Holden's Views Toward Females example essay topic

Catcher in the Rye- Essay Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of Catcher in the Rye, written by J. D Salinger interacts with different kinds of females throughout his travels. He has normal adolescent thoughts of having sexual relations, like calling for a hooker or calling a women who is a stripper. He is also quite shallow which is apparent on his date with Sally or the blonde in the Lavender Room. He also has little respect for some women who have different ideals than him. He has no respect for Sally which is discernible when he ridicules her and makes her cry. Though he disrespects Sally, Holden greatly respects his sister Phoebe and Jane Gallagher.

Holden Caulfield's views and attitudes concerning women differ according to the type of women he is interacting with at that particular time. Holden's shallowness is evident in a few accounts throughout the novel. When Holden goes to the club in the hotel where he is staying, he starts flirting with three women. They are older than Holden but he dances with all three of them and feels he is "half in love" with the blonde because of her looks and great dancing ability. Another instance that portrays his shallowness is when he makes a date with Sally Hayes.

He thinks she is phony and somewhat annoying; the only way he can stand her is because she has great looks. The quote that most greatly emphasizes Holden's shallowness is when he says he feels sorry for ugly girls they have to be kinder and have a better attitude than pretty girls. Holden is also normal in one sense because he ponders about having sexual relations. He views some girls as objects he can use to have sex with.

In New York he calls a women named Faith, who is a hooker. He got her number from a friend who told him to call if he wanted a good time. He thinks he can persuade her into having sex with him. He also talks about almost having sex, but something is always going wrong. He says he wants to know as much as he can because he is always messing up. This is why he gets a prostitute.

After leaving Pence, he goes to New York and gets a hooker at the hotel where he is staying. At first, Holden likes the idea of having sex with a hooker so he can get some practice. The hooker Sunny instead makes him depressed and he actually just wants to talk to her. He does not have sex with her because he becomes nervous and says he just had surgery. Later in the novel, Holden meets a friend named Carl Luce, who was an advisor at Whoo ton who had an great deal of sexual experience and Holden wants to talk about sex when they meet. One negative trait of Holden is that he sees people that act differently from him as "stupid" or phony.

He gives these females little respect. Sally Hayes, for example is more mature and conventional than Holden. He sees this as a fake ness and claims she is "stupid" but this could be based simply on Holden's contradiction about being attracted to her. During their date he says she is a "pain in the ass" and he does not say sorry and she starts to cry. Unlike Sally, Holden admires Jane Gallagher. They meet during one summer break and they had a close relationship.

She is important to Holden because she is one of the few girls whom he both respects and is attracted to. In a different sort of relationship, Holden greatly respects and loves Phoebe, his younger sister. She is very intelligent for her age and a great listener. Her childhood purity is the only thing that gives Holden happiness throughout the novel. Phoebe also is the one that helps Holden encounter his epiphany. She realizes his bitterness toward the outside world is actually toward himself and she sees Holden needs her love and support.

Holden's interactions with women are unique because he is trying to connect to any person he can and stumbles into some uncomfortable situations. He views the mature and phony females as stupid and thinks negatively of these women. Holden contradicts almost everything he says, so its no surprise that he gets a hooker and calls a woman like Faith, but says sex should only happen with a loved one. Holden's views toward females differ with every women and changes with all the contradicting he does..