H OLDEN ' S T AXONOMY P ROJECT Y OUNG M EN

1. HOLDEN'S TAXONOMY PROJECTYOUNG MEN DANIEL TRAN JASE EMERY AMANDA SCOTT SKYLAR GABRIELSON JUSTINE LIN PERIOD: 1

2. THESIS Although Holden is judgmental towards everyone, he particularly exaggerates the frailties in his male peers, giving him reason to isolate himself. 

3. EVIDENCE & ANAYLSIS: CARL LUCE "Old Luce. What a guy. He was supposed to be my Student Advisor when I was at Whooton. The only thing he ever did, though, was give these sex talks and all, late at night when there was a bunch of guys in his room."(143). Ch.19     - Holden described Carl Luce in an immature way, implying he only thinks of Luce as an expert about sex. "'How's your sex life?' I asked. He hated you to ask him stuff like that."(144). Ch.19     - This shows that Holden holds himself, his desires and questions, above anything else. He is someone who is immature and un-wanting of actual friendship. "Listen. Let's get one thing straight. I refuse to answer any typical Caulfield questions tonight. When in hell are you going to grow up?"(146). Ch.19 - Holden fears the idea of aging and the common theme of maturity because he believes he does not blend in with the rest of society as easily as others of his age. Carl Luce's statement addresses how people actually view Holden. Holden tells his story through his skewed sense of reality, in which he exaggerates many aspects of life, similar to the way a child would.

4. EVIDENCE & ANALYSIS: STRADLATER "Stradlater was more of a secret slob" (27). - Ch. 4 - Holden describes Stradlater as a sharp and fit young man, someone two times his size. He calls Stradlater a secret slob because the razor he uses is all rusty, representing his lazy character. This shows how Holden finds the slightest faults within people and exaggerates them. Holden views many of his young male friends as slobs, but does not admit to being one himself. "Hey you want to do me a big favor?" (27). - Ch. 4 - Holden sees himself in Stradlater. Stradlater wants to go out on a date  when he has homework to do and in this sense, it is much like how Holden feels about not needing to pass his classes at Pencey Prep. "That didn't interest Stradlater though... Jane Gallagher. Jesus" (32). - Ch.4     - Stradlater and Jane were people who Holden generally liked. However, Holden gets upset with Stradlater when he finds out Stradlater did not do what he had asked, and begins a fight. Holden's quick temper and immaturity gets him intertwined in a struggle with Stradlater, and eventually leaves Prency Prep on short notice.

5. EVIDENCE & ANALYSIS: ACKLEY "I never saw him brushing his teeth. They always looked mossy and awful... besides that, he had a lot of pimples...and not only that he had a terrible personality"(19). Ch.2     - Ackley is the Pencey student who resides in the dorm next to Holden's. Holden describes Ackley as dirty, someone who never brushes his teeth and has acne taking over his face.  "He damn near made you sick if you saw him... with his mouth full of mashed potatoes and peas or something" (19). Ch.2     -Just as Holden treats everyone else, he is quick to judge Ackley, saying that he is an annoying guy who he never really likes to be around.  "He came over and sad down on the arm of Stradlater's chair. He never sat down in a chair" (22). Ch.2 - Though Holden makes Ackley seem quite repulsive, there is evidence that he is exaggerating issues for the purpose of being immaturely dramatic.

6. EVIDENCE & ANALYSIS: JAMES CASTLE "He was a skinny little weak-looking  guy, with wrists  about as big as pencils" (221). Ch.22        - James Castle is the Elkton Hills student who commits suicide because of bullying. He descibes James a small and quiet boy. One that no one would bother. " So Stabile, with about six other diry bastards went down to James Castle's room and went in and locked the goddam door, and tried to make him take back what he said (221)." Ch 22          - Holden took a general liking toward James Castle because he stood up for himself. He would not bow down to Stabile and his friends, and was not a "phony". "The funny part is, I hardly even know James Castle, if you want to know the truth" (221). Ch.22           - Contrary to everyone else, Holden actually likes James Castle, but, he hardly knows him. Although Holden did not know James Castle, he is one of the few people Holden likes throughout the novel. This proves Holden is judgmental towards  everyone, causing him to detach himself from reality.

7. EVIDENCE & ANALYSIS: RICHARD KINSELLA "He was a very nervous guy... you could hardly hear him if you were sitting way in the back of the room" (248). - Ch.24     - Holden describes Richard as a nervous and quiet classmate in his Oral Expression class in Percy Prep. "I liked his speeches better than anybody else's. He practically flunked the course though, too. He got a D plus because they kept yelling 'Digression!' at him all the time... Mr. Vinson, gave him an F on it" (239). - Ch.24    - Holden generally likes and relates to Richard more than his other classmates. He judges his classmates for downgrading the quality of Richard's speech and portrays them and their instructor as cold hearted people who did not appreciate Richard's story. He isolates himself with Richard Kinsella. "[Richard's speech] didn't have much to do with the farm - I admit it - but it was nice. It's nice when somebody tells you about their uncle. Especially when they start out tellingyou about their father's farm and then all of a sudden get more interested in their uncle." (249). - Ch.24     - Holden appreciates Richard for his excitement when he shared his uncle's story. Because Richard expresses similarities to Holden in the way they process ideas, Holden generally comes to a liking to Richard, essentially isolating himself with Richard from everyone else in the class.

8. CONCLUSION Though Holden is presumed as a judgmental young man, his life can be easily compared to society today. For example, like Holden, people have bias in everything they do: work, school, holding reputation, etc. In reality, people are doing exactly what Holden does; they take a frailty, whether it be conceit, apathy, or ignorance, and exaggerate it to justify their hatred or love of a certain person. Holden opens society's eyes and attempts to juxtapose people with himself, causing him to find reason to feel a sense of alienation through their faults.