Moral Ambuitiy in the Catcher in the Rye

In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the main character, Holden Caulfield, can be described as morally ambiguous. We are first introduced to him when he is kicked out of school, and about to embark on a journey into the "adult" world. As he dabbles through the various stages of maturity and immaturity, Holden drinks, uses foul language, and even solicits a prostitute. These activities, which harm no one but possibly himself, are considered both illegal and immoral to our society. However, Holden is a complex character, and as such, great acts of morally to us to reanalyze Holden's character and the book as a whole. Holden's moral ambiguity makes him highly relatable, and causes the reader to reflect on him, and the real definition of right and wrong. Holden's unique morale also gives the reader a sense of what's truly important in life, transcendence above legality to morality based on abstract reasoning.

Holden's most important aim in the novel was his desire to be the catcher in the rye. To him, this meant "catching" children before they fall and lose their innocence, as everyone will eventually do upon growing up. During a visit to his sister Phoebe's school, Holden sees the worlds, "fuck you" written on the bathroom wall. He becomes infuriated that those children could see it and wipes it off. He tells Phoebe, "...I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff... I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all." The concern and compassion for the children's' naiveté demonstrates that he holds innocence in very high regards.

In addition to children, Holden appreciates women and views them in a distinctly un-stereotypical male teenage manner. When Holden realizes that Stradlater did not truly care about Jane and only wanted "to give her the time," he became quite angry and viewed Stradlater as a perverted deviant who cared naught for the girl's feelings.