Aronys Perez
Literature & Composition
April 8, 2009
KIPP2013: Lehman/ North
Catcher in the Rye: How a Hero was Revealed
Indifferent, pitiful, backstabbing and possibly even misanthropic- all well fitting words for
the main character of Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger. However, by the end of the novel
thankful, appreciative, and accepting are all fitting words to describe the main character’s new
self. In due course, Catcher in the Rye argues that the smallest things in life can have an
incredible impact on a person’s life. The minute items or events can vary from alternating the
words of a poem to a carrousel ride in Central Park in New York; the novel mainly takes place in
New York.
As the story begins Holden Caulfield, the main character, finds condolence in the smallest
of items; a hat. Due to his expulsion from his boarding school, Holden “was sort of
crying…[Holden] I put my red hunting hat on…and then yelled at the top of my goddamn voice,
‘Sleep tight, ya morons!”(52). Holden ‘was sort of crying’ because he felt as if he was going to
lose part of himself after leaving his boarding school, Pencey Prep. Holden was insecure of how
to act in this situation, therefore, he ‘put my [Holden’s] red hunting hat on’ and found comfort
with his hat. Holden’s interaction with the hat and the affection he felt toward the hat alternated
his emotions from painful and sorrowful to a person who was comfortable in their own skin, but
all the hat did was create a barrier between Holden and his true emotions. Holden felt as if he had
enough courage to ‘then yell at the top of my [Holden’s] goddamn voice, ‘Sleep tight, ya morons’
to the other students that were sleeping in his school. The ‘red hunting hat’ was all it took to
change Holden from an emotionally challenged person who didn’t know how to react to his
expulsion to a confident person who felt like he knew exactly what he had to do; all because of a
hat.
Subsequently in the novel, Holden has no real goals in life. He would rather sit around and
smoke a cigarette, but he wishes to be someone important. Holden states to his sister, “I thought
it was ‘If a body catch a body’…I’d just like to be the catcher in the rye and all”(p173) Holden
altered the words of a poem, ‘if a body catch a body’, to represent that his goal in life is to help
people not to “meet a body”(173) because Holden, throughout the novel, isn’t a social person and
he has problems communicating his problems to others. Holden explains to his sister, Phoebe,
that ‘I’d like to be the catcher in the rye’ in order to be able to “come out of somewhere and catch
them” (173), by “them” Holden means the children in the poem, from having to fall off of a cliff.
Before describing to Phoebe what he would choose to be if he could be anything, we uncover that
Holden does have a purpose and that he isn’t as cruel as he is portrayed in the novel before that
moment. Holden’s way of thinking was changed by his misinterpretation of a poem.
At the end of the day, a carrousel ride was what it took for Holden to realize that life isn’t
all about being sorrowful and having to prove to the world that it can’t affect you. During the
carrousel ride, Holden “felt so goddamn happy all of a sudden…God I [Holden] wish you could’ve
been there”(213). While at the carrousel with Phoebe, Holden ‘felt so goddamn happy all of a
sudden’ because he was free of judgment with his sister. When he was back in Pency, he had to
worry about being thought of as less or inferior. Holden also had to live up to his parents’
expectations, but now that he felt confident in the presence of his sister he ‘wish you could’ve
been there’ with him. In sharing a petite moment with his sister, Holden realized that he didn’t
have to always have a tough exterior view and that he could share moment of excitement with the
world.
The indifference, pitiful nature, backstabbing behavior and cynicism all disappeared from
Holden as the story came to an end and appreciation of small moment in life took their place. The
red hunting hat turned Holden from an insecure and pain stricken person to a confident and
empowered person. The fact that Holden changed the words of a poem revealed that he is
actually a compassionate person. Lastly, the fact that Holden overcomes his tough look on life and
learns to appreciate life proves that small event and items can change a person’s life.