“Illusions of Change and Time in The Catcher in the Rye”
As one of the pioneering works of the coming-of-age genre,
J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is built on the concept of
change. Although the degree to which Holden’s perspectives and life philosophy actually
develop from the beginning to end of the book is up for debate, it is hard to
dispute that the events of the novel shed a clear light on Holden’s various
issues and, if nothing else, indicate to the reader that change is needed,
even if it is yet to materialize.
Technically speaking, Holden is actively seeking
changes throughout the entirety of the novel. The numerous changes in setting
from chapter to chapter are mostly initiated by Holden himself. He is always
the one to spontaneously feel dissatisfied with his current predicament and seek
out a new setting with new company. His plans range from small scale actions like
leaving bars and travelling in and out of his dorm to huge, life-changing
decisions like his split-second choice to move to a cabin out west (218-219). The irony,
of course, is that despite the frequency and physical scale of the changes
Holden seeks, none of them get him any closer to developing mentally. These
desires all stem from his loneliness and lasting contempt for status quo society.
Acting on them not only fails to rid him of those emotions but usually ends up
deepening their severity.
But there is one
thought that has been on my mind for a while: maybe we can’t blame Holden for
his seeming refusal to change throughout the bulk of the story. I’m not saying
that Holden is incapable of changing, or that his surroundings aren’t conducive
to it. There is something more basic pushing me towards leniency regarding the
magnitude of Holden’s personal journey, and it all starts with one simple
question:
How long is The
Catcher in the Rye from start to finish?
It’s an easy
question to answer. The book begins in the afternoon on "the Saturday of the football game with Saxton hall" (4). We know that it ends promptly the following Monday afternoon. (Phoebe meets up with Holden at 1:25PM and the two spend a couple hours walking around town) (226). This means, however, that the entirety of Holden’s journey; his meeting with Mr.
Spencer, his fight with Stradlater, his encounter with Maurice, his date with
Sally, his reunion with Phoebe, and all the events in between; occurs within
the span of just 48 hours. Of course, the sheer density of events taking place
over these two days makes the whole ordeal feel a lot longer. It also helped
that we read The Catcher in the Rye over multiple weeks, which served to
somewhat artificially extend the mental duration of the story. But even from
Holden’s perspective, one could easily imagine how much his perception of time was
warped by his constant altercations.
If you have ever
had a particularly packed schedule (and I’m sure most of us have), you’ll know
what this feeling is like. On certain days, I have been bewildered upon recalling
that the morning cross-country meet I ran took place on the same day as the
evening homecoming dance I’m at now, especially since those two events occurred
at very different places. In my mind, they may as well have been on different days.
Holden might find it strange too that merely a few hours ago he was having a
regular chat with Ackley in his Pencey dorm room in Agerstown, PA when
currently he’s getting punched in the gut by Maurice in the Edmont Hotel in New
York City.
The point is, most
of The Catcher in the Rye was an absolute whirlwind for Holden, and it’s
not super reasonable to expect that a lesson could have just been pummeled into
his face in that way. Change usually takes time, and life-changing moments don’t
reach their fullest effect until after a lot of reflection and deliberation has
been done. So, to me, it’s pretty easy to rule out any epiphany happening during
the main plot of The Catcher in the Rye. The narrative simply occurred too
fast for Holden to react appropriately, and whatever realization he came to on
that park bench in the pouring rain while watching Phoebe do circles around a
carousel was at most the seed of a larger development later on.
The obvious
question moving forward, then, is what happens to Holden’s perspective at the
true end of the book: after he is finished telling the whole story to the
reader from his residence somewhere out west near D.B.? Have all these months
of reflection transformed the 48-hour whirlwind into a legitimate life-changing
experience? Unfortunately, this is the very same dispute I mentioned at the
beginning, the one with no confirmed answer. Holden hardly elaborates on how
much he has changed, having only speculative comments regarding his future
academic performance: “I think I am, but how do I know?” (234). We also
won’t get the chance to witness him entering his new school, at least until the
mysterious sequel to The Catcher in the Rye is finally released from
Salinger’s vault. Until then, we can only theorize about Holden’s future. But
one thing is for sure: Salinger gave this phony-hating boy a mere two days of adventure,
and while it wasn’t enough to give him purpose then and there, it certainly
gave him and us a few hints. What will Holden choose to do with it? Only time
will tell.
