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The Catcher in the Rye

by J. D. Salinger

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Holden's Fantasies and Exaggerations in The Catcher in the Rye

Summary:

In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield's fantasies and exaggerations reveal his inner turmoil and desire to escape reality. He pretends to be shot after altercations, highlighting his immaturity and Hollywood-influenced imagination. Holden also imagines becoming a deaf-mute to avoid human interaction, reflecting his antisocial tendencies and disdain for "phony" societal norms. His hyperbolic statements, such as calling his brother a "prostitute" for writing scripts, underscore his critical view of the world and his struggle with mental health issues.

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Why does Holden pretend to get shot in The Catcher in the Rye?

Holden pretends to be shot in the stomach twice in the novel. The first time takes place shortly after the pimp, Maurice, punches him in the stomach and takes an extra five dollars from him. After Maurice punches him, Holden bends over and grabs his stomach like he has been shot. Holden then begins to pretend by saying,

Old Maurice had plugged me. Now I was on the way to the bathroom to get a good shot of bourbon or something to steady my nerves and help me really go into action. I pictured myself coming out of the goddam bathroom, dressed and all, with my automatic in my pocket, and staggering around a little bit. Then I'd walk downstairs, instead of using the elevator. I'd hold onto the banister and all, with this blood trickling out of the side of my mouth a little at a time. What...

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I'd do, I'd walk down a few floors—holding onto my guts, blood leaking all over the place—and then I'd ring the elevator bell. (Salinger, 56)

The second time Holden pretends to be shot in the stomach takes place shortly after Carl Luce leaves him at the Wicker Bar.

Holden pretending to be shot in the stomach characterizes him as an immature adolescent who lacks perspective and self-control. It also characterizes Holden as a hypocrite: Holden continually criticizes Hollywood and claims that he despises movies, yet he goes to movie theaters and is apparently heavily influenced by the films he sees.

Holden pretending to be shot in the stomach also highlights his inner turmoil. Holden is a traumatized, neurotic adolescent who struggles to articulate his feelings and seek help. By pretending to be shot in the stomach, Holden is subconsciously expressing his inner turmoil.

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Holden Caulfield actually does this twice in the novel, and the first time is just after Maurice and Sunny have left his hotel room after returning to collect the extra $5 that Holden apparently "owes" them in Chapter Fourteen. Having been punched in the stomach by Maurice, Holden imagines that he had actually shot him in the stomach instead, and imagines what it would be like for him to go after Maurice with a gun but also bleeding all over the place:

I pictured myself coming out of the goddam bathroom, dressed and all, with my automatic in my pocket, and staggering around a little bit. Then I'd walk downstairs, instead of using the elevator. I'd hold onto the banister and all, with this blood trickling out of the side of my mouth a little at a time. What I'd do, I'd walk down a few floors--holding onto my guts, blood leaking all over the place--and then I'd ring the elevator bell.

We can see from this elaborate picture the way in which Holden is obsessed by fiction rather than reality, and indeed seems to dwell more in the world of fiction than the harsh and boring world of reality that he is trying to escape by running away. Note what Holden says to us after this elaborate scene:

The goddam movies. They can ruin you. I'm not kidding.

He himself therefore recognises the influence of the movies, one of the biggest champions of fiction, on his life which suggests that his imagination combined with his penchant for lying obsessively indicates that play acting for Holden is all about making his life seem more interesting than it actually is.

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Why does Holden pretend to be a deaf-mute in The Catcher in the Rye?

Taking a decision "not to do somethingd" we are, in fact, capable of is often a psychological tool. It can take the form of "witholding." In this case in the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger we see Holden Caulfield looking for a way out of human interaction - the thing he is witholding is himself. Why might people want to do that? It can be a form of punishment and stem from anger over perceived mistreatment or stress such as the trauma of Holden's bereavement. Other common forms of 'witholding' are common to teens like Holden (anorexia,bulimia,agarophobia,self-harming) - some are deliberate and some are involuntary and related to deep psychological or mental illness. Young people are particularly prone and vulnerable because, like Holden, they are still too young to have any real independence, control or autonomy so when they are angry or sad they use the only weapon they have against their parents or society - themselves. Maybe the difference between whether they/Holden/Salinger become a full-blown sociopath or not is the understanding/treatment they get?

