Holden Caulfield Controversy
J. D. Salinger’s composition of The Catcher in the Rye served as a turning point for American literature and society. It evoked many strong emotions within readers and critics alike. Although the book as a whole was largely discussed, the most controversial subject was the main character Holden Caulfield. Many Americans in the mid 1900’s saw Holden as a corrupt and disturbed person. “He is a drifter, a wanderer, an adventurer who seeks not adventure but smut and the negative satisfaction of a negative rebellion” (Moore 34). However, this is not necessarily a valid statement. In some lights, Holden’s surface character comes across in an unfavorable fashion. Nonetheless, when his life and personality are dissected, it becomes evident that
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“Holden acts like a saint or savior of the innocent. It is this sensitive, innocent, and childlike side of Holden that makes him a complex and endearing character, in spite of his vulgarity and immaturity”(Baumbach 25). In agreement with the first part of Baumbach’s claim, Holden displayed many characteristics that held up to these words. In particular, Holden lived up to the statement of protecting innocence by removing the slander off the school and museum walls. This action supplied evidence of contradiction to the second part of Baumbach’s claim, which deemed that Holden possessed “vulgarity and immaturity.” One source says that Holden became a defender of innocence when he erased these words off the walls because he did so in order to shield them from the corruption in the world (Freedmen …show more content…
Kinnick, “Holden Caulfield: Adolescents’ Enduring Model,” High School Journal 53, No. 8 (May 1970): 441-43
Brooks, Bruce. "Holden at Sixteen." Horn Book Magazine 80.3 (2004): 353-357. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 243. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Jan. 2013.
Freedman, Carl. "Memories of Holden Caulfield--and of Miss Greenwood." Southern
Review 39.2 (Spring 2003): 401-417. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed.
Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 243. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Jan. 2013
Miller, Edwin Haviland. "In Memoriam: Allie Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye."
Mosaic 15.1 (Winter 1982): 129-140. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 138. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Jan. 2013.
Miltner, Robert. "Mentor Mori; or, Sibling Society and the Catcher in the Bly." The
Catcher in the Rye: New Essays. Ed. J. P. Steed. New York: Peter Lang, 2002. 33-52. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 243. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Jan.
“Holden acts like a saint or savior of the innocent. It is this sensitive, innocent, and childlike side of Holden that makes him a complex and endearing character, in spite of his vulgarity and immaturity”(Baumbach 25). In agreement with the first part of Baumbach’s claim, Holden displayed many characteristics that held up to these words. In particular, Holden lived up to the statement of protecting innocence by removing the slander off the school and museum walls. This action supplied evidence of contradiction to the second part of Baumbach’s claim, which deemed that Holden possessed “vulgarity and immaturity.” One source says that Holden became a defender of innocence when he erased these words off the walls because he did so in order to shield them from the corruption in the world (Freedmen …show more content…
Kinnick, “Holden Caulfield: Adolescents’ Enduring Model,” High School Journal 53, No. 8 (May 1970): 441-43
Brooks, Bruce. "Holden at Sixteen." Horn Book Magazine 80.3 (2004): 353-357. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 243. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Jan. 2013.
Freedman, Carl. "Memories of Holden Caulfield--and of Miss Greenwood." Southern
Review 39.2 (Spring 2003): 401-417. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed.
Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 243. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Jan. 2013
Miller, Edwin Haviland. "In Memoriam: Allie Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye."
Mosaic 15.1 (Winter 1982): 129-140. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 138. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Jan. 2013.
Miltner, Robert. "Mentor Mori; or, Sibling Society and the Catcher in the Bly." The
Catcher in the Rye: New Essays. Ed. J. P. Steed. New York: Peter Lang, 2002. 33-52. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 243. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 3 Jan.