I made a comment a couple of days ago in class about how Holden would see Esther and the other girls she works with, and how he would probably have a very wrong idea of what kind of people they are (or at least Esther is).
The basic point I made was that it is hard to know people from just a quick glance at them. This is a fact that Holden blatantly ignores through Catcher as he continuously judges everyone he meets, and often makes huge assumptions about their lives. I do not say this in an attack on Holden, because he does sometimes think positive things (particularly about the kids he meets). I just think that Holden feels quite depressed in a large part because he feels so alone, and that no one understands or thinks like him. I think that how he was likely viewing Esther only proves that Holden's loneliness was at least partially invented. If he had seen Esther, he would have assumed she did not feel at all similarly to him. In reality, Esther does feel at least in part much like Holden. I think that if Holden had approached more people with his thoughts, he would have found some people who agreed. Admittedly, many people would have reacted like Sally Hayes, but I think that if he had persevered and talked to more people instead of just getting discouraged, Holden would in the end be much happier and feel much less lonely.
I am trying to write a paper from Holden's perspective about how Stephen's issue is that he never connects with people (unlike Holden who has Phoebe) but I think that this also applies to Holden. Also I realize that both that paper and this post assume a lot of things based on previous assumptions about Holden and Stephen, but despite this, I think that most of my assumptions are valid and based off of legitimate aspects of their characters.
While I do think you bring up a very interesting point, in that Esther's story does kind of call Holden's assumptions into question, Holden is also interesting because he does look past the surface somewhat. The things he uses to form his opinions of people are little details, not necessarily the way people try to present themselves. I could definitely see him noticing small things about Esther, like the way she coats her chicken with caviar and trusts that no one will notice, and seeing something to like there. Also, if he did take the time to talk to her, we have proof that she would engage him, because she does it with the cynical, slightly Holden-esque Eric.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point that he often notices little things about people. I think that if Holden spent a little time with Esther he might see that she is different from everyone else. I assumed he wouldn't because I was basing my analysis off of the scene where Holden quickly judges a whole group of women without looking at little things so much. I'm not sure there would be little things to notice if Holden passed Esther in the street, but I agree that if he saw her eating or something he would see deeper.
DeleteI agree, I think the major reason Holden is depressed is because he feels so alone. I haven't really thought about Holden and Esther before, and maybe he WOULD assume she does not feel the same way as him, but I don't think he would immediately dismiss her. I'm with Patrick on Holden noticing the little details. So maybe he wouldn't know they feel similarly, but he might like her anyways. I don't know if that makes sense or not sorry.
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