Holden Caulfield is The Jerk We Deserve

We're raised in a society where rich kids get passes day in and day out. They get away with almost everything so long as there's enough zeros at the end of their parents' checks.

There's even a disease (afluenza) for being so rich you don't understand normal people's problems. Just... what? It's been about class ever since I can remember, ever since my parents can remember, and ever since my parents' parents can remember.

The thing is, a lot of people don't buy into that class system. They want to be their own people. They don't want to be stifled into the stereotype that their parents want for them. But most insanely wealthy parents think that throwing money for the best private schools and the fanciest clothes, cars, and accessories will fix all their kid's problems. So that kid feels guilty, or at the very least, some type of impetus to try and be the child his/her parents want him/her to be.

And it fails. Every time. And you end up with a resentful child who chooses to express his frustration in the form of aggression and senseless rants towards people who may actually enjoy being who they are. And that resentful child is Holden Caulfield.

The Catcher in the Rye is an extremely polarizing book, and it's no wonder with a main character like Holden. Some people see the beauty of how much hatred we have for him, some people bash Salinger's sophomoric writing style, and some people adore the cohesion and unity the book has in everything it discusses.

Why do we hate Holden so much? Really though, why? It's because we created him. We create him. Every single day we stereotype a seemingly obnoxious rich kid just trying to find his way in the world, we add to the problem that is Holden Caulfield.

We often act as though we have no part in creating obnoxious people like Holden. Who is he really calling phony? Stradlater isn't a phony at all when you think about it. He's honest and straightforward about his intentions; he's a jerk and he owns it. What's phony about people who are self-admitted assholes?

Compare that to seemingly nice individuals who take time to hold doors open for elderly folks, to smile and wave at newborn babies, to talk to homeless people- but as soon as a kid like Holden comes around, they turn their backs and immediately pool him with the rest of the douchey rich kids.

Aren't we the phonys? Aren't we the hypocrites? I'm certainly one. I've done it multiple times. I've been abrasive, rude, and downright caustic towards those who just look like jerks.

Then again, we have every right to hate Holden because it is only human nature to resent our mistakes. And Holden Caulfield is society's mistake. He is a victim of the single story society assigns to every single rich kid who just doesn't want to be part of his parents' plans for him.

But go ahead, hate Catcher in the Rye. I do. But it's because I hate a little part of myself. The part of me that can't help but judge teenage boys who drive nicer cars than I do, that have everything at their fingertips, that seemingly have almost nothing to be worried about because with all the money in the world, who needs to worry?

But here's the head fake: it's okay to hate Catcher in the Rye because it means that you accept your culpability in creating Holden. And acceptance is the first step. So maybe one day you won't hate that book. Or maybe you still will.

Just think about what being a catcher in the rye really means. To protect innocence, to prolong a child's instinctual reaction: the treatment of everyone as equals, of seeing the world as beautiful and whole. Maybe Holden is really just protecting himself. From us. From the people who create his life, who force him towards one direction because his immature, whiny, supercilious nature is deemed unacceptable. But is he so wrong?

People like us, we want to fix the world, to help those in need, but maybe we should start with fixing ourselves. Return to a child's view of the world, to the assumption that everyone is good until proven otherwise. So that Holden doesn't have to do his job. So that he doesn't even exist in the first place.