JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye

Since its original publication in 1951, JD Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" has generated its fair share of controversy, in many cases being banned from libraries and classrooms (Pinsker, 1999). However, the book and its main character, Holden Caulfield, have been very popular in high school libraries and classrooms in the years since the book was published because of the focus of the book on the experience of the individual's teenage years and the specific experiences of Caulfield as the main character. This paper will look at one of the most interesting aspects of Caulfield- his acting as his own worst enemy.
Who is Holden Caulfield?

Before anyone can understand how Holden Caulfield acts as his own worst enemy, it is vital to understand who he appears as to an outsider looking at him. Caulfield is a young man who finds himself confused by, and mad at, the world around him. This anger and confusion results in many bad elements in his life- by the time JD Salinger introduces the readers of "The Catcher in the Rye" to Caulfield, he has already failed his way through four schools, worried himself to the point of exhaustion, and has ended up in a kind of mental hospital because of his exhaustion and strange behavior (Bloom, 1990). It is because of these and other situations that will be explained later in this paper that Caulfield can be called his own worst enemy.
Holden Caulfield as His Own Worst Enemy

Caulfield has seen his share of problems and failures which can explain why he can be seen as his own worst enemy, but there are factors in Caulfield's attitude and mind that caused the things that happened in his life in many cases and turned him into his own worst enemy.

Generally speaking, Holden Caulfield can best be described as someone who wants everything in the world to be ideal (Pinsker, 1999), when the reality is that the world is not a perfect place, things can and do go wrong, and people like Caulfield have to deal with the real possibility that their dreams and plans will not always work out the way that they want them to- something that many people call "Murphy's Law". Caulfield's disappointment when he sees examples of the world not being the way that he wants it to be is one of the main factors that makes him bitter and paranoid. This anger and fear leads Caulfield into behaviors that are not good for him and make his state of mind even worse.

In the book, one of the behaviors that makes Caulfield very dangerous to him is his heavy drinking of alcohol, which is not good of course for any individual, but especially for a young man who has many problems. These problems are only made worse by his drinking, as he insults those people around him, trusts no one, and takes on the attitude that almost everyone in the world is a "phony" because deep inside, they are not who they pretend to be, or who they think they are (Bloom, 1990).

Caulfield's paranoid attitude makes it impossible for him to stop being damaging to himself, and keeps him from maturing. As an example, his relationships with girls are twisted, as he convinces himself that he could "become" attracted to boys, and therefore avoids romance along with all of the other things that could make him a better person and protect him from himself.
Conclusion

In summary, Holden Caulfield's strange view of himself and others only hurts himself in the end. Because of this, everyone can learn an important lesson from Caulfield- that we all can be our own worst enemy if we are not careful.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold, ed. Holden Caulfield. New York: Chelsea House, 1990.

Pinsker, Sanford, and Ann Pinsker. Understanding the Catcher in the Rye: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999.