Joe Kainz

Jr. Theology/Faith

August 27, 2007

Was Holden Caulfield a Person of Faith?

I believe that Holden Caulfield, through his immoral thoughts and actions, was not a person of faith, but his ideals are similar to that of a person close to God. Let us start off with Holdens thoughts and behaviors. Holden Caulfield rarely, if ever at all, goes to Mass or a service of some sort. He sleeps in after wild nights of partying, while his roommate, Ackley, gets up on Sundays to go to Mass. Holden also is a habitual liar. We see how he tries to pass for over the age of twenty-one to get his favorite drink, rum and Coke. Also, when Holden is on the train out of Agerstown, he lies to one of his classmates mother, trying to convince her on how great of a kid her son is. Holden also judges people based on their looks and features. When having a drink with an old friend, Holden scans the room and points out all the people he thinks are gay. Holden also has a problem with religious people in general. At his old boarding school, a tennis-playing Catholic boy first asks Holden if he was Catholic before he would talk to him. Holden takes this questioning as way for the Catholic boy to label him as a trustworthy person or not. At perhaps his lowest point, Holden even sinks to calling promiscuous acquaintances and having a prostitute sent to his room, only to do nothing wrong with the girl and end up getting beat up by her male employer.

Although Holden Caulfield may be no saint, his ideal world is similar to that of someone close to God and has the questions about society that a person of faith would have. At one point in the book, Holden talks of the man, Ossenburger, who donates a large amount of money to Pencey, his school, and how Ossenburger talked about God on stage. Holden could not help but wonder how this man could talk about God and charity and then drive off in his big Cadillac. Holden also has a soft spot in his heart for Salvation Army bell ringers and nuns. He even goes as far as taking all of his money and putting it in the basket of two nuns he hardly even knows. Holden also believes the world becomes more corrupt as a person grows older, as seen when his little sister, Phoebe, lies to their parents about smoking. Also, Holdens mind often wanders back to an old classmate of his, James Castle (notice his initials), and how he did not denounce what he believed. James died while jumping out of a window to escape the bullies to whom he expressed his beliefs, and James is the kind of person Holden Caulfield admires.

In conclusion, I do not believe Holden Caulfield is a person of faith. He is person that goes by what he sees, and what he sees is a world where the only truly innocent are the children. Holden shares the same ideals and visions that a person of faith would have, but his actions are too incriminating. Throughout the book, we see little evidence that Holden believes in God or feels Gods presence. In fact, Holden actually wants to be God in a way. In the same way that God watches over us and keeps us from wandering, Holden wants to keep innocent children from growing up in a corrupt world, a catcher in the rye. Perhaps Holden feels that there is nobody to keep the innocent from straying onto a darker path, and that the only way to get something done like that is to do it himself.