Catcher in
the Rye 9-10
Morgan Watkins
In Chapter 10, Holden showed
complex characteristics as a character that were exposed in this part of the
book. One of the first instances in which he shows his complex character is
when he was ordering a drink at the bar in the club that was located at the
hotel he was staying at. He ordered a drink and when the bartender refused to
give it to him without ID, Holden gave a “very cold stare, like he’d insulted
the ---- out of me” (69). This shows annoyance and anger out of Holden which is
not complex in and of itself but when paired with Holden’s next reaction, is
complex. After the bartender kept refusing, Holden then “asked him very nicely
and all” (69) and he finally accepted the bartender’s choice and realized how
the bartender would be affected if he had given Holden alcohol. He acknowledged
the punishment when he says, “They lose their jobs if they get caught selling
to a minor. I’m a ----- minor” (70). This shows how complex of a character
Holden is and how he can be all tough in one moment and totally sympathetic and
sorry and accepting in the next. These complex characteristics can apply to the
Romantic ideals that apply to Holden as a character. One way Holden’s characterization
supports the Romantic ideal of the emphasis on feeling and intuition is Holden
goes with whatever he is sentiment about in that moment: wanting alcohol and
then not wanting for the bartender to get in trouble. He doesn’t think through
it, but he goes with his gut. In this instance, Holden goes with his gut and
tries to lie to get alcohol from the bartender, but as soon as he realizes the
bartender won’t give it to him, he changes his mind and goes with a Coke.
Trying to lie and then changing his mind all do with going with your gut and
not thinking about it which is what Romanticism is about: feeling and intuition
over reason and intellect. As you could see, Holden does not try to reason
through what his gut tells him to.
I was interested in your response because as I was reading, I thought it was interesting how Holden would lie into getting what he wanted but then change his mind because of how it could possibly result in negative consequences for another person. It's interesting how Holden can change his mind so quickly in a situation because as you said , he doesn't let the reasoning behind something change his gut feeling. Do you think that there will be similar situations as this one, where Holden doesn't allow reasoning to change his gut feeling, among future chapters?
ReplyDeleteI believe there will be similar situations as this one because even though Holden has many layers, like an onion, this is one of the layers we peeled off. We know now about Holden, he doesn't allow reasoning to change his gut feeling. This is a characteristic that I believe will keep making an appearance as we read the rest of "Catcher".
DeleteI found this part of the book interesting because , most of the time Holden doesnt show much feelings about stuff. He genrllyu doesn't care bvery much about stuff and you can see that at that begnning of him talking, but then all of the sudden he stops and feels like he shouldn't get the guy in trouble potentially. It was weird because I feel like typically he could just say ahh and just try to get the guy to give him the drink but he changes and just gets coke and i onder why heir this? What was the thing that made him do this? Did he show care? or was he just being a decent guy?
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