Holden even hired a prostitute but did not encounter any sexual intercourse. After this, Holden went on a date with a female named Sally Hayes. The date did not go well. After the date, Holden returned to his home where he snuck in to talk to his sister but left before his parents knew he was in the house. He later then visited his former teacher, Mr. Antolini.
Holden is lonely and this is very noticeable throughout his stay at the hotel. He was desperation to talk to someone so had thoughts of calling his little sister (Phoebe). “ I certainly felt like talking to her on the phone. Somebody with sense and all.” Holden announces his needs to be intoxicated by begging the waiter for alcohol in the Lavender at the hotel.
Holden originally attended Pencey Prep but could never connect with the people around him. He is always criticizing or fighting with others, which lead him to leave Pencey without telling anyone. Holden heads to NYC where he faces many challenges with others and himself, emotionally and physically. Holden finds himself in his hotel room with a prostitute and feels extremely uncomfortable with what he is doing so he pays her and sends her off. The next day he plans a date with Sally Hayes, an old girlfriend, to see a play where he calls her “a pain in the ass” and laughs.
4.Sunnys dress symbolizes youth, spring, fertility, inexperience. Because she 's a prostitute, she doesn 't see herself like this, but Holden (green himself) sees her in this way. Holden when he request a prostitute he refuses the offer of sex and prefers to talk about life. Holden sees her as a human, with emotional depth, instead of an object for pleasure. ‘’Don’t you feel like talking for a while’’.
In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is a young man who seeks the acceptance of others. When Holden reaches out for acceptance from the most disgusting boy in the whole dorm, Ackley, he is rejected, which triggers him to leave Pencey early. He also receives rejection from a prostitute named Sunny, who thinks she is getting paid to give him a good time, when in reality, all he wants is some company and someone to talk to. He is rejected in this scenario when Sunny and her pimp barge into Holden’s hotel room, steal five dollars, beat him up, and leave him lying on the ground. However, Holden meets the nuns and feels as though they see him for who he is.
The reader observes Holden’s insecurities when Holden calls the prostitute to his hotel room. He mentions to himself, “I know you’re supposed to feel sexy when somebody gets up and pulls their dress over their head, but I didn’t. Sexy was about the last thing I was feeling. (Salinger 123)” This exemplifies how Holden struggles when dealing with females.
He is horrified when he witnesses a group of boys at his hotel flirting with two young girls, and he intervenes to prevent them from taking advantage of the girls. Similarly, when he meets a prostitute, he is more concerned with talking to her and understanding her life rather than engaging in any sexual activity. This proves that Holden wants to keep the innocence by not engaging in any sexual activity. He believes that a connection on a more personal level is more important than those that meet his physical needs. Holden's most significant relationship is with his former roommate and friend, Jane Gallagher.
Holden wants to commit suicide but he doesn’t because he wouldn’t want people gawking at his dead body. Holden wasn’t very sexual even though he knew other guys his age were very sexual. PTSD affects the sexual drive of those who suffer from it. When Holden had the prostitute, Sunny in his room he wasn’t feeling it. Before she was there he was thinking that he would have sex no problem just like everyone else his age, however when she was there he shut down and didn’t want to advance.
As Holden is on a quest to find someone he can truly relate to, he recalls his moments spent with the person he felt most attached to, Jane Gallagher. Holden is sitting in the lobby of his hotel, having failed at connecting with girls in the Lavender Room, and he begins thinking about Jane. He remembers how he “held hands with her all the time” (89) and that she is “terrific to hold hands with” (89). Holden realizes that “Jane was different” (89) because with most girls he felt self-conscious, yet he never felt that way with Jane. Holden realizes that he felt truly fulfilled when he was with her and wants to find someone else that helps him feel this way.
No one is getting a prostitute just to talk to but Holden is so depressed that he had
In one scene, Holden is very exhausted from his day and that night he gets offered a prostitute from the elevator operator at the hotel he is staying in. To summarize, Holden gets beat up because he decides to not have any sexual relations with her and he did not pay her the price she wanted. Prostitution and Patriarchy are definitely connected. At a young age Sunny is making a living out of needing to impress and satisfy men. If Sunny needs a job and this is the only job available for Sunny then she is almost forced by men to impress and satisfy them.
He talks quite a bit about sex, but his virginity is the last existing innocence to him. Holden pays for a prostitute to have sex with, but he cannot go through with it. He is very hesitant about losing his innocence. Holden wants to be “the catcher in the rye” (191) and save all the innocence in the world. He believes that that is what he wants to do in the future as he tells his little sister, Phoebe.
He sees sex as something that is corrupting and that it would taint his innocence. His fear of sexual intimacy is a sign of his reluctance to enter the adult world. Bloom concludes, “Thus, it is no surprise that Holden does not avail himself of Sunny's proffered services. For Holden, the entire scenario becomes lurid and intensely lonely” (6). Holden hires Sunny but after her arrival, Holden becomes uncomfortable with the situation and feels a sense of shame and disgust.
In particular, an instance of Holden’s willingness to die for a noble cause rather than living is his encounter at the Edmont Hotel with Maurice and Sunny, the prostitute who he doesn’t even have sex with. When Holden is confronted by the duo to steal five dollars from him, he speaks out and refuses to pay. His efforts were to no avail though, as he not only gets punched but also his money taken away from him. After pretending to be shot, he finally reveals what he felt like doing, which “…was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window.”
Holden’s Struggle To Find Himself: Throughout the novel, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden struggles to find himself and who he truly is in order to be happy. His struggles relate to many things that he does or say in particular. Holden lacks with a social status with women and his family, whether it’s a relationship or being antisocial. Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield experiences the complexities and struggles involved with both physical and emotional relationships.
