Holden's Dilemma ------Keeping Purity or Accepting Degradation

Holden's Dilemma ------Keeping Purity or Accepting Degradation

LUO Wan-ru

Hunan Judicial Police Vocational College, Changsha , 410000 , China

Abstract： In the novel The Catcher In the Rye, Holden faced a dilemma in his life: to keep purity or to accept degradation. After the period of “Identity vs. Identity Diffusion”, he was willing to compromise to the hypocritical world, in order to help more child to keep purity. He became more mature mentally and was stepping gradually towards his identity.

Key words：The Catcher In the Rye 1; Holden’s dilemma 2; Identity vs. Identity Diffusion 3

In the novel The Catcher In the Rye, the age of Holden was just sixteen years old, which is a changing period everyone has to experience. He faced a dilemma in his life: to keep purity or to accept degradation. However, finally he chose his way to solve it that was compromising——he was gradually stepping into maturity. In this period man needs to experience an ambivalence between changing and unchanging. Erick H. Erikson, the famous American Social Psychologist, in his book Childhood and Society, pided social psychological development into eight stages. From the standpoint of Erikson, in every stage people face with a main ambivalence. For the fifth stage that is the “adolescence”, the major ambivalence is the conflict between self-fulfilment and self-losing. This period is called “Identity vs. Identity Diffusion”. For the Identity, he has different explanations. For example, it is a sense of knowing oneself, a sense of knowing how one will live, or a kind of internal confidence producing before an expected thing happens. Identity Diffusion refers to a confusion produced because one cannot acquire a clear and exact role expected in one's life, or cannot form a complete and unite role perception.

1 Try of Experiencing Two Roles

For Holden, for one hand, he endeavored to keep his purity; for another, he tried to be part of the adult world. Faced with the materialistic world, and struggling between the changing and unchanging, he didn't know how to make a choice. At the moment, he was in his identity confusion. In order to find a way out, he tried out two different roles, which helps him stepping into his self-identity.

1.1 Keeping Purity

At school, before his classmates, he always behave like a child and said words full of childishness. Especially, Holden usually spoke the word “boy” to show his young. When he felt upset or annoyed, children's mischief was his best love. For example, after he knew that he was expelled by school, feeling upset, he hoped to be a innocent child so that no annoyance and troubles could irritate him, and he didn't need to think of his expulsion and face with hypocritical people. At that time, Ackley was with him in their dormitory. He purposely pretended to be blind, groping with his hands like a child and said some childish words. Though Ackley said to him angrily that he should "grow up", Holden still did the same. Also before his escaping from school, he heard that date partner of Stradlater was Jane, his best friend in childhood. Being very impetuous, he gave a heavy fit on Stradlater. In his eyes, Jane was very pure and innocent. He was afraid that she would be sullied by the sly Stradlater. In fear of losing his own purity, he also worried others’.

He wished to keep purity, whether of his or of others', which would be eroded by the corruption of the adult world. So when he began his vagrant life in New York, what he saw increased his cynical complex, such as the pervert in the Edmont hotel, disgusting lovers, and the hypocritical talking of the adult. All this increased his desire of protecting self-purity. However, on the other hand, he found that he became more and more lonely than ever. Especially, before his vagabondage at that night, in his heart he sighed many times that he felt “so lonesome”. It seemed that the whole world couldn't be large enough for him. And because of not being understood by anyone, he cried sadly and sorrowfully for many times. Gradually he realized that he would crash completely, and isolation and helplessness faced him, if he continued to be so.

1.2 Accepting Degradation

A sense of loneliness and anguish haunted him, which fostered his impulse---learning to accept the adult world. Holden began to experience the adult life in the flourishing region of New York, going to drink, seeking for prostitute, and talking about sex with others.

He first came to a regular night club, but was refused being offered wine for his under age. He had only to order a cup of coke. It was in this club that he tried to flirt with some girls. However, he failed to do so, for he thought the girls he made the acquaintance of were foolish and innocent. Then he went to an inferior club, Ernie, and was thoroughly intoxicated. Out of Ernie, on the way back his hotel, an elevator guy asked him whether he wanted of a prostitute. With the impulsion and hoping to experience the corrupted adult life, he really tried to have one. However, when the prostitute tried to flirt with him, he felt very strange and uncomfortable. At that moment he “felt much more depressed than sexy”.(Sun: 317)

When he tried to talk something about sex with Luce in Wicker Bar, Luce thought Holden must have psychological illness and advised him to see a doctor. Actually what Holden talked made Luce feel embarrassed, because as a student from a famous university Luce was shameful for what he himself did. Just talking for a moment, he made an excuse and left Holden alone. At the same time, Holden sensed his hypocrisy.

