Adam B. Clark
8/27/08
Mr. Sciuto

Inconsistent faith

In the Catcher and the Rye, Holden Caulfield is full of mixed emotions when it comes to faith. He puts his trust and faith into things that are completely innocent and things that never change. Has faith in the nuns to donate the money to a charity or to some sort of school when he gives the three nuns ten dollars inside the café after conversing with them over breakfast. He has faith and believes in the statues of the History museum to never change and to always accept his company. He has faith that the ducks in central park will leave every winter and come back every single spring. Holden believed that all children were innocent until the adult world corrupts them. He believes that the Child world is worriless and innocent.

On the other hand, Holden lacks trust and faith in things that are inconsistent and change throughout their lives. Growing up, he always had faith in Sally Hayes, but when he was in High School he lost faith in her when she went on a date with Stradlater because he knew the way Stradlater treated girls as opposed to the relationship that Holden and Sally had. Holden began to lose faith in his sister when she started to grow up for he felt that he was the reason she was going to turn “bad”. Most of all Holden did not have faith in himself. He did not trust himself to be around his sister because of the way he drank, cursed, and most of all the way he was turning into an adult. He did not believe in anything to do with the adult world, which he viewed as a corrupt and reckless way to live.