Holden Is A Playlist For The Catcher In The Rye

Holden Caulfield - Playlist

From Eden, Hozier
This song is about the story of a love affair and all of the questionable decisions involved, and while Holden cannot relate to having a love affair, the song is told like the story of something hideous becoming something treasured, representing how Holden’s mindset about changes in life develops throughout the novel. Pencey represents the first shift in Holden’s mindset. Even though Holden describes Pencey negatively, where he wants, “to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep” (4). Holden chooses to begin his story with Pencey. Although he is hesitant to talk about his time there, Holden still knows that Pencey represents a life-changing experience for him. Pencey fosters the growth of his

As Stradlater talks about spending time with Jane, Holden realizes his lewd implication and he “tried to sock him” (49). Stradlater blocks Holden’s hand from hitting him, but as a result, Holden insults him saying that this is “the trouble with all you morons,” to which Stradlater “really let one go at me” (50). Holden, as he tells the story, reflects on the choices he made, and how he wants Stradlater to have a reaction. It is easier to cause an argument than to resolve a conflict maturely. At Pencey, Holden does not want to resolve any conflicts properly or maintain any relationships with the people he knows because he greatly dislikes them all. He does not value any of their friendships, so to him, it is easier to cause a fight. Even when he leaves Pencey, Holden yells an insult in the hall and does not say goodbye to anyone, because he does not care. Holden chooses to abandon his relationships with the boys at Pencey, rather than resolve their disagreements, because it is simply easier. He does not care for the world around him, or for the boys he met at Pencey. The song describes the choices a person can make in life, and how “in some ways that was simpler, being too fucked up to see / I didn’t have to wake up to the world that was around me.” At some points, like in his final night at Pencey, Holden

After Phoebe convinces him to not run away, Holden watches as she goes around the carousel, and how he felt “so damn happy…it was just that she looked so damn nice…God, I wish you could’ve been there” (233-234). At the point where Holden is finally about to leave behind his life because he cannot handle his reality anymore, his connection with Phoebe motivates him to stay. Phoebe is one relationship that Holden is able to grasp onto for comfort, and she helps him realize that he cannot run away from his emotions, grief, or loneliness. Consequently, Holden is finally able to find joy in life, and to look past other people and societal expectations. He does not stay in New York because of society and what people will think of him, but because Phoebe asks him to and he promises her. The song describes how a person needs to persevere and that “when I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe.” Holden has to persevere in order for Phoebe’s words about how he loves nothing to truly take effect. He has to reach the lowest point of his mental and emotional health so that he can accept somebody’s help. By enduring through the worst of his grief and alienation, Holden can finally realize that he wants to be around people he loves again. Earlier in the novel, he had so desperately wanted to return to his past,