Chapters 1-4
Chapter 1
As with most literary structures the first chapter serves to introduce the main characters and setting of the novel. As an initial contradiction, Caulfield rejects this traditional structure as being 'that David Copperfield kind of crap' (p1). This isn't going to be his 'whole goddam autobiography or anything' (p1) but merely this 'madman stuff' that happened to him around Christmas (p1). Certainly he does not go into great detail about his family, dismissing his parents as being 'touchy as hell' and his brother, D.B., as 'being a prostitute' - because he writes movies for Hollywood. Holden then criticises his school, Pencey, claiming that the advertisement promising 'clear thinking men' does nothing of the sort and then criticising the school football games which perhaps only serve to highlight his lack of school spirit and sense of belonging. (p2) His major criticism of the football games is that very few girls attend - it seems to the reader that he is looking for reasons to hate the school.
Only after he criticises the school does he reveal that he has been 'kicked out' of Pencey for failing all his subjects except for English. (p3) On his way to an ex-teacher's house, 'old Spencer', Holden struggles to remember anything good about his time at Pencey that will give him some feeling of leaving, some sense of goodbye. (p4-5) He is warmly welcomed at the Spencers' house.
Analysis
In the first chapter, Holden is introduced as a severely cynical youth; he dismisses anything that, traditionally, is of value, including his parents, his school and his schoolmates. The warmth of the Spencers' welcome, Holden's description of 'old Selma Thurmer' and his memories of passing a football around imply that perhaps school is not as bad as Holden claims.
We do see a number of indications that Holden is struggling to come to terms with his emotions. On page 2, Holden begins by describing Selma Thurmer as not exactly driving you 'mad with desire' but then slowly reveals that he in fact knows her better than he first admits, and even admits to liking her. Holden is clearly struggling to feel emotional attachment to the school as he stands around 'trying to feel some kind of good bye.' (p4) Then, to compound Holden's distance from his emotions, we see that despite being the manager of the fencing team, he finds it funny that he left the equipment on the train and that as a consequence his team could not compete. Does it surprise you that Holden has difficulty feeling emotional about something that he clearly spends so much time criticising and hating?
It is significant to notice that despite his constant criticism of those around him, he has at some stage in his life been capable of forming meaningful relationships. This is proven by the warmth of the Spencers, his knowledge of and compassion for Selma Thurmer and his brother who, despite being a 'prostitute', visits Holden every weekend.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 consists of the conversation between Holden's history teacher, Mr Spencer, and Holden. Mr Spencer is concerned about Holden's attitude towards school in particular and life in general. He tells Holden that 'Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules' (p7). Holden largely plays along and does his best to not make Mr Spencer feel guilty about failing him. The audience, however, can see that Spencer does not feel guilty about failing Holden, but that he is genuinely concerned for Holden's well-being.
Analysis
Most significant in this chapter is the dichotomy (when two things occur simultaneously) of how Holden reacts on the surface compared with how he reacts internally. This has a number of implications. Firstly, he is not being honest with Mr Spencer. While Holden explains to the reader that this is to protect Mr Spencer's feelings, we have the impression that Holden does not want to accept responsibility for his mistakes. This is particularly emphasised as Mr Spencer reads Holden's exam back to him and Holden calls it a 'dirty trick' (p10).
Secondly, this chapter demonstrates the hypocrisy of Holden. His hatred of 'phonies' is hypocritical because he is being phony with Mr Spencer as he responds politely while internally paying no attention to what he is saying. Holden also claims that 'people never notice anything' (p8) but ironically it is Holden who is taking very little notice of what Mr Spencer is trying to say to him.
The reader is also introduced to Holden as a character who is over analytical. His inability to see beyond the smell of 'Vicks Nose Drops' (p6), hard bed and bumpy chest leaves Holden dismissing Spencer as a 'nice old guy that didn't know his ass from his elbow' (pg7). As a result he is disconnected from Spencer and the advice that he receives. Holden's interpretation of 'good luck!' (p13) demonstrates that he is thinking too much about what it means. For well-adjusted people the phrase has a general meaning of goodwill and is not an assertion that an individual needs luck to do well.
