Adolescent Hypocrisy in The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye - photo by Lesley Lanir

Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye, is a troubled, unstable teenager. Caulfield displays many negative externalising and internalising behaviours but his pessimistic self-narrative also shows that he seems worryingly unaware of his own self-worth.
Some of Caulfield’s behaviours, however, are in accordance with Professor David Elkind’s theories on adolescent behavioural development and exemplify his idea of “apparent hypocrisy” mentioned in his article “Understanding the Young Adolescent.” in Adolescence, 1978.

Holden Caulfield - Apparent Hypocrisy - Intellectual Immaturity
Professor David Elkind states that one of the patterns of behaviours common to teenagers is “apparent hypocrisy” which is normally noticed in obvious discrepancies between their words and their deeds. According to Elkind, “apparent hypocrisy” usually results from intellectual immaturity rather than defects in moral character.
The most outstanding example of Holden Caulfield’s “apparent hypocrisy” is when he admits to being a “terrific liar” (14*) and continually “shoots the bull” (11*), yet throughout his narrative he obsessively repeats that he abhors anything “phoney.”
In addition to lying, Caulfield seems to contradict his moral stance. He indicates he has high moral standards and even considers his brother to have “prostituted” his talent to Hollywood (1*). Yet, once the young teenager reaches New York, he “feel[s] pretty horny (67) and calls up a girl “that [doesn’t] mind doing it once in a while” (67) and later arranges for a whore to visit his hotel room (98).
Although Caulfield readily satisfies his own sexual yearnings, he hypocritically criticises his roommate Stradlater for being a “sexy bastard” (38) and taking advantage of his dates. His double standards are emphasised further when in the cab on the way to the theatre, Caulfield “horse[s] around with Sally (131) and informs her that “[she’s] the only reason [he’s] in New York” (137), even though he “doesn’t like her much” (130) and later “sort of hate[s] her” (134).


Another discrepancy in Caulfield’s behaviour is his disgust at his peer's lack of personal hygiene. He criticises Ackley’s dirty habits (26) and refers to Stradlater as “a secret slob” (31) because of his grubby razor. Yet after his fight with Stradlater, Caulfield refuses to wash the blood off his face or change his clothes (49).

Holden Caulfield – The Catcher in the Rye – Breaks Down
Holden Caulfield a lonely, troubled teenager in the throes of the most difficult period of psychological and physiological development appears to understand certain principles and has internalised moral values, but has not yet developed a sense of obligation to conform to them. Conceivably, if the adults in his environment had focused greater attention on Caulfield’s conduct, they may have noticed that this teenager had become “pretty run-down” and finally broke down due to the responsibility he felt for his brother’s death.

Sources:

• Elkind, David. “Understanding the Young Adolescent.” Adolescence, vol. XIII No. 49, Spring, Libro Publishers, Inc. New York.1978.
• Salinger, J.D. The Catcher In The Rye. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd., 1951.
• Salinger, J.D. The Catcher In The Rye. London: Penguin Books Ltd., 1994.
• References with * refer to the 1994 edition of The Catcher in the Rye. References without * refer to the 1951 version.

First published Feb 17, 2011 on Suite101 by Lesley Lanir Copyright Lesley Lanir. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.