Moral Beliefs in the Catcher in the Rye
Moral Beliefs in the Catcher in the Rye
Moral Beliefs are lessons about the right or wrong behaviour that is shown in a fable or event. Everyone has moral beliefs; it is hard to name them all or to even name any at all. However, situations in society help reveal and confront ones’ moral beliefs. Like Holden Caufield, in The Catcher in the Rye, conflicts and situations in society, forced him to confront his moral beliefs. The fight with Stratlater and Maurice, the confrontation of Mr. Antonlini and the many visits to the museum all were associated with Holden’s moral beliefs.
Holden is a critic in society; he believes that the major weakness in society is the phoniness. He thinks everyone he knows or meets are phonies with the exception of Jane, Allie and Phoebe. When Holden heard that his phoney roommate, Stratlater was dating Jane, he thought of her all the time. She was one or the few people Holden thought was pure and innocent. Stratlater disliked the composition Holden wrote for him about his dead brother, Allie. Holden loved his brother he believed that he was pure, innocent and lucky that he would always be carefree and in his childhood state. Holden became furious when Stratlater disrespected what he thought were valuable and innocent. When the boys fought, Holden was fighting for his morals.
Holden fears change in maturity. He believed that being an adult is hard, however he tries to be an adult by going to the lavender room and wanting to loose his virginity. However, he doesn’t succeed and doesn’t fit in. When Holden and Maurice fought, Holden just broke down and cried. He couldn’t handle the situation. That meant he wasn’t ready for adulthood after all. After the fight, Holden felt lonely and depressed, he started talking to Allie believing that he was near. At that point he wanted to escape adulthood by committing suicide. He thought that once one dies, they would never have to grow up, they’ll be carefree and maintain in their own state.
Mr. Antonlini confronted Holden’s belief in death when he said that, “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is he wants to live humbly for one.” It wasn’t proven that Mr. Antonlini was a homosexual. However, Mr. Antonlini also revealed that Holden don’t...