The Catcher in the Rye

My first impressions of Holden Caulfield are that he is somewhat like myself. This young man is unmotivated to the maximum extent, and is very lazy in all that he does. He doesn’t give any thought to the importance of school, seeing as how he has dropped out of four of them in a matter of years. The only thing he is really concerned about is his mother’s reaction to dropping out of Pencey, which is the only reason he hasn’t headed home yet.
The aspect of Caulfield that is most confusing is the fact he lets other people stand in his way of success. The only reason he doesn’t try to do good in school is because his classmates are all “fake”. Because of this view, he thinks whatever school he happens to be attending at that point in time isn’t worth the effort. This is a serious character flaw, and something he has to address in his life at some point.
Another problem with Caulfield is that he seems to be very rash or irrational at times. From the mood swings he displays to his harsh, quick judgement of anybody he meets, Caulfield always seems to be at odds with at least one other character. Both of these traits are evident in his fight with Stradlater. Caulfield had been having mood swings on the topic of Stradlater all day, and criticizing him on various topics, seemingly just to criticize something.
From my standpoint this early in the book, Caulfield really needs to get his act together. He doesn’t seem to have a friend, hasn’t gotten over the death of a sibling, is quick to point out a person’s flaws [but somehow never mentions a nice trait], and just cannot stay devoted to anything, no matter the reason. He seems to be somewhat immature, and very stubborn. He makes decisions based on little to no logic, and honestly just needs to grow up a little.
Hopefully, as the book progresses, Caulfield will take some responsibility for his actions and start to consider his future. Otherwise, he is in for a life that will not be very fulfilling.