The Catcher in the Rye
(J.D. Salinger)

Self-preservation

Holden alienates himself from those around him as a means of protecting himself from things he does not understand and cannot change. Holden does not allow himself to ever really get close to anyone, though he obviously wants to.

He allows people to use them but is too disgusted by them to get anything in return. Holden cannot fathom growing up and living in an adult world when it all seems so ridiculous to him. Innocence and childhood protects Holden and that is where he wishes to stay.

Phoniness

This is Holden’s concept of adulthood, which comes up multiple times. He believes that all things adult are phony: relationships, sex, careers, education, personalities, etc. Most of what Holden hates about the people he encounters is actions that make them seem more adult, or phony, to him.

Anytime someone says or does something that makes them seem more responsible he loses respect for them immediately. He also hates people who act like something that he is sure they are not, like Stradlater. He tells Sally Hayes that she is a “pain in the ass” when she tells him that they cannot run away together.

Innocence

Holden is in the midst of the ultimate struggle to hold onto his innocence when everyone around him is insisting that he grow up. Phoebe is the main symbol of innocence in this novel, though she is wiser in many ways than Holden. He loves her so much because she is the epitome of what he always wants to be, a carefree child, though she is not naïve.

The only time Holden is happy in the entire story is when he is watching Phoebe ride the carousel, most likely because he is living vicariously through her, wishing that life could be that simple for him, once again.

Mortality

In the sense of this novel, mortality represents the death of childhood and innocence. This can be seen in the literal death of Holden’s younger brother, Allie, much before his time, or in the death of childhood in the face of adulthood.

Holden seems to be terrified of both options, which is obvious in the way he misses Allie, as well as his quest for irresponsibility and rebellion. To Holden, it seems, the death of his innocence is the death of his soul. Holden hints to the fact that he may have been molested as a child, and Jane may have been as well. This could be the death of youth for Holden, though he is in denial about its effects.

Youth

The happiest time that Holden has in his memory involve things that happened in his youth, or people he views as youthful and carefree. The only people Holden really admires or truly cares about are his brother Allie, who died as a child, his little sister Phoebe who despite her wisdom is still an innocent, and Jane Gallagher, with whom he had a very solid friendship/relationship with in his younger years.

Youth is the equivalent to happiness for Holden, and it is his fear that once he reaches adulthood and leaves childhood behind, he may never be truly happy again.

Isolation

Holden is isolated and lonely as he states many times throughout his story, but by his own hand. He makes an attempt to befriend people, by letting them borrow things, or paying their tabs, but says nothing to them about it, he simply complains to himself.

He knows he is being used but he cannot stop himself from wanting others to be happy, even through his own misery, nor can he stop himself from being disgusting with certain characteristics of others. Holden is isolated because while he wishes he were not lonely, he cannot bring himself to truly care about anyone other than a select few.

Sexuality

Holden seems to be obsessed with sex, and anyone who has had it, but does not understand the need for it in his life. He wants to know if Stradlater tried to have sex with Jane, but more so to know if Jane has taken that step toward adulthood then because he is jealous.

Holden also questions Carl Luce of his sexual exploitations, mostly because he is trying to understand what makes people want to have sex. He tries, half-heartedly, one night to lose his virginity, going so far as to hire a prostitute, but just cannot bring himself to do it. He feels that sex is something adults do and it has no meaning at all. Molestation could be the reason that Holden feels no good can come from sex.

Depression

Everything Holden encounters is something he finds to be depressing. He thinks that people who try to be something they are not are depressing, that adult sexual relationships are depressing, that school and finding a career is depressing, and that normal human relationships are depressing. It feels obvious that what Holden actually finds depressing is the idea of growing up, and perhaps fears of the unknown.

Holden allows his surroundings to depress him because he does not wish to deal with the changes that lie ahead of him. He is depressed by the idea of leaving behind everything he knows, and with the possibility of losing those few whom he cares about, for a future that he is not prepared for.

Knowledge vs. Wisdom

Holden draws a fine, yet definite, line between conventional knowledge and wisdom. Many people he encounters, mostly at school, he finds to be extremely dumb. The fact that they attend prep school and seem to make use of their time there, unlike Holden, alludes to the fact that they are, in fact, book smart; however, in terms of life Holden finds them to be quite stupid.

He thinks that his younger siblings, Allie and Phoebe, are two of the wisest people he has ever met and they are nothing but children. Conventional smarts hold no bearing with Holden; it is wisdom that he admires.

Religion

Holden feels the same way about religion as he does about everything that has been institutionalized: it has merit on its own, but has been ruined by society and authority. Religion is something that one person, of his or her own free will, can research and figure out for himself and it will have a very significant and different meaning to each who finds it. However, when that religion is taught in a group setting it becomes almost cult-like and something that no longer holds any merit because it is being taught, rather than discovered. This is how Holden feels about conformity in all areas of life, with religion merely acting as an example.