Lindsay Wray, Hannah Bourke, Brittany Laton, Chelsea Rankin and Madison Leigh

Thesis Throughout the novel, Holden longs for intimacy with other human beings in his various relationships with women.

Jane Gallagher Holden’s relationship with Jane is different than his relationships with any other girl in the novel. Holden truly loves and cares for her. Unlike Holden’s relationship with Sally, Holden is true with his love. Because he is in love, the intimacy in their relationship is stronger. Their intimacy is also different in that it is more of a loving and supportive intimacy, unlike Holden’s relationship with Sally, which is all about physical intimacy. Holden only holds Jane’s hand and is there to comfort her when she is upset.

“Boy, I nearly dropped dead when he said that. ‘Jane Gallagher,’ I said. I even got up from the washbowl when he said that. I damn near dropped dead.” (Salinger, 31). - Holden and Jane’s relationship was ‘imaginary’ in a way. They spent one summer together and then never each other again. Jane is Holden’s first love. Holden feels a strong intimate connection with a girl he hasn’t seen in a long time. Jane is the symbol of true love and lust.

Sally Hayes Holden’s relationship with Sally is that they’re kind of friends with benefits. They are not dating or in love but they like to have fun together when they see each other. They have more of a physical intimacy because they do only goof around and don’t really connect on an emotional level.

“Sally Hayes is a pretty, friendly, loud girl who likes to eat ice cream, see matinees, and show off her cute butt in “one of those little skirts.” (Salinger 124) -Sally is the type of girl that Holden dates just for rebound to get over Jane. He doesn’t genuinely like her, he just wants somebody to take out. This quote proves that Holden only likes her based on physical attraction and for her looks rather than her personality.

Phoebe Caulfeild Phoebe is Holden’s little sister. They have a very close relationship and she is one of the few people that Holden completely trusts. They have more of a brother-sister intimacy and they are able to connect on a personal level.

“ She’s very good in spelling. She’s very good in all her subjects, but she’s best in spelling.” (Salinger 160) “You should see her. You never saw a little kid so pretty and smart in your whole life. She’s really smart. I mean she’s had all A’s ever since she started school.” -Phoebe represents innocence and purity. She is sort of like a symbol of an idealistic person in Holden’s eyes. He looks up to her as a role model.

Faith Cavendish Holden and Faith do not really have a relationship because Holden just calls her and never actually sees her or talks to her in person. Faith doesn’t necessarily reject Holden but she tells him “not now” and hat she was unhappy about the hour Holden called. Faith started out angry with Holden but eventually they got into a real conversation.

“It was the address of this girl who wasn’t exactly a whore or anything but that didn’t mind doing it once in a while, this Princeton guy told me” (Salinger, 62) - Holden is all alone and is feeling a little frisky so he pulls out a phone number of a girl he met at a party, Faith Cavendish. Holden asks Faith if they could get to together but it was too late at night and her roommate was sick.

Sonny Holden requested that Sunny come up to his room so he could “get some”. When Sunny arrived Holden just wanted to talk because he was too scared to do anything with her. Sunny and Holden’s relationship was meant to be physical and intimate but Holden tried to connect with her on an emotional level and was rejected.

“I took her dress over to the closet and hung it up for her. It was funny. It made me feel sort of sad when I hung it up. I thought of her going into the store and buying it, and nobody in the store knowing she was a prostitute and all. The salesman probably thought she was a regular girl when she bought it. It made me feel sad as hell - I don’t know why exactly.” (Salinger, 96) - Holden gets into the elevator and meets a man named Maurice who asks if Holden would like a prostitute and Holden takes the offer. A prostitute names Sonny comes to Holden’s hotel door and enters. Holden doesn’t feel up to doing anything and so he lies and says he recently had surgery.

Bernice Bernice and Holden dance together on Holden’s first night in New York in the club the Lavender Room. Their relationship never goes past dancing with one another. This relationship is Holden’s attempt to feel close to someone. Holden does not care that she does not listen to him talk or is not smart, all he cares about when they are dancing is that someone wants to dance with him and be close to him.

“She was really a moron. But what a dancer. I could hardly stop myself from sort of giving her a kiss on the top of her dopey head - you know - right where the part is, and all” (Salinger, 21-22). - This demonstrates the role of sexuality in the novel because Holden dances with Bernice. He tries to get her to stay at the bar with him after they dance but she says that she needs to wake up early the next morning and leaves. Holden wishes she would stay so that he can be close to someone.

Questions What does this relationship mean to Holden? Is one more important that the other? Who was there and cared for Holden the most?

The Role of Sexuality Sexuality plays a large role in the novel because Holden makes reference to sexual feelings and thoughts on a regular basis and expresses his thoughts and feelings through the way that he behaves and speaks with people. Anytime that Holden saw a woman he was quick to judge and make reference to sex and sexual feelings. These sexual feelings are his attempt to get close and feel intimacy with another person.

How Holden’s Relationships Differ Holden has many relationships with different women throughout the novel. Sally, Jane, and Phoebe: These relationships actually mean something to Holden. They are important to him and he wants to stay close with them because they make him feel better about himself and more comfortable with who he is and do not judge him. Faith, Sonny, and Bernice: Holden only tries to become close to these women when he feels alone. Their relationships do not actually mean anything to him other than something to keep him busy and distract him from the pain of loneliness.

Holden’s Morality Holden is so caught up in his sexual fantasy’s that it starts to take over his thoughts. When he goes out for a drink with his friend from school, Carl Luce, the only thing he can talk about is Carl’s sex life. Whenever he sees someone all he thinks about is their sex life. When he meets the nuns he wonders about how they can like the book Romeo and Juliet when it has sex in it. Holden is just curious about sex as he has never take part in such activities.

Works Cited Salinger, J.D. The Catcher In The Rye. New York: Little, Brown and Company