Comin' through the Rye...

I am fascinated by Holden Caulfield. He interests me in a way only a fictional character could. He has a hindsight innocence about him; he knows there is evil and injustice in the world, he bluntly explains several cases, yet his way of looking at the world is with innocent, clear eyes.

He's brilliant, as can be seen by the things he says or illustrates, yet he has let the world convince him he's a failure. He openly points out the flaws in people, usually "phonies" and "fakes," the kind of people he interacted with at several schools, usually the wealthy, the popular, or the athletic. He also finds rare beauty and sadness in people that society gravely overlooks- the obscene (Sonny), the humble (nuns), the elderly (former professors), the young, and the lost (Jane, Allie).

The young. Holden is desperately holding onto his childhood. I could go into a deep discussion about how his name reflects that, getting into Latin and the origins of words. If you're that interested, go to Sparknotes. There's a brief enough explanation there. It's a good starting place. Anyway, Holden grasps onto childhood ideas and innocence like the falling reach for stability. He finds solace in children; a young boy walking along the curb singing "Catcher in the Rye," children ice skating, and especially in his younger sister Phoebe. He nearly idolizes her. The entire beginning of the novel he wants to talk to his sister, but it's too late to call. When he gets to his hometown he immediately goes and buys her a record. He speaks so fondly of her, her brilliance, her quirks. He is eager to surround himself with the childhood innocence he himself is losing.

He misquotes the poem "Catcher in the Rye." He believes the line is "If a body catch a body..." when it is actually "If a body meet a body..." which his sister points out to him later. He sees himself on a cliff, before a rye field full of playing children, and he is catching the children before they fall off the cliff. He's protecting them from falling out of innocence. If he had gotten the line correct, to "meet a body," his perception would have been so different. I think he wouldn't have seen a cliff, or even children playing in it. He probably would have seen a bunch of stuffed shirts in ties talking about gas mileage, something he loathes greatly. I wonder if he purposely changed the line in his head to help his cause, to further encourage his quest for innocence.

I think I'm attracted to the idea of Holden Caulfield because in a way I hold on to my childhood as well. I like to find innocence and uncorrupted values in life, even through my own flaws.

I don't think Holden would like me very much. He'd put on a charming face and give me a good run, but in his head I think he'd be tearing me apart, up one side and down the other. He'd take pieces of my personality I've either forgotten about or hidden, and exploit them, making fun of them in his own silent way. Then he'd walk away, laughing at me in his head, wile still holding a sense of pity for me. I think that's what fascinates me most.