Talk:Holden Caulfield

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Deletion?[edit]

This article was listed for deletion by a new user, probably a sock puppet. It was not a good faith listing, and no interesting or relevant discussion resulted, so I'm not archiving the VfD discussion. Isomorphic 22:06, 26 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Comments[edit]

Am I just getting crotchety, or does it bug people to have band lyrics mentioned in an encyclopedic article? To my knowledge, Britannica or Americana never did this, & I frankly don't care if bands I never heard of mention fictional characters (or even real people) unless what they said in the damn song is somehow relevant. This sounds like a free ad, or an ego-boo, & ought to be del. Trekphiler 09:09, 6 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree and am in favor of deleting it. --JOK3R 20:22, 12 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I recommend altering the characterization of Holden's siblings, in particular D.B. The idea that Holden has ranked his favorites is nowhere in the book to be found. Thus, this idea that "Holden's least favorite is D.B." introduced POV and cannot be supported. Moreover, although it is true that he feels D.B. has prostituted himself, he has deep affection for D.B. who, in fact, is caring for him at the end of the book.

Typology 07:55, 28 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I removed this from the article: "He runs into an older female acquaintance and tries to seduce her, but instead gets drunk and makes a fool of himself." Unless I've gone off some crazy cliff, this never happened in the book. Holden never really tries seducing anyone, does he? The only females in the novel Holden talked to are Bernice, the Seattle blonde (who's not an acquaintance, and he doesn't get drunk at that time because the waiter wouldn't slip rum in his Coke); Sally Hayes (When did Holden seduce her? When did Holden get drunk around her? He got drunk and called her later, yes, but that's not what this person is saying); D.B.'s old girlfriend with huge knockers (whom Holden loathes); Mrs. Antolini (who appears for about a second); the hooker; Miss Faith Cavendish (again, not an acquaintance); and Phoebe. That's it, right? StarryEyes 14:33, 1 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Holden can also be compared to today's pedophile, because of his apparent liking towards children.

... removed the above sentence, but felt it necessary to correct aswell - Holden is drawn to the innocence of children in lieu of the corrupt world they inhabit. Wants to be the catcher in the rye? Protect them from corruption, like the profane vandalism? Innocence & purity are the anti-phony? Thinking outloud - a little vodka is clouding me up.

Um...the article says the novel takes place in "December 5061." Very interesting, considering this is not a futuristic novel at all. I deleted it.

Holden in other works[edit]

"...and other members of the Salinger family are featured in..."

Rather, the Caulfield family?

  • Yes, correct--it has been amended. Although one can say the Caulfield family is Salinger's family, this is hardly the place to get theological. Slof 19:23, 11 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Song references[edit]

I merged the two instances of "Here's to Life" in the list of references to Holden in music. --Nanten 19:05, 16 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Viola Caulfield?[edit]

Since when did Holden have two sisters?

It doesn't matter to me, but the text says Viola is a sister mentioned in one of the books or stories or something. If that is not true, then Viola should be excised, or aborted, or whatever. Or, anyway, explained better. GeorgeLouis 02:37, 7 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

See near the end of the story "I'm Crazy" itself. Viola lives in the same house as him. - THE GREAT GAVINI {T-C} 14:21, 10 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Caul-Field[edit]

You know, I wouldn't be sorry to see that go--it seems to be a book report from some Scandinavian English class. I just didnt like the reason given for taking it out. Nareek 22:11, 6 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Verbose[edit]

To many big words. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.30.59.120 (talk) 19:50, 26 April 2007 (UTC).[reply]

verbose doesn't have anything to do with the length of words - means using a lot of words. Also, it's "too" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.247.231.37 (talk) 17:52, 8 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Holden McNeil[edit]

Seriously doubt there is any connection. If you want to, you could say that Holden was named after him 100 years ahead of time because they knew he would be a great character. Seriously, not everything with the name "Holden" and "Caulfield" relates to this guy. Together? Maybe. But separately, no. Zchris87v 22:23, 29 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Morrisey?[edit]

