Holden's Contradictions In Catcher In The Rye

When Holden was with Phoebe, she was hurt by him moving away. He then promises her, “I'm going home. Im going home as soon as you go to school” (Salinger 208). This contrasts and contradicts what he earlier said about wanting to move away. He had planned out his whole life out West. He was so set on going somewhere that no one would know him and that he would not have to communicate with. He may have done this because he realized that he was not ready and that he was still a kid. He may have seen that he should get an education and that he needed help, which he got.
As Holden is eating at Grand Central Station, he sees two nuns with cheap suitcases. He goes into saying, “ it sounds terrible to say it, but I can even get to hate somebody, just looking at them, if they have cheap suitcases with them” (Salinger 108). This contrasts and contradicts what he has said earlier about phonies. Holden has expressed numerous times his views on phonies of the upper class, yet he is acting like one. Him commenting on the price of suitcases contradicts his earlier perceptions of money. He never cared for people who made a big deal of their financial success and showed it. Yet, Holden does with his expensive suitcases. The character may be doing this to show
He starts talking about her house and remembers how “she was the only one… that I ever showed Allie’s baseball mitt to, with all the poems written on it” (Salinger 77). This memory is important because it shows that Jane was important to him. Allie was obviously a big part of his life and the fact he showed him to her proved that Jane was important to him. This shows that the most important people in his life know about Allie, such as Phoebe. He trusts Jane enough to show her the mitt and cares for her, shown through her constantly being on his mind. He remembers unique details about her, which gives the impression he loves