I think that Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye is not a person of faith because he is afraid to trust people and instead calls them all “phonies,” and he wants to put he people he cares about into glass cases, thinking that the choices they make will destroy the innocence and that their decisions later in life will make them into “phonies.” Holden, throughout all of Catcher in the Rye, calls many people he knows and meets at first contact “phonies.”
He rejects the people he knows such as D.B. and Stradlater by calling them “phonies,” and thus he does not put any faith or trust in these people. However, he fails to realize that there are good and bad sides both insides people. Rather than focusing on the good that people have or bringing out that good, he instead lazily labels those people as “phonies” and views them with contempt and as greedy people. Holden also calls some people he meets at first contact “phonies,” even though he never really took the time to know them and their personalities.
Holden instead wants to take the people he loves and put them into glass cases to preserve their innocence. Holden wants to put Phoebe in a glass case to save her because he does not trust that the decisions she will make later in life will be good decisions and that she will retain her purity. Holden does not allow free will, which represents again the good and bad that is in everyone that allows them to choose their own destiny.
If Holden puts Phoebe in a glass case, he would only end up killing her. Holden also keeps Allie in a glass case in his mind by not talking about him to anyone, therefore showing that he does not trust anyone enough to talk about the problems in his life. He instead represses his anger and sorrow, which is very unhealthy mentally and possibly one of the reasons why he struggles in life. Holden could have been successful in school, have healthy and fulfilling relationships, and be able to progress further in life if he took a chance and believed in other people and that the events in his life would turn out smoothly.
