“Sex is something I just don’t understand. I swear to God no” (Salinger, 63). It may take Holden Caulfield nine chapters to admit it, but his sexual confusion is present from the opening pages of JD Salinger's famous novel, The Catcher in The Rye. Coming from the dichotomy of sexual openness in America, underlined by immense sensitivity and peppered with adolescent confusion, Holden's relationship with his sexuality is turbulent. Holden experiences a constant series of emotions regarding sexuality, ranging from excitement to guilt. All of these emotions are difficult and an urgent internal struggle for Holden. Holden Caulfield's disconnection from his sexuality contributes notably to his social difficulties. The larger cause of the sexual problems in The Catcher in The Rye is certainly Holden's relationship to society's sexual expectations. America during this time presents contrasting beliefs regarding sex. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay For the older generation, which includes Holden's estranged parents, "most sexual relations in America had been forcibly put away." Even masturbation was looked down upon and considered the source of many physical and psychological ills. The only officially approved sexual behavior was monogamous heterosexual marriage” (Ferguson, 2). Only private, no-nonsense sex, please, was acceptable, and even that ultra-gentle sex was never discussed. In a predictable reaction to this uptight sexual culture, the younger generation rebelled and embraced sex, which then partially motivated the sexual revolution. We see this open sexual excitement at Holden's private school, Pencey Prep. Holden tells his reader that at Pencey “all you do is talk about girls and drinking and sex all day” (Salinger, 131). While all of Holden's friends are making out with girls and then vividly telling stories about these make out sessions. , Holden can't quite assimilate into this culture. Part of Holden experiences sexual arousal; he regularly goes on dates, comments on girls' appearances, and is jealous of the sexually adventurous ways of his roommate Stradlater (Salinger, 43). But there's also an equally strong part of Holden that wants sex to be intimate and incredibly personal. Both perspectives are presented as Holden reflects on a routine sexual scene observed outside his hotel room window; "I can even see how it could be a lot of fun, in a lousy way, and if you were both a little drunk and all, to have a girl and throw water or something on each other the other's face. The problem is, I don't like that idea. It stinks, if you analyze it" (Salinger, 62). , by sex. On the other hand, he is upset and quietly sensitive to sexual energy. Holden clearly does not know where he falls between these two opposite ends of the spectrum. Society sends mixed signals to all young adults. , and Holden is a great example of the confusion that can result. The Catcher in The Rye is commonly known for its exploration of growing into adulthood and the inevitable loss of innocence. innocence and sexuality: "When it comes to sex and sexuality, Holden is primarily concerned with protecting the innocence of these - girls, in particular - without however beingtainted by its ever-omnipresent influence” (Helenius, 25). The themes of innocence and adulthood are intertwined and supported by a number of sexual examples. The clearest example of innocence lost due to sex is when Holden orders a prostitute to come to his hotel room. Immediately after confirming his room number with the elevator boy-turned-pimp, Holden begins to regret his decision (Salinger, 91). When the prostitute arrives, Holden is put off by her childish appearance, noting that she "(...) was young as hell." (Salinger, 94). The prostitute, whose name is Sunny, enters wearing a green dress and quickly takes it off. Holden's obsession with innocence is clear when he reflects on this dress: "I took her dress into the closet and hung it up for her. It was funny. It made me a little sad when I hung it [the green dress] up for her. I imagined her walking into a store and buying it, and no one in the store knew she was a prostitute and everything. The seller probably thought she was an ordinary girl when he bought her. It made me sad as hell – I don’t know why exactly” (Salinger, 95). Despite his lack of emotional intelligence, Holden expresses deep pain in reaction to the use of this innocent dress for prostitution. Holden may not know why he is so sad about this dress, but readers do; seeing a seemingly regular young girl turn to the impersonal world of sex work is heartbreaking for our innocence-obsessed narrator. Holden's painful relationship with sexual innocence is also present, and even more personal, in his childhood friend and lover Jane Gallagher. For Holden, Jane represents tender childhood memories and youthful beauty. Holden tells the story of him and Jane playing checkers, making special note of how Jane keeps all of her kings in the back row throughout the game. It's a terrible strategy, of course, but she "( ...) liked their appearance (...)” (Salinger, 32 years old). In the same way that Holden has unrealistic but comforting tendencies, Jane places the innocent desire for aesthetics above the adult goal of winning the game. Jane has a history of sexual adulteration, namely her "alcoholic" stepfather walking around their house naked. Jane's stepfather, a blatant symbol of hard adult life, interrupts their game of checkers to ask them if they have any cigarettes, but Jane cannot meet his gaze and begins to cry silently. (Salinger, 78 years old). This exchange serves as evidence that Jane was sexually assaulted by her stepfather. Holden tries to comfort her, but lacks proper communication skills. This tragic example of sexual adulteration sets the stage for further Jane-related pain for Holden. Stradlater, Holden's super sexual roommate, is dating Jane. Holden and the readers infer that Stradlater and Jane are having sex, which breaks Holden's heart. Holden desperately tries to bring innocence back to the situation by asking Stradlater about Jane's delicate back row of ladies, to no avail. As Eero Helenius says, "Stradlater doesn't even care if a girl keeps all her kings in the back row" (Salinger, 43), a detail about Jane's character that means everything to Holden but nothing to Stradlater” (Helenius, 24 years old). ). This loss of sexual innocence is experienced for Holden as a death: death of childhood, death of beauty, death of general innocence. Peter Shaw expands on this abstract death by writing that there are two parts to the psychological development of the adolescent (Shaw, 101). The first is mourning the death ofinnocence and the second the experience of love. According to Shaw, "if Holden is unable to move on from mourning [the death of innocence], he is also incapable of beginning the