The Catcher in the Rye: Holden Caulfield

To end my character analysis, I will detail Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye. Holden is by far the most complex character in any novel that I have ever read or for that matter that I have ever heard of. He is not quite an adult, but he is not exactly a child, which is the main conflict in the book. The reader knows that his entire story comes from his narration at a hospital where he is being psychoanalyzed, that he has failed out of four schools, and that he has some emotional problems for the death of his brother Allie and the suicide of one of his previous classmates. However, it is never specified why he is in the hospital. I assume that he had some sort of breakdown, and he was committed. He is a very peculiar character. For example, he makes harsh and quick judgments of just about everything and everybody he sees. He calls most everything “phony” when really, it is just normal and the average labeled thing or person such as a teacher being a conventional teacher. His struggle between maturity and immaturity can be largely summarized by his views on sex. On the mature side, Holden believes that sex should only happen between two people who deeply love each other and care for one another, so he is still a virgin. In addition, he is furious that he is attracted sexually to women that he does not care for or sometimes even know such as Sally Hayes. Nevertheless, the odd and immature part is that he weakly tries to have sex throughout the entire novel such as his frail attempt with the prostitute. Holden’s views on sex seem very typical for a teenager as he is. For example, I believe the basics of his thoughts myself. Overall, my views on Holden are varied. I do like him because he is so interesting and complex, but at times, I despise him for his stupidity and immaturity.