Weblog 16

How might you refute the argument that Holden's plight derives from him simply being a misanthrope and/or hypocrite?

Holden’s behavior may seem misanthropic: he’s constantly accusing people of being phonies; he doesn’t seem to have any close friends. While Holden may be a hypocrite, he is far from being a misanthrope. The general behavior I would expect from a misanthrope would be one who has a general disliking of people and chooses to stay away from the rest of society. Holden, however, often interacted with different people at Pencey Prep. As he criticized the staff at Pencey for being phony, Holden mentions having a great conversation say the headmaster’s daughter. He demonstrates sympathy for her when he mentions that she was not the prettiest girl, but she was at least real. Even while complaining about how annoying Ackley is and about his poor hygiene, Holden took pity and invited Ackley out to the movies knowing that Ackley would never go out otherwise. Holden recalls a time at a different school when another boy asked to borrow Holden’s sweater, and even though Holden didn’t know the boy very well, he did. These are things that a misanthrope would never do.

Even when Holden gets to New York, he immediately thinks of people to "give a buzz" to, such as Luce and Sally Hayes. On the train ride over, he actively engages in conversation with Ernie’s mother, telling her how wonderful her son is even though Ernie is a bona fide jerk. He does this because he understands that mothers wouldn’t like knowing bad things about their sons, and he lies to protect this mother that he doesn’t even know. Holden also initiates a conversation with his taxi driver, Horwitz, in New York regarding the whereabouts of ducks during the winter, He tried to pick up girls at a bar. This is something a misanthrope would never do.

Holden also feels strong connections to his siblings, Phoebe and his deceased younger brother, Allie. The way Holden often refers to them in the text clearly illustrates how much he admires and cares for them. He believes that Phoebe is so pretty and intelligent and how Allie was simply the best. When Holden sees Phoebe, he is very tender with her.

Though Holden despises certain traits in people, he does not express any kind of hatred towards them. He talks to people. He seems to want to talk to people. He is struggling with problems and is sometimes a hypocrite, but who isn’t? That doesn’t make him a misanthrope.