In this blog post, I examined the debate surrounding ‘The Catcher in the Rye’—both its critics and its defenders—and reflected on why Holden Caulfield rejected the adult world and sought to preserve the innocence of children.
A Banned Novel and Misunderstandings About Holden
Although ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ was so widely loved that it was hailed as a “bible” for the younger generation and became a bestseller, it was not welcomed by everyone. Conservatives launched a campaign to remove the book from high school libraries and argued that it should be banned from college classrooms as well. In fact, one high school teacher came under fire for recommending ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ during a Korean language class, and one lawyer even transferred his daughter to another college because the book was being discussed in her classroom. Another high school teacher was fired for reading the book with his students. Debates criticizing ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ continued in newspapers and on television, and the book was indeed banned from many high school libraries.
In 1999, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ ranked 13th on the “50 Greatest Banned Books” list published by the American Library Association. That list also included Mark Twain’s ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’, Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’, and Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’. One of the reasons these works were banned was that they were said to present bad role models for young people. It was argued that Huck and Holden—who dislike school and church, use vulgar language, and drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes—could have a harmful influence on teenagers.
Critics condemned the language in ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ as coarse, profane, and obscene, and argued that Holden himself—who denounces the world as fake—was, in fact, the one who was fake. The British ‘Times Literary Supplement’ also criticized the work, claiming it was filled with blasphemy and obscene language. However, as I read the book, I came to realize that the criticism of this work was not merely a matter of language. It seems the more fundamental reason was that the novel boldly exposed and denounced the shortcomings of the older generation.
The reason ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ gained such immense popularity was likely because it accurately and refreshingly captured the frustration and anger felt by the postwar younger generation at the time. Young Americans back then harbored the hope that by escaping from a “fake” world, they could improve reality, better themselves, and preserve their purity. Holden, too, constantly tries to escape to the West. However, what the novel ultimately conveys is the fact that “we cannot escape.” In that sense, I could understand the assessment that calls this work a “conservative novel with no way out.”
Is Holden really a vulgar rebel?
Those who criticize the language in ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ as vulgar overlook the significance of the scene where Holden erases the obscene profanity scrawled on Phoebe’s school wall. It is not Holden’s language that is vulgar, but the reality itself—which Holden detests and seeks to escape—that is vulgar. In other words, Holden is someone who hates obscenity; he is by no means someone who uses obscene language.
It is not difficult to see that Holden possesses a sense of mission and a vision to protect young children from obscenity. Nevertheless, many people dismiss him as an obscene character simply because he resists the older generation and the establishment.
However, Holden lacks the power to overthrow the existing system. A close reading reveals that ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is not simply a novel that radically criticizes or attacks social institutions. Nor does it support the status quo or advocate for overthrowing the system. Consequently, it fails to fully satisfy either extreme conservatism or extreme radicalism.
What this work reveals is that the world is fundamentally “fake,” and that children inevitably lose their innocence within it; as they grow into adults, they eventually become part of that “fakery.” At the same time, it conveys the message that even amidst this process, humans must strive to save themselves. The novel criticizes schools and teachers who, instead of helping children recognize this reality and grow mentally, simply impose the existing system and values upon them. Within such a system, sensitive boys like Holden wander aimlessly, feeling a lack of love and a loss of direction.
Literary critics sometimes characterize Holden as a conservative. This is because he accepts the prejudices of his own middle-class background without much criticism, and also because he lacks both the power and the will to reform reality. Holden is not only unable to overthrow the system but is even unable to commit suicide. Even the one time he considered suicide, he gave up after worrying that his body wouldn’t be covered immediately, allowing street thugs to gather and stare at him.
In that sense, Holden is closer to a very endearing and kind-hearted rebel than a wild, headstrong troublemaker. While some may judge Holden as immoral, he can actually be seen as an exceptionally moral figure in a world of immoral adults.
A Boy Who Refuses to Grow Up and a Sick Society
In ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, Holden is portrayed as a thin, sickly teenager who grows so rapidly that he gains 6.5 inches a year. However, what is truly sick in this work is not Holden, but the “society” from which he is trying to escape.
Holden does not want to become an adult because he cannot find a role for himself in today’s society, which he perceives as artificial. Yet the fact that Holden’s physical growth is abnormally rapid is highly paradoxical. No matter how much one may not want to grow up, a person inevitably grows and becomes an adult.
In this regard, Holden contrasts with—yet also shares similarities with—Oscar, the protagonist of Günter Grass’s ‘The Tin Drum’. Oscar, whose physical growth has stopped because he refuses to grow up, and Holden, who is growing rapidly, appear to be polar opposites. However, they are similar in that both witness the problems of post-World War II society and expose and denounce them. Furthermore, both refuse to become adults.
This is also why Holden gives up on graduating from high school. He knows that if he graduates and attends an Ivy League college, he will inevitably become a member of the materialistic older generation.
