Holden Caulfield Misanthropy Analysis

The book tells of a down trotted rebellious boy who’s obvious social short comings have often times been the cause of most of his problems. These short comings act as fuel for many of his mental ramblings, and social interactions. Obsessed with finding “phonies” the main character Holden Caulfield often times causes himself mental anguish with this obsession. Constantly angering himself over the actions of others, actions that may not even affect him in the slightest. One could denote that Holden Caulfield suffers from a condition called Misanthropy “A condition characterized by a need for solitude, and skepticism about the nobility of one's fellows. Hatred and mistrust of man (and woman) kind.” (Dictionary) It is his over desire to protect innocents as well as to try and find the sweat spot between adult hood and childhood that causes Holden all of his mental anguish.
The modern person’s artistic landscape is so defined by visual narratives both on T.V and in the movies that people can hardly imagine a world without images. People see books as cheaply made movies, and this can ruin the appeal books can give. The catcher in the Rye however has …show more content…
One obvious way this is explored is threw Holden’s sex life. Holden is very interested in sex and lets the reader know this. Whenever Holden is confronted by a woman or just notices one his first annotations about her is her relative sex appeal, what about them makes them hot and just how hot they are. Although Holden does make a mental note of every woman he encounters he never makes a move, even when he is in the company of a prostitute. In chapter 13 it is reveled after Holden had hired a prostitute that he is a virgin, saying “If you want to know the truth, I’m a virgin. I really I’m. I’ve had quite a few opportunities to lose my virginity and all, but I’ve never gotten around to it yet. (Salinger Pg