Abstract

“Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad.”J. D. Salinger’s tale of juvenile weltschmerz, The Catcher in the Rye,1 portrays a personal psychology of youthful disillusion. Holden Caulfield, the novel’s narrator and antihero, embarks on an existential odyssey in New York City after being drummed out of his fourth private prep school for failing grades.Smart and resourceful enough when the occasion requires, Holden is disgusted with virtually everything and everyone around him. By maintaining a negative attitude, he excuses himself in his own mind from doing anything potentially disappointing—it is all futile and pointless anyway. Holden thereby cultivates an attitude that prevents him..