Chapter 24: Holden's Past: Darker than We Expected

In chapter 24, Holden goes and visits Mr. and Mrs. Antolini. Mr. Antolini was Holden's English teacher at Elkton Hills. Mr. and Mrs. Antolini are very kind to Holden, but there are a few strange things that occur. The strangest of all, is that when Holden goes to bed, he is woken up by Mr. Antolini stroking his head. Holden is terrified by this, and flees immediately. Once this incident happens, he says, "That kind of stuff's happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid. I can't stand it." These 2 sentences tell us so much about Holden's past. It becomes apparent to us that Holden was sexually abused as a kid. I do not think that Mr. Antolini was really going to do any harm to Holden, but the fact that it has happened in the past shows us that just the fact that Mr. Anotlini stroked his head scared Holden enough to run away. While this piece of information gives us a glimpse into why Holden is so depressed and has so many trust issues, it still leaves many questions unanswered, like who abused Holden. The fact that Holden was abused gives us a lot of information, but I think that the fact that J.D. Salinger left out the details is very smart. If Holden were to just tell us all of the details, it would not go along with Holden's character at all. He has a hard time talking about things that happen to him in the first place, let alone when he is terrified and when it is about such a hard topic. I think that Salinger made a very wise decision in not giving all of the details that we so crave. After reading this chapter, we know that Holden's past was may darker and harder than we expected.