Yesterday in class we talked about Holden's ideal job of being a catcher in the rye (roll credits). He wants to be in a world filled with children and just help them and make sure they don't fall. We then moved to what job in reality Holden could actually do, and I immediately thought of an elementary school teacher or something. He would be able to see kids at their prime innocent stage where no one's being phony, he wouldn't get a whole bunch of recognition that could potentially go to his head. And, as Emma pointed out, the kids in his life would keep coming back the same age, essentially never growing older. This immediately made me think of Toy Story 3, where Andy is heading off to college and the toys haven't been played with for a while. Spoilers ahead.
The toys are taken to a day care on accident, where they realize the magic of being day care toys instead of just one kid. They get played with a bunch, lots of love, and all their anxieties about the kids growing up and forgetting them is taken care of by the fact that new kids cycle in every year, so they get lots of love all the time. This is directly related to Holden becoming a teacher, the whole cycling kids out and them never really growing up thing really resonates with Woody, the main toy. However, the toys soon realize that there's corruption in the daycare toy system, yada yada, and eventually come to realize that Andy never meant to send them to the daycare! They realize how much more it means to be toys who belong to someone, something that really makes a difference in a person's life more so than just a passing toy they have for a year.
This made me realize that maybe if Holden became a teacher, he wouldn't have come of age to his potential. He would still be stuck in the state of bliss that the toys were in before the whole epiphany of bonding with one special kid, even if that means watching them grow up and leave. In this way, I think Holden needs to stop wishing that he could keep cycling around and being a kid himself (think; he's the only big person in the field of rye - basically one of the kids?), and realize that him growing up is okay, and getting to know himself and bonding with himself and the kids in his life (think Phoebe) and watching them grow up is worth more than just trying to preserve a view on the world with innocent kids being the only population.
This is so unique! I would've never thought about Toy Story but it fits so well. I agree that Holden needs to accept the harsh reality that we all grow up -- that there isn't a real Neverland. However, knowing Holden's attitude towards people trying to give him life advice, I wonder what's the right way to get into his stubborn mind that doesn't require Phoebe to almost ditch school too?
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting comparison! I think you're right, that Holden has a lot of growing up left to do and that he shouldn't just stagnate with his fixation with kids. I think he is beginning to be okay with this by the end of the book, what with the scene where he acknowledges that he's too old to ride on the carousel anymore, and he's okay with it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. So maybe Holden would be more suitable for being a counselor/therapist. I think seeing Phoebe take after him makes him realize that coming of age is inevitable, but maybe he can help someone do it right.
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