Holden, HDT, and Huck
Even though it's probably quite likely that Holden Caufield would regard Henry David Thoreau as one of the world's great phonies, it's interesting to think about where Holden fits in the pantheon of great American non-conformists. In a literary tradition loaded with celebrations of defiant indiviudalism, Holden stands apart, as a uniquely critical voice challenging American conformist thinking.
What I love about Holden is his powerful, critical eye for hypocrisy, for "phoniness." He skewers people who deserve to be skewered, like the pretentious Luce and slovely Stradlater, which allows the reader to take part in criticism of people we wish that we didn't so often tolerate. In a sense, this criticism seems quite similar to the way that HDT destroyed his neighbors, not with violence, but with truth, or the way that Huck Finn's innocence helped him expose the frauds he encountered on his journey.
Holden becomes less lovable when his venom is directed at people who perhaps don't deserve it. His attacks on Ackley and the tourists from Seattle, while fun, are a little uncomfortable, because his criticism is not directed at people who have influence or power. Thoreau's enemies are nameless, Huck's are usually deluded or outright evil, but Holden's are sometimes regular, vulnerable people, not the typical targets of satire.
What redeeems Holden, though, is that his criticism is tempered by his innocence and desire to protect others. His love for Phoebe and Allie, his faith in Jane, and his desire to wipe away all the obscenity from all the walls in the world in order to protect children from losing their innocence is the source of his cynicism. He genuinely longs for the innocence of childhood and the honesty that youth allows. In that sense, he stands with HDT, who despite his unwavering assault on the lives of ordinary people, believed that we could transcend to build castles in the air, and Huck, who always believed in people, no matter how often that faith was challenged.
Yesterday, I told you that I always have a strong, if different reaction to Catcher in the Rye. This time was no different: instead of feeling sorry for Holden or the loss of his idealism, I came away believing in it. Mr Antinoli was wrong; the only real fall for Holden would be giving in to a world that he doesn't believe in.
