Morality of Holden from "The Catcher In the Rye"

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To be moral or immoral is based solely upon ones idea of morality and relationships to others. Situations in life can reveal the morality of ones character due to their course of action. Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye is the protagonist to whom the point of view of the novel is based upon. Cue to the first person biased narrative, the reader can analyze his thoughts and actions and generate their own idea of Holdens character. Holden is a moral character who has been influenced by societys expectations of him as an adult and human instinct to take part in several immoral activities but his intent is to protect innocence and truth.

Holden has been affected by society to acquire habits such as smoking, cursing, picking fights, and drinking excessively. These are characteristics of stereotypical immoral behavior. His chain smoking is pointed out when he is out of breath from running to Mr. Spencers house and he claims, "Im quite a heavy smoker, for one thing" (5). He informs the reader this as if to prove that he can take part in adult activities. He asks Morrows mother, "Would you care for a cigarette?" (55). He attempts to appear more mature than he really is. Several times throughout the novel a recurring motif of alcohol is present. Holden drinks in an unsuccessful attempt to be accepted into adulthood. He invites Morrows mother to join him for a cocktail but she declines politely (55). She does not recognize him as an adult with whom she would treat as an equal. He is rejected once again in the Lavender Room when he orders a drink and the waiter believes that he is a minor. Holden has not yet been fully accepted as an adult. He rebels against society and order when he says, "I lay on my bed and lit a cigarette. You werent allowed to smoke in the dorm…I did it to annoy Stradlater" (41). In this instance he admits that he is only smoking to rebel against the school rules and to challenge Stradlater. The purpose of annoying Stradlater is to get his attention and have him admit what really happened during his date with Jane. Holden is upset due to the fact that Stradlater may have done something immoral with Jane and believes that Stradlater deserves to be punished. Holden "…got up from the bed…and then tried to sock him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddamn throat open" (4). He believes that a man should care about the girl that hes "giving the time to" when he says, "[Stradlater] didnt even care if a girl kept all her kings in the back row or not" (44). This reveals Holdens opinions towards sexual intimacy and indirectly thinks that two people should care about each other instead of only having a sexual relationship. During the conversation and fight between Holden and Stradlater, Holden swears several times. He yells at him, "You dont even know if her first name is Jane or Jean, ya goddam moron!" (44). He swears to get his point across. His vulgarity is the only method of drawing attention to his ideas and opinions. Holden actively participates in several unsociable and immoral behavior but for a good cause based on his own morals.

Holdens intents differ greatly from his actions throughout the course of the novel. Many times Holden has immoral thoughts but he usually doesnt act upon them because his morals prevent him from doing so. He is still a virgin at the time that he tells the story. He admits "If you want to know the truth, Im a virgin. I really am. Ive hadquite a few opportunities to lose my virginity and all, but Ive never got around to it yet" (). He informs the reader that whenever a girl tells him to stop, he stops. This is unlike most adolescent boys his age who do not appreciate the girl whom theyre with. Holdens morals prevent him from having sex with a girl if she protests or doesnt consent to it. At the Edmunt Hotel the elevator guy, Maurice, asks him if he would like a prostitute for "five bucks a throw" (1). Holden says okay even though immediately after he says "It was against my principles and all" (1). He tries to start a conversation with her and offers her a smoke. Once again he makes an attempt to participate in casual adult activity. He has a genuine interest in getting to know who she is before having sex with her. Although Holden has a longing for sex, he decides against it. He makes up a lie to excuse himself from having sex with her and still pays her the five dollars. Holden keeps his word when he says that he will pay her even if they dont have sex. He also feels sorry for her because she has not been as fortunate to be economically supported. Holden has good worthy morals that go against his physical wants. Afterwards, Maurice roughs him up for another five dollars. Holden imagines himself shooting Maurice "Id plug him…six shots through his fat hairy belly" and then committing suicide (104). But he is only glorifying the movies and does not make any attempt to act upon his desires.

Hormones and human instinct cause Holden to be very curious towards the subject of sex and he can almost be characterized as sexually perverted when he admits to being, "the biggest sex maniac you ever saw" (6). In order to satisfy his sexual curiosity, he calls a former student advisor, Luce. Holden gives Luce the impression thathe would like to have a drink with him and have an intelligent conversation. However, Holden immediately starts off with the topic of sex, "Hows your sex life?" (144). Sex both fascinates and scares Holden, but he is still curious. When he arrives at the Edmunt Hotel, he avidly watches intently while a couple spit in each others faces and a man dresses up as a woman. While watching those people he says, "the trouble was, that kind of junk is sort of fascinating to watch" (6). Holden admits that "Sex is something I just dont understand" (6). He avoids actually having sex with prostitute even though he is interested. Holden talks about sex excessively but doesnt actually do anything immoral. Help with essay on Morality of Holden from "The Catcher In the Rye"

Excessive lying is a negative trait of Holdens but his motive for being dishonest is usually for the benefit of others. He lies to Morrows mother in the train even though he says that he thinks of Morrow as "the biggest bastard that ever went to Pencey" (54). Then he portrays him as being a shy, humble kid. Holdens motive for lying is to protect her from the truth of how her son really is. He lies to the prostitute that he wasnt physically healthy so that she wouldnt feel offended that he didnt become "very sexy" around her (5). Holden lies to several people such as the waiters in the bars and the elevator boys just so that they wouldnt believe that they were doing anything wrong by serving him drinks or sending him a prostitute even though he is a minor. Most of his lies are mainly harmless white lies. He tells the truth to those who are close to him such as Phoebe and Mr. Antolini. These are the people who care about him and wont judge him. Holden lies to protect others from the truth which may be harder to take. Holden also stands up for what he believes is honest. When Maurice and Sunny approach himdemanding ten dollars, Holden stands firm with his claim that it was only worth five dollars. Maurice beats him up while Sunny takes the money (10). Instead of giving in, Holden fights for what he believes is the truth.

Holden tries to preserve and protect the innocence of children throughout the course of the novel. At Phoebes school, Holden spots a "fuck you" sign written on the wall. He goes into an in depth explanation of what may happen if the innocent little kids saw it. Holden finally "rubbed it out" with his hand (01). He attempts to keep the children from maturing and learning the evils of society and adulthood. Holden concerns himself with saving the children from their loss of innocence.

Holden believes that people only deserve the amount of respect that they show towards others. This is seen through his encounter with the nuns. They dont treat him like a child and unlike the other adult phonies, they live humbly and selflessly. He shows them equal respect and donates ten dollars to their school. He admires the innocence and purity of children. He treats children as equals when he talks with them.

Holden has several characteristics of an immoral person such as smoking, drinking, cursing, fighting, lying, and being obsessed with sex. But these are all superficial qualities that barely skim over the character of Holden Caulfield. Situations that he is placed in cause him to react defensively. He puts on a pretense of being tough and has several immoral thoughts throughout his four day novel. However, he is filled with strong values of what is right and wrong, and he sticks to them. The intent of Holdens actions reveal his character to be moral.

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