The Theory Of Self Orientation

Holden is like most teenagers and physically he desires to explore that side of himself, but mentally he is not ready for sex, because he has not found the right person yet. This is rooted in his obsession with maintaining childhood innocence and his personal moral obligation to not partake in grown up acts whenever possible. Sexuality is another challenge Salinger uses to show a lack of growth, but also a lack of regression in this part of Holden. Holden is a virgin, but he makes it clear that this is entirely by choice, implying that he has had many opportunities to change this fact. "I've had quite a few opportunities to lose my virginity and all, but I've never gotten around to it yet." (92) Holden goes onto say that he always stops because something always goes wrong, or the girl he's with no longer wishes to continue. Later we see Holden struggle with the fact that he has yet to lose his virginity and so he gets a prostitute to come to his room while he is staying in a hotel. At first it seems that he is ready for this kind of intimacy, but not in the way one would expect. Holden acts as if it is an unpleasant experience that doesn’t wish to spend too much time dwelling on and he decides it on a whim. He just wants to get past this: "Anyway, I kept walking around the room, waiting for this prostitute to show up. I kept hoping she'd be good-looking. I didn't care

When he comes back from the bar late at night, he encounters the elevator man and tells him to send a prostitute to his suite, yet he fails in his sexual relationship with her because of his sexual innocence caused by his isolation. When the prostitute arrives, Holden tries to avoid any sexual talk, he then tells her that he does not want to do it, he says, “I’ll pay you and all, but do you mind very much if we don’t do it? […] the trouble was, I just felt more depressed than sexy” (Salinger 96). Holden

Sex is something he gains new understandings about and he learns that it is something natural, but complex and not all it appears to be. For example, Sunny is a prostitute who Holden calls up to his room out of desperation. He’s so lonely that he’s just looking for conversation, but he’s searching in the wrong place. Holden admits earlier on in the novel, “sex is something I really don’t understand too hot” (Salinger 82). Sunny is young and sees her as a person who needs protection, however he expected someone who is a prostitute to be older. From this situation Holden learns that he needs the moment to be right and an emotional connection to have sex, that for him it is not something that can be casual although for others it might be.

Holden’s attitude toward sex is contradictory, sometimes he says that he is horny while sometimes he feels the opposite. Holden states, “Sex is something I really don’t understand so hot. You never know where the hell you are.” (Salinger 82). This quote shows that Holden has very ambivalent feelings toward sex. He says that he does not understand it because sometimes he really wants to do it, even if it is with a

Holden says, “It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn’t even think”(96). Holden’s depression blurred his personal moral compass and beliefs, and turns him into someone he is not by requesting the prostitute. He becomes a critic of a societal fault, to an embodiment of the

With the level that Holden is attracted and interested with females, his ability to know how to act and express his feelings correctly is greatly lacking. He never knows what he should say or not say, act or not act, and overall, maintain a good relationship. He continues his desperate feelings to be with her, however, than displays how he truly feels when Holden states “[c]’mon lets get outa her. . . You give a real pain in my ass, if you want to know the truth” (133). Holden repeatedly says everything that he shouldn’t with girls, or sometimes, does not say what he should.

Holden thinks about the idea of sex and pays to have Sunny the prostitute to come to his room. However, he was feeling depressed and instead of having sex with the her he wanted to just talk. He started getting depressed because he felt that she was a kid just like him. The way she talked and jiggled her leg up and down he thought she was just a kid. While he was hanging up her coat he thought "of her going in a store and buying it, and nobody in the store knowing she was a prostitute and all.

Sexuality is one of the major causes for Holden to lose his innocence. Holden is a virgin, but he is very interested in sex. He describes what he thinks about sex: "I think if you don't really like a girl, you shouldn't horse around with her at all, and if you do like her, then you're supposed to like her face…” (chapter 9). Holden explains how he thinks sex should only happen when both partners share affection, and does not believe that you should engage in sex for casual reasons.

Existentialism is a philosophy for the twentieth century that revolves around being alive and the rationale of why humans find themselves to

I kept hoping she’d be good looking. I didn’t care much though. I sort of just wanted to get it over with,” (Salinger 54). In this section of the chapter, Holden becomes all worked up over the fact that he has never had sex before. In fact, when the prostitute comes up to the room and starts flirting with Holden, he changes his mind and asks her to leave.

In the book, Holden tries to associate himself with a more sophisticated, adult lifestyle, but as we can see, Holden becomes more disturbed by adults and their lifestyle so he shys away from it more. The vulnerability that Holden illustrates throughout the book shows oblivious he is. In another instance, Holden discloses to the reader that he wants to lose his virginity, but when the time comes, he can never do it: “If you want to know the truth, I’m a virgin. I really am. I’ve had quite a few opportunities to lose my virginity and all, but I’ve never got around to it yet”(Salinger 103).

Holden then says yes without thinking the answer through. This shows that Holden is not able to think anything thoroughly because something is always bothering him. Holden goes to his room to get fixed up and look nice for the prostitute, but when the prostitute comes he then starts feeling uncomfortable. He then tells her that she should leave and pays her. Holden is trying so hard to find himself in this world but can’t.

Holden thinks children are authentic and in order to stay authentic in a world full of phonies he seeks to preserve his childlike nature. In chapter 13, Holden talks about the concept of his virginity, he says “If you want to know the truth, I’m a virgin. I really am. I’ve had quite a few opportunities to lose my virginity and all, but I never got around to it yet. Something always happens.”(92). Holden admits he’s still a virgin and to many people losing your virginity is a step to adulthood. This is Holden’s way of trying to protect what little he has of his childhood to prevent himself from becoming an adult. That “something always happens”(92) is his own subconscious telling him to stop and to save this moment for someone who he really likes not a prostitute whom he bought. Holden even says earlier ,in the novel, “I don’t like the idea...I think if you don’t really like a girl, you shouldn’t horse around with her at all”(62). The author is trying to show how kids can avoid being an adult in the real world. Although he tries to protect his youth, Holden also likes to pretend his is an adult. He does things like being an avid smoker, constantly wanting to drink, and wanting to hookup with girls. Doing acts like these: ”After a while I sat down in a chair and smoked a couple of cigarettes.”(63), “‘Would any of you girls care to dance?’ I didn’t ask them crudely or anything. Very suave, in fact.”(70), “Boy, I sat at that goddamn bar

Existentialism is a literary movement concerned with the existence and purpose of oneself in the world. Existentialists have questioned our existence in this world and purpose of finding the meaning of life. They believe that there is no predestination, and that man is free to be the master of his own fate. They also believe that man's existence depends on suffering, because it not only can provide a person with a profound source for meaning, but it also provides the necessary comparison by which success and happiness are measured. Existentialism is quite common in our world. People going through an existential crisis ask questions about their existence and purpose in their world. They question the meaning of their life and what the purpose of finding meaning in life if we are all going to die one day.

Existentialism is a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will. In other words existentialism is saying your  a free individual  and your actions define what you are. Many people see the the philosopher Jean Paul Sartre as "the father"of existentialism , but existentialism was founded in the 1800s by Friedrich Nietzsche, soren kierkegaard. The ideas accredited to Sartre are in many ways the ideas of Nietzsche and kierkegaard presented in a different way. Those that parctice existentialism to its strictest interpretation being you should live your how ever you want, live a life without much regrad to others