In The Catcher in the Rye Holden clearly thinks that life is only a
game for the “hot-shots” on the other side instead of him. Since he establishes
himself as a reliable, authoritative narrator, our first instinct is to believe
him. We’re inclined to agree that Holden doesn’t play into the game and that
the game of life undercuts him because he’s not a “hotshot”. However, the more
I learn and think about Holden’s actual character, the less I believe this is
true.
Holden is the type of guy that
likes to be world-weary and criticize everything. It makes him feel superior
and wiser than his peers. In addition, he ostracizes himself. It seems that
most people are too phoney for him to hang out with them, so he simply sticks
to the people around him. Holden seems to think that the world ostracizes him
because he’s different and “out of their league”, but in my opinion he uses the
unjustness of this idea to pity himself and reinforce the idea that he’s
superior. Holden’s sense of superiority clearly stems from insecurity, hence
his self-deprecating jokes, but he masks it from the reader well. Keeping his
superiority and outcastedness in mind, I address his comment about the world
being a game.
When Holden thinks about the world
as a game, he implies that this game does not apply to him because he’s not
popular and loved, and thus life is harder for him. Holden sees these popular,
rich people who take their privilege for granted and play by the rules, using
their privilege and the game of life to propel themselves to even higher
status. He believes that anyone who doesn’t fit in is undercut and left to endure
a much harder and underprivileged life. But is Holden really underprivileged
because he’s not a “hotshot”? Or are his demeanor and actions evidence of
Holden exploiting his privilege to their limits? He gets kicked out of many
schools and doesn’t care about his schools or his future. If he were truly
underprivileged he wouldn’t have the privilege of not caring, because getting
kicked out of school after school would condemn him to an awful future. Instead,
since he comes from a place of wealth and power, Holden is able to play outside
the rules of society without much worry towards his future. So Holden is
clearly not “suffering” in the slightest because of the game of life. In
addition, it is Holden’s choice to be an outcast. He chose to put up this
cynical, distasteful façade that turns people off and to operate outside the
rules.
Perhaps Holden actually doesn’t play into the game of life, but
this is entirely his own choice and he doesn’t suffer because of it, although
he makes it sound like his life is much harder. Personally I think that Holden’s
claim was a way for him to pity himself and to get the readers to pity him as
well. Although, let’s be real, I may just be biased due to my dislike of
Holden. Thoughts?
This is the first post I've read that confronts Holden as not as good of a character as he seems. I have to admit, I never really thought of him that way... he just seems like a salty dude to me, but I wouldn't go so far to say that he's just exploiting his family's riches and powers. Maybe school just isn't right for him -- I mean no matter how you look at it, getting kicked out of so many schools but then continuing to go to others doesn't seem like something Holden would voluntarily do. I think he's forced to go there, and the whole time he just wants to do something else... I don't know that's just my feel.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, though I like Holden as a narrator, he does seem to be hypocritical in that he criticizes others for their privilege but uses his to his own advantage. What kind of sixteen year old kid can just book a trip to New York to avoid telling his family he got kicked out of another preppy private school again? He has no concern for money or education and does what he pleases because he has the ability to.
ReplyDeleteI think your post really highlights how blind Holden is to the real world. As you point out, he disregards the rules and because of his privilege doesn't fall to far. I almost feel sorry for him because of his inability to see outside the bubble of privilege. His tone in the first few chapters of this book can certainly be seen as Holden wallowing in his self-inflicted and generally fake dissatisfaction with his situation, that he isn't one of the "hot-shots."
ReplyDeleteI agree that the "hot-shots" line from chapter 2 doesn't quite capture the true nature of Holden's rebellion. He *does* have a problem with hot-shots and show-offs, as we'll see throughout the novel, but it isn't quite the case that he's excluded from the possibility of social success because he's "on the wrong side." He is indeed a child of privilege, and he's accustomed to attending the elite schools. His issue is more that he chooses not to "play the game," as you say--he isn't excluded, just as Dedalus doesn't *have* to go into "exile," as Cranly points out. These guys are *choosing* to set themselves apart from others. In Holden's case, it comes from the vantage of someone who is perfectly placed to enjoy the entitlements available to him. But maybe that makes his decision NOT to play along somewhat heroic. There's no sour-grapes, "I didn't want to play anyway!" dynamic here: no one else in his life seems to grasp what his problem is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on that Holden's sense of superiority stems from insecurity! I also think that Holden recognizes his privilege and tries to make himself feel better about it by talking trash about other people. He transfers the guilt he feels onto making other people look or feel bad. In other words, Holden is a little bit of a bully. He brings others down to feel better about his insecurities.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in that Holden does manage to "manipulate" the reader onto his side because he is the one tell the story, but I think his insecurity should not be judged to harshly from the reader's point of view. Holden is hypocritical in a lot of senses, but we are really seeing him at his lowest points and at a really bad time in his life. It is important to keep in mind how he himself is also phony, but also take everything he says with a grain of salt knowing what he is currently going through.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to argue that Holden is a saint or the best dude ever, but I do think you need to read him with this lens of trauma and depression. He's definitely privileged but he's also pretty messed up. I imagine his family life changed a lot after Allie's death and I imagine that he changed a lot after Allie's death.
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