Holden's Lack of Commitment in The Catcher In The Rye Essay

In The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger depicted the main character, Holden Caulfield, as a young isolated boy who was unique in his own way. Because of his depression, Holden was not committed to anything and endured many obstacles throughout the novel causing him to be a bad friend. He was not dedicated to his schoolwork, friends, and even the opposite sex.

Firstly, Holden was not dedicated to his education and learning skills. For instance, he began to fall behind in school and failed all his classes except English. Before being asked to leave, he was warned about his flunking grades and had a chance to redeem himself. However, he chose not to and was forced to leave Pencey Prep immediately. If he had been more committed to his schoolwork, Holden could have had a better education and life ahead of him. A lack of commitment in the education field sets a bad example for others to follow, thus making Holden a terrible friend. A good friend is someone who will be there to assist others when help is needed at school. However, having a friend like Holden could be no help due to the fact he has less knowledge than he should.

In addition to a lack of commitment at school, Holden is not devoted to his friends. At Pencey Prep, Holden does not get along with any of the boys that go out and have fun. He thinks that the school is full of phonies who fight all day and have bad manners and habits. Holdens lack of commitment to his friends is seen when he talks about their bad personalities and characteristics. For example, Holden criticizes Ackleys poor hygiene and tells him straight up that he doesnt brush his teeth. Having a friend say something like that would hurt feelings and cause a friendship to drift apart. Also, Holden is not devoted to his friendship with Stradlater because he talks about him behind his back and calls him conceited. True friends are ones that stay loyal to one another without causing any drama.

Lastly, Holden expresses no commitment when dealing with females. All throughout the novel, he tries to find different people, mainly women, to interact with to stay away from his loneliness. However, when talking to the opposite gender, Holden is rude and impolite. He does not hold onto one person and is not committed to them at all. For example, Holden and Sally Hayes go on a date in which they argue. When Holden asks Sally if she ever gets fed up with anything, she didnt seem to understand why he was asking. Outraged by everything, Holden begins to tell Sally about Pencey Prep and the behavior of the boys there and invites her to run away with him. Sally refuses his proposal thus making Holden furious and forcing him to leave their date without taking Sally home. Holdens anger problems and disloyalty to women left Sally to find her own way home. In the real world, women are less likely to become friends with Holden because of his tendency to be unfaithful to them. In addition to the incident with Sally, Holden does not remain committed to Sunny when she arrives at his hotel room. He pays money to a prostitute because he wanted company. Sunny, however, gets upset because she expected a lot more than just talking from Holden. This showed that Holden was not committed to Sunny and what she desired and had originally came for. In relationships, lack of commitment normally results in fights and arguments, thus making Holden a bad friend.

As a result, his lack of commitment does not make Holden a good friend. A friend is someone that can be relied on and trusted with. Holden does not hold these certain characteristics which make him look like a bad person. Being friends with Holden would cause many problems and arguments. He would not be able to keep secrets because of his inability to stay committed to his friends including girls. Thus, in todays society, Holden would have trouble finding new friends if he were to move somewhere else. Ultimately, Holden was left lonesome until he arrived back home and bonded with his sister.