Essay Fear of Failure in The Catcher In The Rye

Even Though he can't make that connection with his parents throughout the book he presents us with other outlets like Jane Gallagher as way for Holden to have someone to talk to saying“Jane Gallagher. Jesus” I couldn't get her off my mind I really couldn’t. “I oughta go down and say hello to her, at least.” When this opportunity is presented for Holden to have a connection with a childhood friend when asked “Why the hell don’tcha, instead of keep saying it?”..he replies.”I’m not in the mood right now.”(37)) this perfectly showing how not only does not have opportunities to connect with someone but in the case of Jane Gallagher he refuses to connect with someone. And as critic Mollie Sandock perfectly states in The Catcher in the Rye: Overview Holden's story is “ full of failed attempts to communicate, messages never delivered, uncompleted phone calls, overtures not taken up, appeals repulsed,” this much leading him into the isolated lonely child or teenager (it depends which way you look at it ) that he is.

Holden lies about Ernest Morrow because he enjoys Mrs. Morrow’s company and thinks she is attractive. Holden tells about his fondness when he says, “She had a lot of charm. She had quite a lot of sex appeal, too, if you really want to know” (Salinger 73). This statement about Mrs. Morrow explains that Holden only lies to her about her son to keep her around and make conversation with her. Holden just wants to be in the company of someone who was not a

This excerpt makes me very curious about his family members. The tone makes me believe that Holden probably is ashamed by them or he doesn’t like them when he describes them as “crap”. His parents’ attitude toward telling others personal stories is also confusing. It is not clear whether they are the ones inhibiting Holden from telling or not. I predict that Holden is reluctant when it comes to uncovering truths about his life. This quote is important because it gives me background

Holden has become. He snuck into his house to visit her and she told him “You

The main reason for Holden's instability is the death of his brother Allie. After Allie's death, he became a different person. He became more standoffish and judgmental than he was before. He started to push people away, and Allies death also pushed Holden's parents away from him. He didn't get the support he needed after and that played a huge part in why he is so unstable.

As Holden denies his own innocence, he tends to forget what he’s speaking about in the first place, and starts running off about Jane, for instance, “Jane Gallagher, Jesus. I couldn’t get her off my mind.” (Salinger 37). Despite the fact that Stradlater was about to take her on a date, he

The only person that understands him and can give advice is his sister, Phoebe. A Tpassage were we can see that connexion between Phoebe and Holden is when he buys a gift for her and he uses a time to think about her “The first record store I went into had a copy of “Little Shirley Beans” (p.128).

She thinks Holden will be in a lot of trouble, but repeating over and over again “daddy is going to kill

This quote shows that Holden would make assumptions about people and treat them differently based on that. Which shows that he is a phony because he puts on different fronts for different people just because he thinks they are phonies. Holden also says “Old Lillian Simmons said. Strictly a phony.” (Pg. 88)

The Catcher in the Rye is written by J.D Salinger and is a coming-of-age novel. This book portrays Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old protagonist, who gets expelled from his fourth school. After this incident, Holden goes on a journey in New York before heading home to face the consequences from his parents. Throughout his odyssey, for investigating the meaning of life, Holden is accommodated by three people- Dick Slagle, James Castle, and his younger sister, Phoebe. These three characters left in imprint on him.

Even though Holden is disturbed and mentally unstable he does demonstrate healthy psychological traits such as the way that he speaks of his younger sister Phoebe. Holden cares deeply for his sister and always speaks very highly of her. Holden is able to acquire a caring, loving relationship with

Stradlater barely knows anything about her, and yet he is annoyed she would not stay out later with him. In fact, Holden is so angry that he proceeds to physically attack Stradlater. Stradlater, a far larger and more athletic boy than Holden, pushes him off easily, but Holden is so enraged that he continues to insult Stradlater, earning himself a beating. Holden hardly cares; he is still deeply offended that Stradlater has treated Jane with so little respect. A final time Holden demonstrates this trait is when he argues with Sally, his on-and-off girlfriend.

When talking to others, sometimes Holden doesn’t quite get the hint that he needs to stop talking. Stradlater, Holden’s roommate goes on a date with an old friend of Holden’s, Jane Gallagher. Holden is very fond of this young woman and is jealous of his roommate. After the date Holden asks and asks and asks about what had happened on the date.

Jane is a girl who Holden became very close to when she used to live nearby to him, and he has always had very strong feelings for her. When Ward Stradlater, Holden’s roommate at Pencey, has a date with her, he becomes very worried and nervous that they would like each other and that the date would go a little too well. However, when Stradlater says Holden can go out to see her too if he really wants to, he makes an excuse. He is too shy to confront her, and he is also too shy to tell Stradlater how he feels about Jane. Holden even gets in a physical fight with Stradlater after his date with Jane. Although Holden tried to act like he was just angry because of what a moron Stradlater was, he is mad because he is jealous, but of course, he does not say this. After Holden left Pencey Prep, every time he came across a phone he would always debate whether or not to call up Jane. He would always end up make an excuse such as ‘I didn’t feel like it’ or ‘I just wasn’t in the mood’, anything to avoid facing his real feelings for this girl. However, it was clear that he was just too shy to talk to her, and he distracted himself from his relationship problems with Jane by constantly unsuccessfully trying to hook up with other girls. Holden has many reflections on their past together, like when they used to play games together and watch movies with each other. When Jane was

“She was the only one, outside my family, that I ever showed Allie’s baseball mitt to, with all the poems written on it…I told her quite a lot about him” (101). Holden felt a rare connection and trust towards Jane. He remembers good memories with her to help ease the pain of losing her. Consequently, his pain catches up to him when Stradlater and Jane go on a date. “’If you didn’t go to New York, where’d ya go with her?’ I asked him, after a little while. I could hardly keep my voice from shaking all over the place. Boy was I getting nervous. I just had a feeling something had gone funny” (55). All the pain Holden has kept within seems to burst out. He starts to feel nervous and jealous and this contributes to his negative attitude. We see here that Holden truly cares for Jane and this hints that he has feelings for her. He is in a lot of pain due to losing his close friendship with Jane. Holden feels repentant yet reminiscent of the memories he once had with Jane.