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Isaac Carranza
Professor Juan Carlos Vargas
Rhetoric III
27 April 2016

Nihilism In Salinger's Novel The Catcher In The Rye

Although The Catcher in the Rye has been labeled as a teenage novel, the themes
developed in it are deeper than considered. In his novel, Salinger uses his adolescent character
Holden to develop his own version of nihilism. For this purpose, Salinger presents Holden as a
nihilist figure that struggles against this state throughout the novel. In order to stand as nihilist
figure, Holden first needs to reach this state. Nietzsche, the most notable nihilist philosopher, did
not consider nihilism a philosophical position; instead, he considered nihilism a psychological
state. In fact, Nietzsche himself explained this psychological state of nihilism as follows:

Nihilism as a psychological state will have to be reached, first, when we have

sought a 'meaning' in all events that is not there: so the seeker eventually becomes
discouraged. Nihilism, then, is the recognition of the long waste of strength, the
agony of the 'in vain,' insecurity, the lack of any opportunity to recover and to
regain composure being ashamed in front of oneself, as if one had deceived
oneself all too long (12).

Evidently, for Salinger, Holden has reached this state and therefore stands as a symbolic

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figure. As Holden narrates his experiences, one realizes that Holden has certainly reached this
psychological state that leads him to a depressive crisis. Holden is constantly seeking for a
meaning; he craves for finding any. In fact, his escape from Pencey can be perceived as a quest
for a meaning. He thinks that perhaps taking a break from that environment will bring him a
meaning in life. However, the exercise proves useless because Holden cannot find any meaning
in life, and nothing seems to really fulfill him. Although this is evident throughout the novel,
Salinger directly points it out in two particular situations. First, when dating Sally, Holden
expresses his frustration and says to her, 'That's exactly my goddam point,' I said. 'I don't get
hardly anything out of anything. I'm in bad shape. I'm in lousy shape' (Salinger 131). After years
of seeking, Holden realizes that he finds no meaning out of anything; nothing satisfies him.
Salinger, therefore, directly suggests to the reader that Holden has reached the psychological
state that Nietzsche calls nihilism, thereby making him feel discouraged and depressed.
Moreover, when Phoebe confronts Holden and asks him to mention something he likes, Holden
cannot find anything specific to mention. In fact, what he mentions to Phoebe cannot be
considered as valid because being 'The Catcher in the Rye' is simply imaginary and because his
brother Allie is no longer alive. Therefore, once again, Holden cannot get hardly anything out of
anything. On the surface, Holden seems a regular adolescent, for he socializes, dates girls,
attends a prestigious school, and has a favorable economic position. Yet, after seeking meaning
in all events but not finding any, Holden feels deceived due to his fruitless effort. Salinger, thus,
presents Holden as a nihilist figure who unconsciously fights against this state in order to
overcome his hopelessness and depression.
Another remarkable aspect in Salinger's nihilism is that, by means of the character

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Holden, Salinger considers adolescence a primary source of this state in individuals. Holden,
trapped in between adolescence and adulthood, suffers this state which not even himself seems
capable to comprehend. Consequently, since Holden is not even capable to understand his nihilist
state, he suffers even more because he thinks that he is 'mad.' or in 'lousy shape.' Just as Dormann
(67) asserts, adolescence is often related to existentialist ideas or concerns because this is the
time when individuals start framing their philosophical, spiritual, and social ideals. Precisely, one
of the main concerns that leads Holden to such nihilist state is his firm dogmatism. Innumerable
times through the novel, Holden describes his ideas of what he believes is a 'perverted' and
'phony' world. These two words are fundamental because they reveal Holden's philosophical,
spiritual, and social ideas that lead him to a state of nihilism. On the one hand, by 'perverted'
Holden refers to the unknown sexual world that disconcerts him yet at the same time attracts
him. As an adolescent, Holden is confused and even afraid of sexuality, so he uses the word
'pervert' whenever he feels overwhelmed by sex. For example, Holden uses this word when he
refers to Stradlater and the two adults he peeks at the hotel:

I'm not kidding, the hotel was lousy with perverts. I was probably the only normal
bastard in the whole place--and that isn't saying much. I damn near sent a
telegram to old Stradlater telling him to take the first train to New York. He'd have
been the king of the hotel (Salinger 62).

In Holden's psyche, sex in adolescence is frivolous while on adulthood sex becomes

depraved. Thus, trapped between adolescence and adulthood, Holden does not want to make of

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sex something frivolous and not something depraved either. Holden, however, knows that he is
going in that direction because at the same time he certainly feels attracted by sex, and nothing
can he do in order to avoid this. On the other hand, by 'phony' Holden refers to everything that is
spurious and hypocrite. In Holden's ideals, people should live according to what they believe.
People should not pretend attitudes just to conform to what the tribe dictates; on the contrary,
Holden believes in authenticity. For example, when he talks to Sally about the schools he has
attended, he says:

It's full of phonies, and all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be
smart enough to be able to buy a goddam Cadillac some day, and you have to
keep making believe you give a damn if the football team loses, and all you do is
talk about girls and sex all day, and everybody sticks together in these little
goddam cliques (Salinger 131).