romantic part of his maturation process. It suffers (...) from the “first danger of our time”: an overly prolonged “moratorium” on growth.” Jane Gallagher is a beacon of youthful innocence throughout The Catcher in The Rye, and the combination of her stepfather and Stradlater's inconsiderate treatment of her is incredibly painful for Holden, holding him back from a state of d more adult mind. Holden Caulfield is famous for his hypocrisy. And when it comes to sexuality, Holden’s hypocritical ways don’t falter. Holden tells us, “In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you've ever seen” (Salinger, 62). However, a few lines later, Holden also tells us that he feels guilty and dirty when he has sexual fantasies. Although he is interested and excited about sex, Holden takes no legitimate steps toward having sex. And eventually it's revealed that Holden hasn't had sex at all yet. “I’m a virgin. I really am. I had quite a few opportunities to lose my virginity and everything, but I never succeeded. There’s always something happening” (Salinger, 92). This certainly doesn't sound like the "sex maniac" Holden had just described himself as. Holden's sexual hypocrisy extends to others as well. As Holden dances with some girls at a club, he comments on how stupid and simple-minded they are. However, he also notes how "(...) when she turned around, her pretty little buttocks contracted so nicely" (Salinger, 73). Although he criticizes the girl for not being smart enough, he also finds her attractive and tries to convince the three girls to stay with him. Holden experiences sexual arousal, but hypocritically fails to take the steps that would lead to sexual intercourse. Holden Caulfield's hypocrisy extends to the world of sexual fetishes, in which he takes a moderate interest. Although Holden is not yet taking any steps to explore his fetishes, he is clearly interested in some socially divergent sexual practices. The first of these is sexual interest in older women. This fetish arises while Holden flees Pencey Prep for New York. On his train to New York, Holden meets Mrs. Morrow, the mother of Holden's classmate Ernest Morrow. Holden tells us, “She was about forty or forty-five, I guess, but she was very beautiful” (Salinger, 54). Holden is approximately sixteen years old at the time of this interaction, which places Ms. Morrow nearly three times his age. A certain social constraint is present in her language – Holden says “but she is very beautiful”. She is old but beautiful; the word “but” characterizes its unexpected, unusual appeal. Presumably, if Holden admired a girl his age, he would say "She's 16 and very beautiful", because a young girl's attractiveness is much more accepted. . Holden's decision to write "but she is very beautiful" shows that he knows that she should not be considered attractive in his eyes. As Holden settles into his hotel room, he reveals more of his atypical sexual interests. Right outside the window, Holden silently watches two scenes unfold in a hotel next to his. The first is a gray-haired businessman who adds a full outfit of women's clothing, including silk stockings, heels, a bra, and even a corset. In the adjacent window, Holden observes a male-female couple spitting water in each other's faces. Holden finds particular interest in this couple, writing "The problem is, this kind of smut is insomehow fascinating to look at, even if you don't want them to be” (Salinger, 61). There is shame in Holden's fetishistic interest; Holden describes his fascination as a "problem" and openly states that he does not want to be interested in it. We see hypocritical behavior again, this time in a more explicit sexual way. An interesting facet of Holden's sexual disconnect is the possibility of homosexuality. The homosexual nods in The Catcher in The Rye are more subtle than the heterosexual ones, but are relevant nonetheless. The possibility of homosexuality would certainly contribute to Holden's immense sexual confusion and disparity. The first, and most subtle, suggestion of homosexuality in Holden arises as he watches Stradlater walk toward the bathroom: “He came out of the room with his toiletry bag and his towel under his arm. No shirt or anything. He always walked around shirtless because he thought he had a damn good build. Him too. I have to admit it” (Salinger, 26). Once again, a certain shame is present in his voice; he has to admit that he thinks Stradlater is well built. The next nod to homosexuality is Holden's use of the word "flit". The term was used as a derogatory term for queer and queer-appearing men in the mid-20th century, and has since declined in popularity. Holden uses the term with a hateful tone to describe two men he sees at the end of a bar. Although he provided no basis for their homosexuality, Holden aggressively embraces their sexuality (Salinger, 142). Upon meeting Carl Luce, a former classmate known for his sexual knowledge, Holden remarks that Luce knows "who all the lesbians and lesbians in the United States were." All you had to do was mention someone – anyone – and old Luce would tell you. whether he was a cop or not” (Salinger, 143). Holden then expresses an irrational fear that he will "turn into a cop himself or something." A secret interest in the alternative lifestyle of homosexuality was normal in American culture at the time, but Holden's language shows a reaction more charged with emotion than interest. His fear of one day waking up a homosexual reveals a deeper connection to homosexuality, or at least to bisexuality. We also see that Holden's disconnection from his clearly homosexual interests creates an off-putting judgment toward queer people, especially other men. The fear of homosexuality arises, even more pronounced, when Holden stays with his former teacher, Mr. Antolini. Mr. Antolini takes Holden in, offering him a place to sleep in his apartment when Holden needs it. Holden falls asleep on Mr. Antolini's couch and wakes up to Mr. Antolini stroking his head. Mr. Antolini had been drinking heavily, which clouded his perception of what is socially appropriate. The movement is not entirely homoerotic; it could also be described as fatherly, worried, or just drunk. But, keeping in mind that Holden is only wearing his underwear and that Mr. Antolini had just said to Holden "Good night, handsome", the interaction is undeniably homosexual to some extent (Salinger, 192) . Holden runs away from the apartment, surprised and upset by the move. Holden's immense fear of a homosexual encounter with Mr. Antolini prevents him from seeing the paternal and caring motivations that Mr. Antolini likely had. This act is certainly inappropriate by American social standards. However, if Holden had been more in touch with his homosexual interests and desires, his reaction would not have been so intensely negative. He would have.