Holden's Behavior In Catcher In The Rye

Holden´s Behavior

Holden Caulfield is a teenager growing up in 1950’s America. He has been through an ordeal, both physically and mentally, and is going through a pivotal time in his life, arguably caused by the death of his brother, Allie, only a few short years before. Holden runs away from his school, Pencey Prep, and wanders around New York for the vast majority of the story. During this journey, he is faced with the fact that he must grow up, something he does not take lightly. While it may be noted that Holden Caulfield wasn’t quite able to express himself through practical means, his thought processes can be surmised as identical to those of the typical teenager. First, Holden demonstrated ignorance towards the changes occurring in his

Early in the book, Holden sets out on his own in New York City. He checks into a hotel and is offered the services of a prostitute named Sunny. Holden accepts the services of the prostitute, but doesn’t follow through. He is just desperate for intelligent conversation. The incident with Sunny the prostitute isn’t the only time Holden expresses his loneliness and need for conversation. Later on, Holden comes into contact with his former girlfriend, Sally. They get into an argument after he tries to convince her to run away with him. Holden’s attempts at advocating intelligent conversation about the matter at hand are met with rejection by Sally. “We both hated each other’s guts by that time. You could see there wasn’t any sense in trying to have an intelligent conversation”. Intelligent conversation isn’t the only thing Holden wants, nor is loneliness the only emotion he’s feeling. Holden meets up with his brother’s ex-girlfriend, Lillian Simmons, at a bar with her new boyfriend early on in the story. Despite the fact that Lillian invites Holden to sit with them at a table, granting the prospect of conversation he desires, he refuses her offer. He not only wants conversation, but he wants to be stimulation rather than boredom. “But I certainly wasn’t going to sit down at a table with old Lillian Simmons and that Navy guy and be bored to death”. Holden’s feelings are not unnatural nor unwarranted, and he is told that he is not the first person to feel this