Holden and Stradlater

From the first page of reading Catcher in the Rye, I was hooked. I love books that have a conversational tone, it makes it easier to understand what's going on and how the character feels. Holden was a breath of fresh air compared to Stephen.

 The dynamic between Holden and Stadlater is interesting because Holden doesn't like a lot of people, but Stradlater seems to be an exception. Despite the fact that Stradlater is somewhat of a "phony" because he looks good from the outside but he's actually a real slob, Holden still seems to respect him. Their relationship is similar to little brother and big brother relationship, with Holden the little brother and Stradlater the big brother.  The fact that Holden is willing to do favors for him and tries to impress him by cracking jokes and messing around with him seems to me that he doesn't want Stradlater to get mad at him because Holden is still very aware that there is a social hierarchy, and if Stradlater doesn't like him, he's going to be screwed.

Things change though when the name Jane Gallanger comes up. There seems to be a shift between the two, especially on Holden's side. Holden seems worried about Stradlater going out with Jane because he knows what Stradlater does on dates - forcing himself on girls and they end up having sex, and it seems that most of time it happens without the girl's consent. Holden unlike Stradlater, has a deep connection with Jane and is very fond of her. He talks about Jane to get Stradlater interested in the type of person Jane is, but it's clear to Holden that Stradlater could care less, which ends up frustrating him.

The first thing that led up to their fight is how Stradlater completely disregards the essay Holden did for him, saying that this is all wrong and that Holden never follows the rules. This is especially hurtful and insensitive because Holden wrote about his dead brother's glove, like have a little sympathy Stradlater. Then Holden asks Stradlater what did him and Jane do, but Stradlater doesn't really elaborate on it much, saying "It's a professional secret, buddy." and that's when Holden had enough. He was already angry with how Stradlater acted about the essay and the fact that he's acting extremely ambiguous about what happened with Jane, Holden knows that something happened, so in an attempt to release his frustration, even though he knows that he's not going to win the fight, he punches Stradlater and they end up having this whole fight. Well, not really a fight because Stradlater is on Holden's chest the entire time and Holden is just kind of sitting there insulting him.

I immediately connected this scene to the scene about him punching all the windows in his garage when Allie died. I personally think that Holden has trouble dealing with his emotions in a healthy way so instead he kind of lashes out so he can release it. Holden is a sensitive person, and it seems that he can get very emotional quickly, especially if it's about someone he cares about. It's good to be a little sensitive, so I like the fact that he actually cares about people compared to Stephen who was a real jerk.