Holden says he will stand on the cliff and become a catcher in the rye, protecting the children walking through the rye from falling. This seems to be a metaphorical representation of his desire to stand on the boundary between the children’s innocent world and the adults’ world of pretense, and to protect the children’s innocence.
However, his desire to keep the children from growing up is an impossible dream in reality. Holden knows this all too well. Things like the obscene profanities he discovered at school are ultimately what push innocent children toward the cliff. He tries to protect the children by erasing such profanities, but he realizes that some graffiti is carved with a knife, making it impossible to erase.
Holden, Striving to Preserve Purity in an Absurd Society
It would be more accurate to view Holden Caulfield not simply as someone who doesn’t want to grow up, but as a young man tormented by the pain that accompanies growing up. With his keen senses and perceptiveness, Holden is disillusioned with the adult world and established society—a world where genuine connection and mutual understanding are impossible and which is filled with hypocrisy and pretense. He is frustrated and tormented, sometimes suffering to the point of feeling nauseous. In that sense, Holden appears to be a quintessential example of the modern individual.
It is very important to note that Holden is not simply a reckless rebel, but a young man striving to live ethically in an inhuman and nihilistic world. He depicts the absurd situations he faces with dark humor and a cynical perspective, making readers laugh.
In ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, Holden offers particularly scathing criticism of Hollywood and the church. He accuses his brother D.B. of engaging in prostitution in Hollywood, and while describing the Radio City Christmas show, he criticizes the modern church for having lost its spiritual power by colluding with commercialism.
As Holden sees it, modern society and religion have lost their authenticity and are filled with falsehood, much like an artificial stage show intertwined with commercialism. The purity and innocence he encounters have already been tainted by evil, and the nighttime scenery he observes is likewise rife with falsehood and hypocrisy. Gazing out the hotel window and drifting from one nightclub to another, Holden continues his ceaseless spiritual wanderings in search of the truth and purity that will sustain him.
Thus, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ seems to suggest that the only worthwhile task in an adult world tainted by frustration and corruption is to hold on to innocent children and prevent them from entering such a destructive world. Yet, at the same time, it acknowledges that this is, in fact, impossible. Children cannot be stopped from growing up; they will eventually lose their innocence and enter the adult world.
In this sense, Holden resembles Ike McCaslin, the protagonist of Faulkner’s ‘The Bear’, who, while mourning the disappearance of the forest, ultimately had no choice but to accept it. This is precisely why ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is, in the end, an impossible mission.
Holden’s Escape to the West and the Meaning of the Carousel
Holden’s biggest problem is that he offers no solution other than encouraging children to escape reality. In fact, it is impossible to completely separate children from reality. In this situation, Salinger explores Zen Buddhism as one possibility, but Zen Buddhism and Eastern mystical philosophies can easily be perceived by Westerners as a form of escapism. Therefore, Salinger pursues the possibility of salvation through Christian love rather than Zen Buddhism.
The fact that Holden longs for his friends in the “fake” world again at the end of the novel also holds significant meaning. This can be seen as an acknowledgment of the limitations of reality and, ultimately, a recognition of the power of acceptance, understanding, and love.
In ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, Holden constantly longs to leave New York and flee to the West. For Americans, the West symbolizes an ideal prairie that allows for an escape from civilization and society, a break from machines and institutions, and a flight from hypocrisy and vulgarity. At the same time, it is a mythical and archetypal place that embodies self-reliance, independence, and freedom, and enables individualism.
Sally, an ex-girlfriend Holden meets in New York, symbolizes the East—represented by Manhattan, Broadway, and Rockefeller Center—which Holden detests and from which he seeks to escape. Drawn to her beauty, Holden feels confused and even deluded; eventually, he proposes marriage and suggests they run away to the West together. However, Sally embodies nearly everything Holden detests. Therefore, her refusal of his proposal to run away seems, perhaps, an inevitable outcome.
In contrast, Holden’s younger sister Phoebe is the polar opposite of the materialistic Sally. Phoebe is a symbol of innocent childhood, and for that reason, she willingly follows Holden as he sets off for the West.
The most pivotal and symbolic scene in ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is the carousel scene. In this scene, Holden realizes what he must protect and preserve forever and feels a sense of happiness. However, at the same time, he also realizes that Phoebe cannot remain a child forever and that she will eventually have to get off the carousel.
The fact that Phoebe might fall while trying to grab the brass ring to stay on the carousel is even more significant. Holden realizes that Phoebe’s innocence, too, could be lost someday, and that it is impossible for him alone to prevent that from happening.
It is also symbolic that, after traveling west, Holden does not arrive in paradise but instead enters a sanatorium to heal his weakened body and mind. It is also significant that Holden is reflecting on and recalling all of these events while at the sanatorium.
The novel offers no clear answer as to whether Holden ultimately found what he had sought in his childhood. However, it seems that Holden is now gradually coming to understand the meaning of what he had resisted and ceaselessly sought in the past.