I loved this blog post! I completely agree that the ending was vague, and also that it was warranted given how short the span of time was that this all occurred in. I think the fact that he's even thinking about changing is a massive change, especially given that he's in an institution now, I have hope he will change. Much due to Mr. Antolini, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteHi Micheal! I really like your thoughts regarding Holden's emotional maturity arch and lack thereof throughout the 48 hour long story. I think pointing out the timeline of the narrative is very significant because ultimately we spent longer discussing and analyzing Holden's mental state and actions than he did throughout the whole story. This was not only because he didn't want to address any emotional turmoil, but also because he only had two days to do so. The line you wrote describing the rain carousel scene as a "seed of a larger development later on" is beautifully put. Readers tend to want a polished ending with every thread closed, but you eloquently explain how that's simply unrealistic and impossible in Holden's case. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Master Wu, This blog was a lot similar to my blog and I definitely agree about the vagueness of the ending because to me it felt like it ended abruptly and it feels like Holden learned something but it also feels like this journey he had done to escape school and his family had several times every time he got kicked out of a school with it feeling like at the last page he was not surprised about the fact he had to return home for his sister's sake. Great Job! (also can u lowkey teach me how to do that golden spinjitzu? dat stuff was fire in the show)
ReplyDeleteHi Michael!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting topic, and I have defnitely been a little astonished on how everything he does seemed to have happened in such a short amount of time. I was honestly kind of questioning his credibility as a narrator due to how unbelievebly packed his night was. I'm still a little shocked by how he managed to do all this crazy stuff and walking, and then go ahead and do it again without even sleeping. But I really like what you said about how when you have such a crazy day, you kind of are able to seperate it in your head and think like, "wow, was that really just a few hours ago?" because you feel so distant from it.
Excellent blog!
Wow Michael! This is actually extremely thought out (not that I'm surprised by that). It's so polished and formal, and I just wanted to comment that the tone and analysis in your blog sounded extremely professional and academic. Hooray! I resonate with the content as well, since the novel made it seem like at least 3 days had passed since he left Pencey. Then, there's the fact that Holden, from his institution, is choosing to tell us this story even if it was only 2 days long, which suggests that these 2 days (however short) were still important to him for some reason.
ReplyDeleteHi Michael! You're right to point out how stretched time feels in the book and how that ultimately affects the level of change Holden could have gone through. While logically I knew that the events didn't take place over much time, your analysis helped me actually realize how unrealistic expecting him to have a profound epiphany is, even if I was frustrated at times with the fact that he would not reach out for help. I also think the question that you bring up at the end is important, as the answer could point to whether Holden's refusal to grow stems from his personality or simply the time frame. I think that uncertain ending fits, as I think it's often difficult to assess or notice from within any development you've gone through, so I think it fits that Holden doesn't know what his future holds.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really useful reminder of the strikingly compact time-frame of this novel, and how that "pressurizing" of events one after the other might affect Holden's sense of being totally overwhelmed. (And, ironically, he brings this situation on himself by leaving school *early*--he isn't following the schedule, and these things that crowd his attention aren't even "anticipated" obligations of the kind we have at school or work. He keeps creating new disasters that he has to work through, and he's fully aware that all of this building pressure is self-imposed, and that the clock is ticking, and he's going to have to face his parents at SOME point . . . .) You give readers a healthy reminder that Holden's circumstances might not be too far from what we ourselves have experienced.
ReplyDeleteThere is also the slightly longer time-frame of the six or so months during which Holden has been getting some kind of treatment (including psychoanalysis), and during which he's been able to organize his experiences of this "madman stuff around last Christmas" into a more or less cogent narrative. But he subverts any expectations of change or development even over this time, refusing to answer DB as to what he "thinks of it all," and refusing to commit to applying himself next year, since he can't really be sure he actually will . . .
We have the paradox of a character who badly wants to resist change, but there's no way to do so, so he feels miserable while things change around him. Will he adapt and change along with circumstances? I know--he'd tell me I'm asking a "stupid question."
Nice blog Michael! The blog really changes how we as readers view the problem of Holden not changing from a lack of character to an issue with time scale. I think in an age where people beliefs and opinion can be changing constantly, with the influence of a news article or short form content, it is interesting the see the problem being kind of the opposite for Holden nearly 100 years ago. For him, 48 hours isn't enough time for change, but for some people today, 48 hours can cover so much change depending on the content consumed by the person.
ReplyDeleteMan that was such a good closing sentence... lowkey chills, honestly. In any case, I definitely think this was a very necessary analysis! We really do come to have such large expectations for a guy and his future when we really only know him for about two days. I liked the way you collected specific points from the book to really be specific about your examination--- I tried to do that a little bit in my analysis of Holden's physical symptoms throughout the book, but you definitely did a way better job. This was super fun to read!
ReplyDelete