In chapter 14, Holden has a prostitute come to his room. After paying her 5 bucks, she left. Later, Holden gets a knock on the door. Sunny, the prostitute, and Maurice are there demanding 5 more bucks from Holden. He tries to stand up for himself, but instead of sympathy, Holden gets a nasty slap to the stomach along with 5 stolen dollars. After Sunny and Maurice leave, Holden takes a bath and finally gets into bed and tries to fall asleep, even though he wasn't tired. He says that instead of going to bed, he wishes he could have committed suicide. His reason for not going through with that plan was because he didn't want a bunch of stupid rubbernecks looking at him when he was all gory. What do you think Holden meant when he said this? Does he actually care about rubbernecks looking at him, or is he just making up excuses? If he isn't making it up, does his issue with people seeing him when he is all gory have to do with his problem with purity? Why or why not?
I think Holden’s problem with the goriness of suicide is related to all the other times in The Catcher in the Rye when Holden has expressed irritation or disgust when it comes to hygiene and cleanliness. His revulsion of the state of his teacher Spencer is so much that he is forced to leave, and later we learn how much Ackley’s “mossy” teeth and fingernails annoy him. I think Holden’s contemplation of suicide is very similar to the snowball he kept packing and packing but would not throw it, since everything “looked so nice and white.” As much as he criticizes the “phoniness” of the world, Holden is obsessed with keeping it as neat as possible, safe from the dangers of toenail clippings, snowballs, and dead bodies. He doesn’t want “rubbernecks,” or any possible children who might find him, to undergo the same bad experience he had when the boy from Whooton committed suicide wearing his red sweater. I don’t think Holden is making excuses or is scared of the act suicide, but he is terrified of its effect on the world around him.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holden said he didn't want to get all gory and have rubberneckers looking at him, that means he didn't want people turning their heads to look at him when he was dead or all bashed up from the attempted suicide. What he really means is he doesn't want that kind of attention given to him for the wrong reason. I don't think Holden's issue with people seeing him all gory has to do with his problem about purity. I feel like Holden's problem with purity is the embarrassment that he hasn't lost his virginity yet because so many people that he knows claims they have already lost their virginity. Holden also does not want to portray himself as "gory" when he has clearly expressed his opinion on cleanliness. I feel that Holden does not only mean cleanliness hygiene wise, but cleanliness of what he shows himself as to other people (personality wise). He does not like wearing his heart on his sleeve many times and has trouble communicating with others his emotional state and what he needs from them.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holden said that he would commit suicide, but the only thing that stopped him was he did not want any of the rubbernecks to see him all gory. When Holden said this, I think he means that he does want to die but he does not want to make a big scecne. I wants to go away without anyone knowing. I do not think Holden cares if the rubbernecks see him all gory. I think that is just an excuse because is too afraid to end his life just like that. If he is not making it up, I do believe that saying he was worried if the rubbernecks saw him all gory has something to do with purity. Being pure, like a child, there is not any "gory" parts of life. As a child, naturally you are shielded from the "gory" ways of life. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden has trouble dealing with crossing the threshold from child to human. Going back to when Holden says he wants to commit suicide, he does not want people to see him gory because that is a harsh part of life and I do not think Holden has reach the maturity of comprehending the "harsh" part of life.
ReplyDeleteI think Holden is just making up excuses. He is confused and this suicide idea comes out of nowhere. I don't think he intended to actually commit suicide, but rather just didn't know what to do with himself. Although I believe the "rubbernecks" idea to be an excuse, the idea is rather strange. Why does Holden use THIS excuse? I think, like Nathalie mentioned, that it has to do with purity. Random people on the streets staring at him so personally if he were to jump is a horrifying thought for him. He would be so vulnerable and people would most likely stand and gape. Committing suicide is another way of losing purity. If he were to jump, he most likely thinks people will stare and see that he is impure, but they don't even know him. So, Holden decides not to commit suicide by using the "rubberneck" excuse.
ReplyDeleteI think that Holden had another reason for not going through with it. If he was at the point where he did not want to live anymore, I don't think that looking gory was his biggest concern. However, this excuse seems to make a little sense. Due to Holden's concerns of purity, if he died, he wouldn't want to be known as the boy who killed himself and was covered in blood. Holden was almost obsessed with the idea of purity, so much so that even if he died, he still wanted to have a clean image. He did not want people to find him dead, covered in blood, because he wanted to be seen as someone completely clean and pure. So I think that his excuse was a reason for backing out, but it wasn't what changed his mind.
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