Jim Margherio

TH300-7

August 22, 2006

Was Holden Caulfield a Person of Faith?

Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of "Catcher in the Rye," is a person of faith because of his love for his sister and his quite appreciation of the simple joys of life.
Holden's brotherly affection for his younger sister Phoebe is easily his most redeeming quality. Excessively pessimistic and always weary of his fellow man, Holden is often a tiresome character. His cynical attitude pushes away most people in his life, except for a precious few he deems to be "real." These people include Mr. and Mrs. Antolini, his brother D.B., and of course, his sister Phoebe. But Phoebe is the only person Holden is able to truly connect with; his brother ran of to Hollywood to write, and the Antolini's, while not entirely inaccessible, are often too philosophical or drunk for him to deal with. Phoebe, on the other hand, is young and innocent, untouched by the "phoniness" that seems to dog his every step. Youth is an ideal to Holden, full of happiness, quite places, and fond memories. As he has grown, these things seem to have fled, replaced with responsibility, money, and social life. It is only when he is with Phoebe or thinking about her that he is able to let go of things. He admits to her his dream of standing on the edge of an enormous field of rye, catching children before they fall off of the edge into adulthood, just as he had. This shows a great underlying hope he has for his sister, and in a way, faith in her and in himself. Instead of giving in to adversity, Holden finds shelter as shelter; protecting his sister. Pretty, funny, and smart, as he describes her, she has the chance to grow up the right way. By the end of the story, Holden has strengthened his faith in people as a whole, thanks to his sister who helped him to keep going.
Holden also shows faith in life. Not necessarily someone who believes in God or religion, Holden finds solace in simple things, places and activities. He enjoys the Museum of Natural history, relishes it's quite and unchanging nature: "The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move... Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you." Holden has faith in the consistency of some things, the fact that there are places in the world that he can always depend on, unlike most people. He has faith in the fun of skating or a merry-go-round, and delights in watching children play, to see them grow up and be brought back to his own youth. This lost part of his life is what Holden has faith in, not his school or even his teachers, not his girlfriends or roommates. Holden believes in more intimate things that are not commonly appreciated. This explains his relationship with Phoebe and his disdain for everyone else, the "phonies" who live for buying expensive clothing and raving about the Lunts.
Though Holden generally does not like other people, he does accept that some people are "real," that some people are even trustworthy. He keeps his faith by trusting in these people. He finds respite in simplicity and solitude. Holden is a person of faith because, though he has given up on almost everything else, he hasn't given up on himself.