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Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of Jerome Salingers The Cather in the Rye, may be many things, but responsible is not one of them. Be that himself or other people around him, he rarely has a concern for anything. By highlighting his irresponsible behavior, Salinger contrasts the characters rather self-absorbed focal point with the reality of his actions and, by doing so, creates a highly engaging and multi-faceted work of literature.
Throughout the novel, there is more than one case when Holden has a chance to showcase his lack of responsibility. In fact, he seems to have had very little of it even before the novel begins. When reminiscing on his brothers death from leukemia, Holden remembers how he broke windows with his unprotected hands just for the hell of it (Salinger ch. 4). This motivation, which resurfaces time and again, shows that Holden cares little for his own well-being and acts without thinking. Similarly, Holden decides to get out of school all of a sudden, without giving much thought to it (Salinger ch. 7). Even though he thinks for a moment how doing so may impact his mothers nerves, he quickly reassures himself that she is not too bad after she gets something thoroughly digested (Salinger ch. 7). It shows that Holden is not merely impulsive he barely thinks about the impact of his actions at all.
Such behaviors on Holdens part impact the novel by highlighting the contrast between his self-perception and the reality of his actions. For example, when he sits on the bench, drunk and cold, he starts fanaticizing about dying and millions of jerks coming to his funeral (Salinger ch. 20). Moreover, he admits to feeling sorry as hell for his parents in case of his death (Salinger ch. 20). However, it does not prevent him from sitting cold and drunk and wallowing in self-pity, even though he himself admits it is a childish way to think (Salinger ch. 20). It shows that, even while criticizing other left and right, even Holden himself is aware of how irresponsibly self-centered he is yet does nothing about it.
In short, Holdens lack of responsibility may well be one of his defining features. When he acts, he does so with little deliberation or consideration for himself or others. These behaviors on his part allow Salinger to highlight the contrast between Holden putting himself above the surrounding morons and acting like an irresponsible and childlike moron himself.
Work Cited
Salinger, Jerome D. The Catcher in the Rye. E-book, Back Bay Books, 2001.
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