Noah Mitchell
8/23/06
Theology Essay: Holden Caulfield
Holden Caulfield’s worldview lacks trust or belief in friendship, humanity, and the earth’s goodness, revealing signs of faithlessness.
Holden’s cynical view towards his peers denies him the chance to trust or believe in them. Constantly observing the defects and selfishness of Stradlater, his roommate, he adopts an attitude of disrespect, whether merited or not. He distrusts Stradlater’s actions around women, especially Jane Gallagher and doubts the existence of a real friendship between Stradlater and himself. He sees others in a similarly haughty light, distancing himself through derision of Brossard and Ackley.
This worldview carries over towards Holden’s thoughts on humanity. Everything that marks human advancement and progress receives scorn, including art forms such as movies and theater. His date with Sally Hayes is tainted by the “phony” productions they see. Most notably, education, the key to progress, receives especially intense criticism. After attending three different schools, he still waves off the instruction he receives and the authority associated with the schools. Holden distrusts the general human species and disbelieves its nature and aspirations.
Holden sees no goodness in the world and its role as a formative environment for those growing in it. Largely blind to those who help the world foster truth, he thinks the world will corrupt every person into a conformed adult, squelching hope of individualistic expression and freedom. His worldview is that society cultivates greed, shallowness, and phoniness. His loathing of Ossenburger demonstrates his distrust of society’s leaders. Yet, only Holden’s shallow perspective on “hot shots” around him validate his scathing remarks. He neither trusts the world’s influence on individuals, neither believes that goodness can emerge from it.