In Chapter 15 , Holden dwindles his time with incredibly nonsensical reminiscing about suitcases and conversation with two nuns while he waits for his date with Sally. But looking at it again, perhaps his conversation with the nuns isn't as pointless as it seems, and I believe that the dialogue between Holden and the nun,who is an English teacher, about
Romeo and Juliet really draws out the true wishes of Holden and his lasting depression of Allie's death. Holden's obsession of
Mercutio is definitely with purpose, and Holden's choice of character is something that a reader of
Catcher in the Rye should not miss. Mercutio is tragic character in
Romeo and Juliet, killed, as stated in
Catcher, by Tybalt. Holden blames it on Romeo because in the story, Mercutio expects Romeo to engage in duel with Tybalt after being sent a death threat by him. However Romeo refuses, as Tybalt is the kinsman of Juliet, the object of this love and downfall. Mercutio then proceeds to challenge Tybalt by himself, protective of his friend, Romeo, but is killed in the resulting conflict. Thus, Holden blames his death on Romeo. What strikes me here, however, is the resemblance of Holden to Mercutio, as both are outspoken and given to sudden bursts of anger. Mercutio's sense of speaking can sometimes be quite offensive, and hurt his/her friends, just like how Holden insulted Sally on his date with her and made her cry. Therefore, it is not surprising for Holden to be attracted to Mercutio, whose character is much like his own. Looking deeper, it is possible to also cast Allie on Mercutio in terms of personality, but primarily in terms of development of the story and the effect of his death on the rest of the characters in the play. As previously stated, Mercutio can be seen as sort of free-willed character, and his jokes and lightheartedness brighten the mood of the play. This is similar to Allie, who Holden describes as a very bright child, who everyone loved and praised. However once he is killed, Romeo takes a turn for the worse and becomes like many other characters in the play, depressed, and misfortune strikes him more than ever, just like Holden after the death of Allie. His thoughts on page 145, "...it drives me
crazy if somebody gets killed - especially somebody very smart and entertaining and all -
and it's somebody else's fault", really show this comparison between Mercutio's role in
Romeo and Juliet and Allie's role in
Catcher. I put "crazy" in bold because a reoccurring motif in
Catcher is Holden's several thoughts of himself as a madman. Likewise, "and it's somebody else's fault" is important because it implies that Holden attributes blame to someone or himself for Allie's death. Who do you think that Holden blames for Allie's death? Also, at the end of Holden's releasing of his inner feelings, the nun changes the subject, and attempts to get away from the topic of
Romeo and Juliet, which Holden notices, another example of a seeking of help from Holden and its failure. Do you think that the nun realizes that Holden gives the death of Mercutio unnecessary large thought, and that Holden is trying to say something about himself to her? If so, why does she change the subject instead of helping him?
The nun may not have realized that breaching the topic of Mercutio would dredge up such emotions from a seemingly normal boy she met in a train station. I agree that Holden is making a plea for help and true advice, but it would not be fitting for Salinger to let him receive it from a nun. Mainly because Holden had previously expressed his disbelief in the Catholic Church, regardless if she was a sweet old nun, carrying a basket for collection. Holden needs to talk to his parents, and as much as he tries to avoid them, they are the only ones that will understand about his anguish and confusion. Allie's death could not be blamed on anyone, since he died from illness, but there is always survivor's guilt. That time he wouldn't bring Allie with him when they were in Maine, and any other moments when Holden wasn't a loving older brother must be clawing at his heart. Mercutio is killed on accident, and Allie dies from the bad luck of contracting a fatal disease, so perhaps Holden is trying to make the nun see that he knows someone who died a similar way. However, the nun was probably on her way somewhere, and like all of us do when we can sense a long talk coming, cut it short before it was too late. I doubt she had intentions to make Holden even more melancholy, but that was the effect.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the fact that Holden likes Mercutio is important and I think this blog post is really good because it is really in depth and it made me think twice about why Holden likes Mercutio. I think the whole reason J.D. Salinger put the nun characters in there is so Holden could reveal his thoughts about Romeo and Juliet to the reader. I think the statement comparing Mercutio to Allie is really on par because he says, "He was very smart and entertaining and all," and, "it drives me crazy if somebody gets killed- especially somebody very smart and entertaining and all-." It is hard to tell if he is talking about Allie or Mercutio when these statements are taken out of context because he describes the two in the same way! Anyway, I don't think Holden blames anyone in specific for the death of Allie. If he weren't an athiest, I would say that maybe Holden blames Allie's death on God, but maybe part of the reason he doesn't believe in God is because he thinks a perfect God wouldn't let Allie die. I also don't think that Holden is trying to say something about himself to the nun and ask for help, I think he is just speaking his mind like he usually does.
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