Holden Caulfield is one of the most memorable characters in literature because he is a wealth of contrasts, which in the turmoil of adolescence and emerging manhood he takes them to extremes. His daily battle against “phonies” and all that is wrong with society drastically draws attention to his own “phoniness” and mental anguish, although typical of his age, is extreme in that he does not tend to look past the “phoniness” to the inherent good in others. He is a walking contradiction. “Holden Caulfield: tragic and funny, innocent and obscene, loving and cruel, clear sighted yet viewing the world from a warped viewpoint, expert in identifying phonies, and the greatest phony himself” (Literature Resource Center 4). The loneliness of Holden Caulfield is in fact a phony loneliness as shown through his characteristics, his feelings, and his experiences in the novel.
In order to truly understand the nature of the contradictions that make up Holden Caulfield exploring the many characteristics of his personality is necessary. One of his traits is that of imperfection. Holden demonstrates this quality with pride as he proclaims, “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life” (Salinger 16) referring to the incidents in which
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His fear of intimacy makes him afraid to let anyone get close to him because of his greatest fear, that of rejection. Holden’s contradicting characteristics therefore result mostly with negative feelings, emphasizing his ever so negative outlook. He furthermore has his moral revulsion against anything ugly, evil, cruel, or phony (Smith 1), constantly overlooking himself. ” Holden also deals with this loneliness that he makes for himself by getting up and leaving any situation where he is either feeling slightly uncomfortable or is not completely happy.
Holden has a highly overdeveloped sense of morality and justice, wanting to see things in a moral light, but constantly falling into depression by the actions of those with whom he has personal contact. He has formed a special bond with Phoebe that he has not allowed himself to fully or even partially understand. Holden will always be unhappy unless he finally realizes and comes to terms with his own faults.
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**Bibliography**
Works Cited Page
Burger, Nash K.
Approximate Word count =
1455
Approximate Pages =
6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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