Is Holden Caulfield a Typical Teenager?
The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” depicts the life of 17-year old Holden Caulfield. Whilst turning the pages, the reader is prone to notice the deep and many times disturbed thoughts that swim around Holden’s maturing young head. His impulsive behavior and bursts of depression are constantly followed by clever remarks on daily life and unpredictable acts.
The book starts with Holden getting expelled for the third time from a boarding school. He neglects homework, never studies for tests and dislikes most teachers and even students. The only people that he actually engages in conversation are his room mates and his history teacher. Holden loathes fake people, “phonies”, who are constantly lying and pretending to like people they do not, acting a certain way so that they look good and get attention. Fair enough, it is a noble reason to abominate society and believe that most humans are hypocrites who should eternally be licked by flames on the 9th level of hell, but Holden should take into account that he himself possesses many of the attributes that he disapproves, just like every other individual on earth.
One of the points that differs Holden from most male teenagers is that he appears to be waiting for the right time to lose his virginity. This is a very mature approach to the subject; however Holden, like most adolescents, goes out with girls who can’t maintain a decent conversation just due to their good looks - and, additionally, he mentions that he thinks a lot about women and sex, which is also common for his age.
We also notice that Holden has a soft, compassionate side, he is an altruist at heart, and is continuously thinking about his Jane or his sister, whom he is willing to buy gifts just so she’ll be in high spirits. He donated money and had a conversation with two nuns, which also shows this different and considerate side of Holden, who was not a catholic and nevertheless donated money to the ‘church’ and respected the good will and kind attitudes of the nuns.
Religion is another matter which is frequently flowing without course through young people’s heads. Some chose to follow their family’s religion, whilst others become atheists or, more daringly, completely change their beliefs. Holden seems to be an atheist, which is also very common for adolescents - as during this phase, people start thinking for themselves instead of having their parents feeding them with a spoonful of knowledge that they believe is convenient.
Many young people nowadays go through the same issues, lack of confidence towards themselves and society and a general hatred and bitterness towards the world. Holden, in my opinion, is a magnified and exaggerated example of one of these people. I also think that there is no such think as a ‘typical teenager’; as stereotypes seen many times in movies or books are many times exceedingly far from reality. We also have to take into account that Holden’s past was traumatizing and hard to get over with, as he lost his beloved brother Allie - and we the readers notice throughout the book that this memory still haunts him, and that it affected him deeply, probably being one of the reasons that Holden has built-up repulsion towards people and their ‘phony’ habits - leading later on to his breakdown. Furthermore, Holden studied during his whole life on boarding schools, which means that he did not receive much attention from his family or guidance from his parents - who were not aware of his state of mind when he returned home.
Holden goes to a psychiatric clinic as he does not cope with the many complications of an adolescent life.
Most teenagers, through failures and triumphs, do manage to get through this hard phase of life. It is up to them to face their problems and society, so that they can mentally develop and be successful in life. Holden, being intelligent but misguided, fell into a well of confusion and self-doubt, as many of us often do, it’s just that maybe he feel from a higher spot, causing a higher impact and consequence. Once he accepts humanity and their flaws, I think that Holden can stand up and get on with his life, just one more number in the crowd, like most of us do.
The book starts with Holden getting expelled for the third time from a boarding school. He neglects homework, never studies for tests and dislikes most teachers and even students. The only people that he actually engages in conversation are his room mates and his history teacher. Holden loathes fake people, “phonies”, who are constantly lying and pretending to like people they do not, acting a certain way so that they look good and get attention. Fair enough, it is a noble reason to abominate society and believe that most humans are hypocrites who should eternally be licked by flames on the 9th level of hell, but Holden should take into account that he himself possesses many of the attributes that he disapproves, just like every other individual on earth.
One of the points that differs Holden from most male teenagers is that he appears to be waiting for the right time to lose his virginity. This is a very mature approach to the subject; however Holden, like most adolescents, goes out with girls who can’t maintain a decent conversation just due to their good looks - and, additionally, he mentions that he thinks a lot about women and sex, which is also common for his age.
We also notice that Holden has a soft, compassionate side, he is an altruist at heart, and is continuously thinking about his Jane or his sister, whom he is willing to buy gifts just so she’ll be in high spirits. He donated money and had a conversation with two nuns, which also shows this different and considerate side of Holden, who was not a catholic and nevertheless donated money to the ‘church’ and respected the good will and kind attitudes of the nuns.
Religion is another matter which is frequently flowing without course through young people’s heads. Some chose to follow their family’s religion, whilst others become atheists or, more daringly, completely change their beliefs. Holden seems to be an atheist, which is also very common for adolescents - as during this phase, people start thinking for themselves instead of having their parents feeding them with a spoonful of knowledge that they believe is convenient.
Many young people nowadays go through the same issues, lack of confidence towards themselves and society and a general hatred and bitterness towards the world. Holden, in my opinion, is a magnified and exaggerated example of one of these people. I also think that there is no such think as a ‘typical teenager’; as stereotypes seen many times in movies or books are many times exceedingly far from reality. We also have to take into account that Holden’s past was traumatizing and hard to get over with, as he lost his beloved brother Allie - and we the readers notice throughout the book that this memory still haunts him, and that it affected him deeply, probably being one of the reasons that Holden has built-up repulsion towards people and their ‘phony’ habits - leading later on to his breakdown. Furthermore, Holden studied during his whole life on boarding schools, which means that he did not receive much attention from his family or guidance from his parents - who were not aware of his state of mind when he returned home.
Holden goes to a psychiatric clinic as he does not cope with the many complications of an adolescent life.
Most teenagers, through failures and triumphs, do manage to get through this hard phase of life. It is up to them to face their problems and society, so that they can mentally develop and be successful in life. Holden, being intelligent but misguided, fell into a well of confusion and self-doubt, as many of us often do, it’s just that maybe he feel from a higher spot, causing a higher impact and consequence. Once he accepts humanity and their flaws, I think that Holden can stand up and get on with his life, just one more number in the crowd, like most of us do.