After experiencing all these, and failed in his every try, he realized that he couldn't integrate such a disgusted society.

2 The Result of Groping — Compromise

During his short vagrant life, every time when he felt unhappy, in his mind Holden would remembered Jane, his sister, Pheobe, his dead brother, Ally, Ally's groves, or his own red hunting hat. All these were symbols of child's purity and innocence. He hoped to back to childhood completely, at the same time he also realized that it was impossible for him to keep his entire purity. His narration suggested it. On the way to the museum, which is also a symbol of his childhood, he thought a lot and said to himself, “you’d be different in some way”.(Sun: 346)

When he was waiting for Pheobe at her school, he saw some obscenities on the wall. How much he wanted to erase them! However, they were carved on the wall. When he came to the playground, he tried to help children to keep balance, but was refused. He bought a record for Pheobe as present. Unluckily, it was dropped on the ground and broke into pieces. As he was about to get to the museum, he thought like this:

Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that’s impossible, but it’s too bad anyway.(Sun: 346)

At the end of his narration, when he was asked by his brother whether he would work hard in his study, his answer was obscure that was "I think I am，but how do I know？" His answer was unclear, but implied he would compromise.

All these suggested that he could not keep his naivety and innocence completely any more as in his childhood, meanwhile, he would not accept degradation completely as well. His teacher, Antolin, once said to him, “The mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.”(Sun: 419) In his heart, he still held such an dream that he would like to stand on the edge of some crazy cliff; What he had to do was to catch every child if they started to go over the cliff. That is to say, he was willing to compromise to the hypocritical world, in order to help more child to keep purity. He became more mature mentally and was stepping gradually towards his identity.

3 Factors of Choosing Compromise

Why would he choose compromise? There are two reasons. The first is the love from his sister, Pheobe. The second is Salinger's "efficacy of love".

3.1 Pheobe’s Love for Him

Faced with dilemma, Holden was very irritated and annoyed. He was eager to find someone to tell his trouble and wished to be understood. When he told it to Sally, she didn't agree with his ideal and was very angry with his rudeness. When he wanted to talk with Luce, Luce advised him to see a doctor. Both Sally and Luth left him half of their conversation with Holden. In their eyes, Holden was quiet strange, abnormal and a little mad. Back to his home with a sense of upset occupied him completely, he told all his annoyance, and inner thought to his young sister. However, Pheobe, unlike Sally and Luce, listened to his brother, silently and willingly, without disturbing him. She understood her poor brother and love him. When Holden was about to leave home, She emptied all her savings from her piggy bank and gave all into Holden's hands. Realizing that there was still someone caring about him, Holden suddenly burst out in tears and didn't know how to do.

So when every time Holden thought of death, meanwhile, he would imagine how sad his lovely sister would be. “She’d feel pretty bad if something like that happened(Sun: 384),” once he thought. It was such a strong power that always dragged him out of his degradation and his desire for death.

3.2 Efficacy of Love in Salinger’s Thought

From the novel itself, Pheobe's love is a important factor helping him out of complete downfall. Out of the novel, Salinger's "efficacy of love" is another crucial point that Holden will not be completely downfall. In the book J.D. Salinger's the Catcher In the Rye, Charlotte A. Alexander (1997: 54)said that,

In most Salinger's writings ‘love’is a key issue, and in the more optimistic ones it brings about growth or rebirth, although critics differ as to when this "salvation" has been accomplished.

So when Salinger creates his characters, more or less he will integrate it into his characters. That makes it possible for Holden out of the slough of degradation, and gradually stepping into his identity.

After experiencing identity diffusion, Holden chose compromise towards the society. That is he would hold his ideal and keep his purity in his heart, and learn to accept such a corrupted and ugly world he has to live in and hypocritical people he has to face. The important factor for Holden's epiphany is love, his sister's care for him. As Erick H. Erikson sees it, in the period of identity v.s identity diffusion, if teenagers can receive love or encouragement from their important elders, they will form their identity successfully and can make it stronger and stronger. Though lack of warmness and cares from parents and society, his spirit tending to collapse, at that time, it was his sister's love that dragged him out of despair to most extent, so that Holden had the courage and power to face and accept reality. Actually her love is a substitute of mother's love for Holden and functions as it on him. And with the author’s "efficacy of love", Holden finally chose to compromise.

参考文献

1. Charlotte A. Alexander，J.D. Salinger's the Catcher In the Rye，北京：外语教学

与研究出版社，1997: 54-55。

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作者简介：骆菀如（1989-）， 女， 湖南省株洲市人，助教，文学硕士，主要研究方向为英美文学、英语教学。