Thus, Holden considers that people take actions that they do not want to, but they do it in
order to conform to social norms. For Holden, phoniness also refers to the perverse and egotist
actions that humans do in order to survive in a hostile environment. Certainly, this way of
thinking will cause him to feel depressed, for every single person he knows simply conforms to
their social environment by being 'phony.' For instance, Dormann (78) mentions a fact that
accentuates Holden's nihilist state. Besides being discouraged by phoniness, Holden has no hope
that he can change this situation because even the people he once regarded as authentic became
'phony' at the end. Not only is Holden as a symbol of adolescence confused and overwhelmed

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about reaching adulthood, but he also lacks an adult model that fits his ideals. The fact that
people he knows live in phoniness accentuates his idea that life is meaningless. Moreover, the
few persons who once were a model were polluted by phoniness, so he feels betrayed and
disappointed. For example, Holden once admired his brother D.B. and regarded him as authentic.
Nevertheless, Holden was disappointed when his brother went to Hollywood because at that
moment D.B. became a phony, and, in Holden's words, he prostituted himself. In reality, what
repulses Holden more is that he thinks he is the only one who realizes this; for him, no one else
is aware of the phoniness in their lives. Here arises again the fundamental and nihilist questions
for Holden: Is this the only possible way to live and fit in this world? Is pain and suffering
worthy to bear in a life that has to conform to the ruling moral and values? In Holden's thought,
if this is the reality in which he has to live hereafter, then life is meaningless for him.
According to Nietzsche, since the psychological state of nihilism makes the individual
depressed, he appeals to the existence of an alternative metaphysical reality such as Heaven,
reincarnation, and so forth in order to appeases his feelings. Yet, Nietzsche mentions:

But as soon as man finds out how that world is fabricated solely from
psychological needs, and how he has absolutely no right to it, the last form of
nihilism comes into being: it includes disbelief in any metaphysical world and
forbids itself any belief in a true world (13).

Thus, the last form in the psychological state of nihilism is the disbelief in any
metaphysical world. The last aspect in Salinger's nihilism is similar to this statement, but it is

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also different in a certain way. For instance, Salinger makes evident to the reader that Holden
discredits the idea of an afterworld. The first hint to notice this aspect is Holden's recurrent use of
the words 'God' and 'goddamn' to curse. Holden's blasphemous use of these words represents his
rejection of the idea of a God, thereby rejecting the idea of an afterworld reality. A second
situation to argue that Holden discredits the idea of a true world is when he tells about his visit to
Allie's grave. In this part, Holden says, I couldn't stand it. I know it's only his body and all that's
in the cemetery, and his soul's in Heaven and all that crap, but I couldn't stand it anyway
(Salinger 156). As can be noted, when Holden refers to the soul and Heaven, he then says 'all that
crap,' which means that he clearly rejects the idea of the soul and Heaven. Lastly, the most
straight-forward way in which Salinger shows Holden's rejection of a true world is when Holden
says that he like Jesus but that he is sort of an atheist (Salinger 99). Salinger's nihilism,
therefore, resembles that of Nietzsche in the idea of rejecting an alternative reality. Nevertheless,
Salinger's nihilism also considers that though the individual rejects the metaphysical escape of
his reality, he may attach to physical but utopians ways to evade the psychological disturbances
of nihilism. Although Holden rejects the idea of an alternative metaphysical reality, he still
attaches to physical means to evade his state. For instance, in his imagination, Holden concocts
several situations to escape his reality. These plans, however, are imaginary and not achievable,
yet Holden sticks to them as though they were attainable; he truly believes in them because he is
desperate. One of these is Holden's plan to escape to the West, and in which he imagines that by
not knowing anybody and pretending to be deaf, he would not have to deal with humanity. Once
again, he also proposes Sally to run away with him, but Sally opposes to. Another way in which
Holden tries to escape is by the use of drugs. Tobacco and alcohol are constantly present during

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Holden's journey out of Pencey. In fact, before reaching his turning point in Central Park, Holden
gets severely drunk in a desperate way to evade his state. Moreover, instead of the belief in a
metaphysical afterworld, Salinger portrays death as a means to end nihilism. As Holden's state
aggravates, he starts considering death as a feasible way to escape his nihilism, be it
unintentional death or suicide. The theme of death is constantly in Holden's mind, and he
experiences psychotic crises in which he imagines that he is going to die. Holden also constantly
mentions suicide, and after being hit at the hotel, Holden literally says, "What I really felt like,
though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window (Salinger 104). However,
Holden does not do it because he neither dares nor want to commit suicide, but for him this is his
last option to put an end to his desperate state. Hence, even though Holden rejects the belief of an
afterworld, he still contemplates other means to avoid the hopelessness provoked by his nihilist
state of mind. This aspect differentiates Salinger from Nietzsche, who mainly contemplates a
metaphysical true world.
Therefore, in The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger presents Holden as a figure who struggles
against the psychological disturbances derived from nihilism such as depression. Salinger, hence,
does not portray Holden as an adolescent trying to overcome his depression but to overcome his
nihilism, which ultimately is what leads him to his depression. Like other writers such as
Dostoyevsky and Kafka, Salinger presents the reader a nihilist perspective of existence. The way
in which Salinger presents this to the reader is peculiar because he uses an adolescent character
in a modern, Western society. Hence, Salinger considers that in modern, Western societies
adolescence is primary source of nihilism in individuals. Moreover, contrary to Nietzsche,
Salinger suggests that although an individual may reject the idea of a metaphysical realm in

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which existence does have meaning, the individual may attach to utopian ideas to assuage
nihilism. These ideas can be imaginary plans such as Holden's, but they can also refer to utopian
ideologies or philosophies. Lastly, Salinger considers nihilism a dangerous stage that can lead to
despondency and suicidal ideation like in Holden. Yet, at the same time, the fact that Holden
decides to go back home and disregard the idea of death shows that Salinger does not consider
death a valid means to escape this state. In Salinger's thought, one must embrace nihilism and
overcome it. One must construct one's own meaning in life and, like Antolini says to Holden,
understand that one is not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even
sickened by human behavior.

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Works Cited
Dormann, Sonja. The Catcher of Zero: Existentialism in Contemporary U.S.-American
Literature. Diss. Universitt Wien, 2010. Web. 4 April. 2016.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Will to Power. New York: Random House, 1968. Print.
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951. Print.