Rough+Draft

Throughout Catcher in the Rye we see Holden as a very lonely character often speaking of the ducks in Central Park for some subconscious reason he probably doesn’t even realize. Holden relates to the ducks in Central Park because they’re always moving from place to place like him. Holden wishes they’re were less similarities between him and the ducks, he wishes he was more like the fish so he could stay in one place. Holden lives a very frantic life. Holden has no one to care for, thus he has no responsibilities, other than to maintain his own health and security. There is no one Holden really trusts outside of his family, so he chooses to isolate himself from the world.

Holden lives a very fast paced, frantic lifestyle. Holden has been expelled from multiple schools, and after leaving Pencey; he has nowhere to call home. When Holden returns to New York City, he wanders aimlessly for days and has no purpose whatsoever. During the three days Holden is in the city he stays in different hotels, takes a number of taxis, roams the streets, goes to his house, and visits the house of his elementary school teacher, Mr. Antolini (Salinger chapters 23 and 24). Holden has no goals, nothing to really live for, and he struggles with this for days on end. He is soon morally forced to return home, to see his beloved little sister, Phoebe.

Holden has nobody to look out for, only himself. Holden does absolutely nothing in New York. He has no job, and is living off of his savings, which dissipate much too quickly for his liking; so he is forced to return home to get money from his little sister (Salinger 132 Holden has nobody to lean on; he relies on himself for everything that needs to be done. Holden wishes he were more self sufficient, as it would lessen the mental strain on him. Instead, he resorts to drinking and smoking. Holden has no definite purpose in life, and he struggles with this throughout the book, leaving him often confused and wondering about random topics.

Holden is a very lonely person. Holden always mentions the ducks because they are never in one place, and constantly moving. Horwitz, the cab driver, brings to Holden's attention the fish in Central Park. (Salinger 82) Holden begins to wish he was more like the fish because they get to stay in one place together and "nature takes care of them." (Salinger 83) As a result of Holden's loneliness he is always looking towards strangers for any type of connection. He asks strangers if they would like to join him for a drink throughout the whole novel. In a poor attempt for companionship Holden turns to a prostitute, but when he is actually alone with her, he can't bring himself to do anything with her. (Salinger 94-98)

Holden Caulfield is not your normal person. His life is so frantic that he hardly has time to stop. However, he brings this upon himself. Since Holden has no responsibilities, he constantly needs something to do, some sort of friendship with a normal person; not a crook or a phony as he would say. Holden is also incredibly lonely. Outside of his family, Holden has nobody to trust, nobody to go to in his times of need. Holden really just needs someone to be there for him, but nobody ever is. This leaves Holden all alone in New York, struggling to stay sane, and struggling to understand the virtues of life. Just when he thinks he has it all figured out, things change; leaving Holden farther away than he ever was to finding a real home.