I'm sorry, but I do not ever recall "Morrisey" being stated as Caulfield's last name in the book The Catcher in the Rye. In fact, on page 85, Holden reveals his middle initial as "V.", though, in jest, says it stands for "Vitamins". At any rate, am I missing a page from this book that I must have read about twenty-five times? --Satyricrash 06:58, 1 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's his middle name (Jahova nigga) in the short story slight rebellion off madison. check the external links. i've put it back in--Mongreilf 18:06, 26 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Drain the boy[edit]

but excuse me, could anybody tell me the reason why the title's "catcher in the rye?" is there a chapter referring to it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.49.7.48 (talk) 14:28, 29 December 2007 (UTC) The reason it is called "catcher in the rye" is because it's the only thing Holden would ever want to grow up to be. He said so himself in the book.[reply]

Red crew cut?[edit]

nowhere in the book does it say that holden's hair is red. check minus 10:37, 2 may 2008

Holden Caulfield v. Antoine Roquentin[edit]

Perhaps someone could discuss the striking similarities found between Salinger's Caulfield and Jean-Paul Sartre's Antoine Roquentin. Although they differ in age, they tend to see the world in a wholly existentialist fashion. Seeking pleasure and discovering pain, these fictional characters truly put the perceived purposelessness of life to the test. FitzColinGerald (talk) 12:56, 22 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Hardly anything about Holden in the BOOK[edit]

There's hardly anything about Holden, a very complex character, in the book he started in, "The Catcher in the Rye." It's all a bunch of stuff about references to him in tons of other works, but barely anything about the actual character. 68.0.86.130 (talk) 01:10, 29 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Namesake[edit]

The Holden Bowler connection is dubious and should at least be rephrased to allow for other possibilities. The statement requires more verification than given: a single citation of a local newspaper obituary. Certain details provided by the citation unravel upon scrutiny, placing the entire story in doubt. Salinger was never employed by McCormick Lines, a company based in California. He was employed by the Swedish-American Line (based in New York) and served aboard the Kungsholm during the early months of 1941. However, the name Holden Bowler is absent from the Kungsholm's ship manifest during that trip. Furthermore, the only gap in Salinger's early biography occurs between April and August 1938. During these months, McCormick was undergoing corporate restructuring and its cruise ships did not dock at New York, making it impossible for Salinger to be employed by them at the time. It is possible that Salinger did meet Holden Bowler, as the book inscription would imply, possibly in port while on leave from their separate ships in 1941; but such a meeting is pure speculation - as is the entire Bowler story. It's a wonderful story and may well be true, but without proper validation, its presence here diminishes the veracity of the entire article.

DC —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.111.51.250 (talk) 02:03, 15 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

removed garbage...[edit]

I removed this junk, hope it's ok...


from the first section:


"Who ever has written or said this obviously didn't pay attention to the introduction as Holden states he is yet at another school. The book has nothing to do with insanity nor with about a boy who needs a sanitarium, it is merely a fictional story in which the author J.D. Salinger expresses how he felt during his boy-hood."

now that I look, I should probably remove the next line too.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.111.187.129 (talk) 07:51, 2 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]


I'm reluctant to remove it after all, but think it sucks....please discuss.... the line in question is:

"In the conclusion of the book, what is stated on the first page comes into clearer focus: Holden is in a sanitarium and has been telling his story to a psychiatrist, not simply a reader." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.111.187.129 (talk) 07:55, 2 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Why is this article EMPTY?[edit]

Am I missing something? I came here to read about the character and there is absolutely NO information about him. Just cultural references (on another page), quotations, and footnotes. Did someone vandalize this page?! Tamajared (talk) 22:23, 9 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Indented line Yeah, an anon with IP 24.92.76.13 deleted almost all of the page. I undid the edits, so it should be better now.

RyanRetroWickawack (talk) 15:55, 12 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Add more things[edit]

This page is very lacking, it needs more about the character himself and his parts in the plot. There should be a part for personality and another for plot overview.- D33

not encyclopedic[edit]

This article starts out on the wrong foot I think. The whole name section is one persons meandering logic weighing different options. Specifically, it says there is "more evidence" that he was named after a model... but the only evidence existing is that she was a model prior to his first mention of holden? That's not evidence.. coincidence at best. Seriously, that whole section sounds bizarre. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.247.231.37 (talk) 18:06, 7 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Oops[edit]

I believe this page isn't very well put together or else someone hurt it (which I highly suspect). Though that's sickening, let's hope you take my advice to check Sparknotes or another site for your answers. God bless! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.89.146.14 (talk) 03:43, 3 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Pency or Pencey?[edit]

The article uses both. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Longinus876 (talk • contribs) 17:51, 19 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Jewish?[edit]

Is he jewish?

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