Worldview in J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye

by Shawn Hassen

While there is no conveniently named particular worldview in J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, the author offers an array of profound ideas for students to consider.

Theme: Isolation

With aspects of naturalism, the novel highlights a young man who is lonely and struggling to thrive in his environment. On the one hand, Holden is indeed somewhat of a “victim” of boarding school culture. It is implied that his father is too busy with his career to take a genuine interest in Holden; his mother might be much more well-meaning, but fragile in her own way. Holden finds himself in boarding school after boarding school surrounded by mean, superficial teenagers who foster Holden’s cynicism and loneliness. On the other hand, Holden contributes somewhat to his own isolation . . .

Theme:  Superficiality

The novel’s overtly cynical view of society places Holden in conflict with nearly everyone he encounters. Despite having respect for a couple of his teachers along the way, he typically lumps teachers and administrators into the same category as the shallow students. He sees school (insert adult life) as a “game” that he refuses to play. So he flunks out repeatedly, continuing the cycle of loneliness and alienation. Given other chances to connect with people on any sort of genuine level, Holden typically resorts to lies or foolishness. Assuming that everyone he comes into contact with is only interested in the shallow things of this world—money, sex, fame—he rarely makes an attempt to engage anyone genuinely. Instead, he mimics their presumed superficiality.  

Theme: Alienation of the Artist (Parallels Shakespeare’s Hamlet)

This is one of the themes about which Salinger makes his strongest comment on the effects of environment. While Holden does to some extent lower himself to the same vulgar superficialities as the “phonies” around him, the wall of defenses he has constructed belie a surprising array of interests and talents. Salinger creates a Holden that is an advanced tennis player and golfing caddie; he dances; he has an extraordinary interest in music; he is extremely well-read and a commendable writer; he is incredibly observant; and he is, arguably, what we might call sensitive and intuitive. In other words, Holden is somewhat of a Renaissance man in his own right, with the artist’s sensitivity to beauty (closely related to his longing for innocence). Salinger’s allusion to Shakespeare’s Hamlet coincides with this theme. Holden seems to unwittingly recognize himself in Hamlet, and indeed his similarities to this literary Renaissance man who finds himself at odds with the falseness and corruption around him—yet often remains paralyzed to do anything about it—are unmistakable. Salinger constantly places Holden in an environment where people are dimly immune to beauty or actively trying to mar it. These environments highlight the struggle for the artist who necessarily struggles with alienation.  

Theme: Innocence Lost

Disgusted by what he perceives as an adult society fixated on money, fame, reputation, and sex, Holden is a fierce defender of women, including the young prostitute he tries to merely converse with as he sadly imagines her shopping for her dress. He longs for a return to the purity and innocence that he associates with childhood. Despite his own addiction to cursing, for instance, he is enraged at the vulgarities scratched onto the stairwell of a grammar school. And the one true relationship that Holden maintains is with his little sister whom he regards humorously and tenderly as the ultimate symbol of innocence—until she packs her bags and declares she will leave her life (of innocence) to go with him. In this moving climax, Holden has to decide whether he will leave or stay. He seems to know that if he leaves, he is helping (along with the rest of the world) to corrupt Phoebe’s innocence; if he stays, he has to face the struggles and frustrations of growing up (instead of running away like he has always done). His true love for Phoebe compels him to stay, but Salinger ends the novel with vague uncertainties as to how much success Holden will find or can find in the adult world. It is a sobering commentary on the possibly futile attempt to preserve innocence.    

The Novel’s Correlations/Contrasts to Scripture

Salinger’s characterization is so compelling that students will initially be drawn to Holden as if he were a real person. So what should they think about him? Undoubtedly, they will find him funny. Much of Salinger’s satire about society seems spot on, and he has created a character whose sarcasm and wit are unmatched. We should admire Holden as a protector and respecter of women and children. And we should sympathize with Holden to a certain extent. This novel is a sobering argument for the power of “nuture—” very little of which Holden has ever received. Devastated by his brother’s death, Holden has been left to latch-key himself through grief and one boarding school after another. It makes sense that with no one to appropriately help him, love him, and support him, he has turned to rebellion and cynicism to comfort himself the only way he knows how. This novel is and should be a powerful indictment against absentee parenting and private schools that are more interested in profit and statistical gains than in shepherding young men and women.

At the same time, it is important for students to see that Holden plays a role, himself, in his loneliness and isolation. Defense mechanisms are real and complex, and Holden is such a believable character that we could almost use him as a case study. Perhaps to protect himself from further hurt, he pushes most people away. His cutting sarcasm also indicates—just like in real life—an arrogance. Holden assumes that everyone around him either has false motives, or is an idiot. And his response to that, which is often to act falsely or stupidly himself, is juvenile at best. While we rightfully admire much of what Holden (Salinger?) stands for, and while we appreciate the very real effects that environment and circumstances can have on people, we can’t condone arrogance and mockery.

While there is much to agree with on the “nuture” aspects of the novel, it is good for students to think through the “nature” commentary. Salinger seems to attribute innocence to youth and corruption to adulthood. This is the tabula rasa suggestion that children are innocent and then become corrupted by society. While we can’t be certain of Salinger’s specific ideas on this, we can be certain of our own. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that humans have the power to corrupt and to be corrupted. At the same time, Scripture also makes it abundantly clear that no human heart is innocent. Thanks to Adam and Eve (whom we blame, tongue-in-cheek), we are born under the curse. Do children behave more “innocently” than adults since they have experienced less tragedy and been less exposed to society’s corruption? Certainly. To this degree we can understand Salinger’s point. But we can’t help but wonder if Holden’s rebellious determination to avoid growing up is rooted in part to his over-emphasis on what he perceives as childhood innocence.

Scripture explains the true balance of nurture and nature, making it clear that environment plays a role in our attitudes and actions—but so do we, ourselves, as individuals. People who see themselves as victims (not in the true sense of the word, but as in the “universe is against me” sense) see limited choices and limited personal responsibility. If I believe that I am a product of my environment, then survival by any means becomes my knee-jerk response. But humans, unlike the environment-dependent animal kingdom, have been granted free will—responsibility and power of action. Like Hamlet and like Holden, we made struggle to act: it is not simple to risk the accusation of treason, nor is it simple to actually follow through and “call Jane.” We need help. Our will always needs forming and shaping by the Holy Spirit—and often by the people God has placed in our lives to be trusted mentors and guides. Despite circumstances and environment, we are responsible for action. We have the hope—and the expectation—of transformation. Seeing Holden demonstrate some sort of genuine commitment to his future would leave us a little more settled than the vague note upon which the novel ends. We can relate to and grieve the hurt that people experience at the hands of circumstance and environment, but we must also see the hope in the human ability—indeed, duty—to effect change and not merely succumb to defeat.