How Is Holden Caulfield A Selfish Character

Coming Through the Rye A person’s actions are greatly influenced by their personality traits. This is because someone who is selfish might make a different decision than someone who is selfless. The main character in The Catcher in The Rye, by J. D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield has a hard time making the best of the situation and growing up. Throughout the novel, Holden makes decisions that greatly affect him based on his reckless, morose, and isolated personality. Throughout the novel, Holden makes many rash decisions that greatly affect his life negatively. From the book, “The next part I don't remember so hot. All I know is I got up from the bed, like I was going down to the can or something, and then I tried to sock him, with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush, so it would split his goddam throat open” (Salinger 43). Holden tries to punch his roommate, Stradlater, out of jealousy because he thinks he slept with a girl he liked. Another example, “One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was

An example from the text, "Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody” (Salinger 214). Holden doesn’t make connections with people because of traumatizing events in his past and his lonely, anti social character. Another piece of text from the book, “Then I went over and laid down on Ely's bed. Boy, did I feel rotten. I felt so damn lonesome” (Salinger 48). After Holden got in a tussle with Stradlater, he tries to go talk to Ackley, who refuses conversation and yells at Holden to ‘turn off the goddam light.’ Holden laid down in Ackley’s roommate's bed, and thought about the girl Stradlater was with, while Ackley was trying to sleep. Holden is so lonely that he tries to make conversation with people he dislikes, even though he ends up feeling worse than before. There is a major character conflict; he hates everyone, but he’s lonely as