Throughout chapter 15, the last line of the section reveals something incredibly strange about Holden in his sense of religious beliefs and the power of money. After the two kind nuns leave Holden at the breakfast bar with his ten dollar charity donation, he starts to doubt wether he was generous enough or if he should have given more money for a just cause. This moment is highly contradictory since Holden in the previous chapter stated that he did not agree with organized religion, however, he still is willing to give more “dough” to the nuns and charity. Holden states, “Goddamn money. It always ends up making you blue as hell” even though he was almost going to pay the women’s check at the bar (pg. 113). This statment proves to the reader that Holden’s narration is truly unreliable and argumentative.
In addition to his opinion on money, this chapter seems to have more lines in which Holden states something and then almost instantly rearranges his wording. For example, when the troubled teenager is discussing how religion and Catholicism could ruin a talk, he confusingly says, “I’m not saying it ruined our conversation or anything--it didn’t--but it sure as hell didn’t do it any good” (pg. 113) This line and countless others show that Holden is having a harder time phrasing opinions while simultaneously trying to sound polite. One possible explanation for this large amount of “flight of ideas” could be “self-reference” or “loss of goal” which are mental speech disorders extremely common in young adults. In the case of Holden whom the reader can predict is in a mental health facility, he often rethinks his statements to make sure they do not come across as blunt or rude. If one was to read aloud this chapter, they would realize that Holden repeats many similar phrases such as, “that’s all I’m saying”, “I didn’t...”, and “but...” (pgs. 105-113).
That's a good way to think about that Chapter Q. I also was wondering why he kept on contradicting himself throughout on topics such as this. I feel that perhaps the author, J.D. Salinger is trying to give us details on how Holden has definite problems, however; I do think that Holden isn't quite insane rather he is just looking for an identity. Not insane.
ReplyDeleteGreat summary Q. In this chapter, I think that Salinger is indeed trying to give us hints that Holden is suffering from some sort of mental disorder, but what we really need to know is what kind of mental disorder. Depression? Insanity? Bipolarity? I believe he is suffering from one of those but I can't seem to figure it out. I partly think that he just trying to find an identity because he needs someone to be besides "the catcher in the rye," an impossible dream.
ReplyDeleteQ! I think you did a really good job incorporating the text into your blog post. Now I'd like to answer your question as to whether or not Holden suffers from a disease or has some sanity left in him. I think Holden fell into a depression on July 18, 1946, when Allie died. I don't think he any other type of mental disease (though I'm not a psychologist) but I don't believe he has gotten the help he needed to deal with Allie's death. I think he would benefit immensely from talking to either a therapist or a mentor figure. I think he just needs help sorting out how he feels about the death of his baby brother, who he loved very much. Ask yourself: how would you feel if a sibling died? G-d forbid, of course, but we should be able to empathize.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Holden is insane. On the contrary, I think the way he is acting is very typical for someone who has just lost a sibling. He is just lost after Allie's death and doesn't know how to recover from it, so he tries talking to multiple people, but he never is able to find the right one. I think this action in and of itself proves his sanity. He is aware of the fact that he needs guidance, so he consciously tries to get it from whoever he can.
ReplyDeleteQ, you did a great job on this blog post. To answer you question about Holden's insanity, I don't think that Holden is insane. I do think that Holden does have a multitude of problems and does not know how do deal with them. I think that his coping method is to call everyone phonies and question everyday life. To summarize, I don't think that Holden is insane, but just looking for a reason to live.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Holden responds to Allies death in a wild manner, he is sane. He often tests his limits, and when he realizes he can't deal with them, he quits before things get too bad. For example, when he gets the prostitute he rationalizes the situation and sends her away. I believe that Holden can rationalize different situations and people, making him sane.
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