Blog 3 - Superficiality, Social Media, and The Catcher in the Rye

Superficiality, Social Media, and The Catcher in the Rye

Part of growing up involves making determinations about quality relationships versus superficial relationships, or having friends versus associates.   I read The Catcher in the Rye in AP English 12 when I was in high school.  What I always remembered about Holden Caulfield was that he suffered a fall at certain points in his life when he made the wrong or immoral decision, which was symbolic.  Also, I remember that he never seemed to fit in because he viewed many people he encountered to be phony, or superficial.  While I did not have a personal connection with Holden, I remember recognizing and agreeing with his observations about the superficial nature of some relationships and the fact that people could be phony.  When I read the novel in the 90s, phonies were called fake; today, teenagers still recognize the phonies as fake.  Phonies were the people that were too insecure to believe that to be themselves is enough.  While I did not personally connect with Holden Caulfield at the age of eighteen, I most certainly would teach The Catcher in the Rye in English 11 today.  When I was a teenager, depression was not a main stream topic in my circles, but today depression and anxiety are almost daily topics whether in a high school guidance counselor’s office, teachers' lounge, or even in the classroom.  Depression, anxiety, and loneliness can even be magnified by social media, which makes The Catcher in the Rye still relevant today. 

            Loneliness and depression lead Holden to seek a connection with associates and strangers, which is a behavior that modern young adults can identify in the age of social media.  There are several instances when Holden directly states that he feels lonely and depressed.  During a cab ride in New York, Holden observes, “New York’s terrible when somebody laughs on the street very late at night.  You can hear it for miles.  It makes you feel lonesome and depressed” (Salinger 106).  Holden’s loneliness is triggered both by his criticism of people who he perceives to be artificial and his lack of emotional connection.  This is evident in his observation:  “Now and then you just saw a man and a girl crossing a street, with their arms around each other’s waists and all, or a bunch of hoodlumy-looking guys and their dates, all of them laughing like hyenas at something you could bet wasn’t funny” (106).  Holden’s criticism mirrors life in modern high school halls in the age of social media.  Teens often discuss the importance of receiving likes on Instagram.  This is a public sign of popularity; however, these likes can be received from friends, associates, or even strangers.  Holden’s movement from school to school as well as his string of contacts with strangers in New York City emphasize the difficulty of forging positive, lasting relationships in a world where people lack interest in real relationships or are not themselves, which mirrors teen use of social media.   

Thus, an interesting question to ask students as they read The Catcher in the Rye would be if social media would have helped Holden connect or if it would have reinforced his sense of isolation.  For some socially awkward teens, social media is their method of maintaining social contact and projecting an image of popularity through such means as purchasing likes.  Despite Holden’s recognition of superficial connection with associates and strangers throughout the novel, he continues to invite their company by asking them to join him for a drink.  Today, teens exhibit the same self-awareness, yet continue the same behaviors, which is a real issue that is worth addressing in a modern classroom.  Although J.D. Salinger's protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is wealthy, white, and male in The Catcher in the Rye, Holden's struggle to connect with others and subsequent depression as well as anxiety is increasingly relevant to twenty-first century students who use social media regardless of race, class, and gender.