Chapter 3 and Chapter 4
Having been introduced to Holden in a reasonably general sense, the reader is now introduced to the way Holden interacts with the 'non-clear-thinking' schoolmates at Pencey. In Chapter 3 Holden interacts with Ackley and in Chapter 4 he interacts with Stradlater. It is worth noticing that he is younger than both of these characters, a point that they bring up, which perhaps indicates his desire to mature. Because Stradlater and Ackley are two completely different characters, the reader can see two sides of Holden. Holden describes Ackley as a 'slob' and Stradlater as a 'secret slob'.
Ackley is described by Holden, through his constant cleaning of fingernails and squeezing pimples as a rather disgusting character. He is a social outcast - 'he hardly ever went anywhere' (p16). Chapter 3 consists of the uncomfortable banter between Ackley and Holden. Holden, while claiming not to be 'too crazy about' Ackley, puts up with his annoying behaviour and even goes out of his way to find scissors for him. Ackley finds this very amusing. Ackley 'hated Stradlater's guts' (pg 17) and is forced to leave when Stradlater, Holden's roommate, returns.
In contrast to Ackley, Stradlater is the very opposite of a social outcast - he walks around half naked and Holden admits that he did have a good build. Holden seems somewhat in awe of Stradlater. He comments admiringly on his 'pretty heavy beard' (p22) (a symbol of masculinity and maturity) and follows him to the bathroom to find out more about his date. While there he pesters Stradlater immaturely. Holden shows genuine emotion when he finds out that Stradlater has a date with a girl he knows, Jane Gallagher, but seems too scared to speak to her and instead asks Stradlater to pass on his regards. Stradlater has convinced Holden, rather easily, to do his homework for him.
Analysis
Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 are noteworthy as they show two sides to Holden's character. His closeness and intense dislike of Ackley implies that in some ways he is also a social outcast. It certainly would seem to make sense as they are the two only people who have not attended the football match. Holden's dislike of Ackley represents his dislike of himself.
On the other hand, Stradlater perhaps represents what Holden would like to be. He constantly defends Stradlater based on very little. He invokes only theoretical generosity to explain to Ackley that he is a good person, and forgives Stradlater his 'phoniness' because he was 'at least a pretty friendly guy' (pg22). In contrast to this, Stradlater in fact abuses Holden's generosity firstly by using Holden's hounds-tooth jacket and then by convincing him to do his homework for him.
Holden pesters Stradlater for information about his date. The feverish pitch at which he does this implies that he is at least in awe of, if not jealous of, Stradlater's success with girls. The contrast between the attitudes towards girls is emphasised by Holden's disinclination to see Jane and by Stradlater's sarcastic response to Holden and Jane's games of checkers on page 27. Holden's inability to contact Jane is a motif throughout the novel and Holden's desire to be more like the confident Stradlater will also be revisited. While Holden presents Stradlater as a superficial character, in a lot of ways Holden presents him superficially, that is he focuses on his physical appearance rather than on his personality.
Other important features include the assertion from Holden at the beginning of Chapter 3 that he is 'the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life' (p14) It is true that even up to now the reader has seen evidence of Holden the liar through his interactions with old Spencer, and we will see much more of his ability to lie. The most important implication of this statement is to raise the question whether or not the reader can believe the narrator. There is further evidence that Holden is not honest with himself as we see him as an avid reader and then he makes the ambiguous statement, 'I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot.' (p14)
It is also interesting to notice that Stradlater, although he has previously told Holden that he does not do anything the way that it is supposed to be done, recognises that Holden does have talents in requesting that Holden write his composition for him.
Finally, the language in the boarding house is poor. Both Ackley and Stradlater use foul language continuously. This is to become the language that represents adolescence as Holden steps out into the wider world.
