Spencer despite his annoyance with him, but he's not exactly angry in that moment and therefore he doesn't explicitly tell Spencer what his true thoughts are.
ReplyDeleteHello, Jessy. Great work! I definitely agree that we can see Holden's raw emotions during conflict. Indeed, he seems to enjoy expressing his true thoughts, even in the face of imminent physical pain, as if seeking a cathartic moral victory. Toward the end of the novel, as his inner conflicts deepen, he becomes increasingly impulsive, even going so far as to ask Sally to go on a trip with him. Definitely great food for thought.
ReplyDeleteJessy, it’s so true that, while he keeps a lot of his feelings bottled up, those outbursts—especially with Stradlater and Sally—show how vulnerable he really is. His fight with Stradlater definitely reflects his deep anxiety about Jane and how much he’s trying to protect her innocence, even though it’s hard for him to admit that. The way you pointed out that Holden pushes people away, even when he craves connection, is such a good point—it shows how conflicted he is inside. I also agree that these raw emotional moments make him feel more real and relatable.
ReplyDeleteI really like the description of these as especially "raw" or revealing moments in Holden's otherwise hyperconfident narration. It's true that we can get the mistaken impression that he is going around sounding off on every topic under the sun, telling everyone he encounters exactly what he feels, but that is not the case--if we isolated this narrative to ONLY the things Holden does and says on the surface, we would have a very different impression of him. And these moments when he gets "raw" would be as surprising to us as they are to Stradlater and Sally, both of whom seem totally stunned by the sudden shift in Holden's mood and tone.
ReplyDeleteAnd in both of these scenes, I'd also say that Holden's rhetoric itself is rather "raw"--because he is so overcome with emotion, because he is acting "crazy" (his own descriptor) in both situations. We know that this guy can spin a pretty articulate and compelling rant on the phoniness of society and its adherents, but his "stupid stinking sonofabitch of a moron" spewing at Stradlater is NOT Holden at his best. He sputters and sounds unhinged, and we can understand why Stradlater mostly keeps saying "What are you talking about?" and "What's wrong with you?" It's safe to assume that Holden has never shown this side of himself to his roommate, or to his girlfriend. His rant to Sally touches on some of his favorite themes, but by his own account, he's all over the place, speaking too loudly, calling horses "human"--this is not quite the same guy who is narrating the novel, offering these witty and sarcastic takedowns of everyone. Calling Sally a "pain in the ass" is as cliched and ineloquent as him calling Stradlater a "moron." In both of these scenes, Holden is NOT at his best.