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Holden Caulfield imagines moving out West and pretending he's a deaf-mute:

I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes...That way I wouldn't have to have any goddamn stupid useless conversations with anybody. If anybody wanted to tell me something they'd have to write it on a piece of paper and shove it over to me. They'd get bored as hell doing that after a while, and then I'd be through with having conversations for the rest of my life.

Is this fiction imitating real life?  Holden, like Salinger, is anti-social.  They see mainstream America as "phony," materialistic and hypocritical.  Soon after publishing the novel, Salinger dropped out of society, like his character threatens to.  Though Salinger didn't move out West, he moved from New York and gave up his role as America's most talented writer to hole up in Connecticut, living in seclusion for the rest of his life.

The novel begins and ends with Holden out West in a "rest home" confessing the "madman stuff" that happened last year.  At the end of the novel, Holden wants to take it all back: "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."  His confession implicates himself as caring for others, namely Allie, whom he misses terribly since he died.  In fact, Allie may be Holden's primary audience and not, as some think, a psychiatrist.

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How does Holden show exaggeration in J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye?

Holden is a funny and interesting character. He's a teenage boy who sees most adults as phonies and doesn't seem to fit in with many kids his age. Almost everything that Holden observes is exaggerated because he suffers from social anxiety, depression, and possibly bipolar disorder--all of which weren't even terms back in the 1940s and 1950s. As with many people, not just teenagers, situations and events generally seem worse than they really are. Holden is no exception. Therefore, one can pretty much turn to any page in the book and find a hyperbole--or exaggeration. Below is one of the best examples:

"One of the biggest reasons I left Elkton Hills was because I was surrounded by phonies. That's all. They were coming in the goddam window" (13).

The above example is great not only because is it a hyperbole, but the image is hilarious. Just picture Holden's overactive imagination looking at the school windows and "phonies" are jumping through them!

Another exaggeration Holden uses is when he is talking about his brother D.B. having served in the war. He said D.B. probably hated the army more than he did the war; but then Holden says the following which is the exaggeration:

"I swear if there's ever another war, they better just take me out and stick me in front of a firing squad. . . I'm sort of glad they've got the atomic bomb invented. If there's ever another war, I'm going to sit right the hell on top of it. I'll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will" (141).

Obviously no one is going to let Holden ride on top of a bomb, but he sure has a flare for the dramatic!

One last example of Holden exaggerating is when he describes his actions. He will tell about something he said or did and then follow up with a promise that it actually happened that way--as if he has to prove he isn't exaggerating.

"I got excited as hell thinking about it. I really did. . . But I really decided to go out West and all. All I wanted to do first was say good-by to old Phoebe. So all of a sudden, I ran like a madman across the street--I damn near got killed doing it, if you want to know the truth. . ." (199).

In the above passage Holden follows his pattern of getting excited about something and then spontaneously overreacting. Then, when he writes about it, he says he almost got killed running through the streets rather than simply saying he made it across the street.

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What hyperboles does Holden use in The Catcher in the Rye?

Holden Caulfield is depicted as a hypercritical, mentally ill teenager who has a warped view of reality and is known for his ridiculous hyperboles. In the opening paragraph of the story, Holden uses hyperbole to exaggerate his parents' outlook on their personal privacy by saying, "my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them." Of course, Holden's parents would not literally have two hemorrhages, but his exaggeration underscores how he views their reserved dispositions. Further down the paragraph, Holden uses another hyperbole when describing his brother's Jaguar by saying,

He just got a Jaguar. One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour.

Once again, the reader recognizes that Holden is exaggerating, because it is highly unlikely that his brother's car can reach two hundred miles per hour. He is exaggerating to be dramatic or impress his audience.

Holden also uses hyperbole when he describes his brother as a "prostitute" because he moved to Hollywood to write scripts. By referring to D. B. as a prostitute, Holden reveals his negative feelings towards D. B.'s occupation and his belief that he is wasting his talent writing shallow, meaningless scripts. Another example of Holden exaggerating can be found when he comments on the Pencey Prep football game against their rival Saxon Hall. Holden says,

The game with Saxon Hall was supposed to be a very big deal around Pencey. It was the last game of the year, and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn't win.

Holden's hyperbole emphasizes the importance Pencey Prep places on athletics and school spirit. Later on, Holden exaggerates the uncomfortable conditions of his dorm by saying,

For one thing, the room was too damn hot. It made you sleepy. At Pencey, you either froze to death or died of the heat.

As the novel progresses, the reader becomes accustomed to Holden's continual use of hyperboles.

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