Emily Ferman
Contemporary Adolescent Literature
Professor Signorotti
March 2, 2018
Coming Out of the Closet: An Analysis of the Repression of Homosexuality in J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye
Roland Barthes directs attention to “‘second order’ signifying systems” which understands literature as such a system because it is built upon already existing ones, particular language based (Silverman 26). The Catcher in the Rye is a second order signifying system that communicates how signs of sexuality in the 1950s are signified by its main character, Holden Caulfield, who does not fully uphold these values. Holden is the glue that pulls together and tears apart cultural codes that connote what society during the 1950s regarded as culturally and socially acceptable. He is caught between two ideas of sexuality- one that he understands as what is right and the other which he tells himself is wrong. Holden is torn between acting the way he has always been told to and acting the way he has evidently repressed. Sigmund Freud explains how repression is exemplified as what “ought to [be] kept concealed but which nevertheless [comes] to light” (Freud 241). The dominant view on sexuality in the 1950s contributes to the way Holden feels, thinks, and acts. Heterosexuality is evoked in Old Spencer as an externalization of secondary process thinking; homosexuality is evoked in Mr. Antolini as an externalization of primary process thinking; Holden is a condensation of the two. Holden’s overwhelming obsession with sex is his desperate attempt to convince the reader that he only belongs inside the heteronormative culture of the 1950s. Codes of sexual orientation during the 1950s contributed to society’s ideological imperatives of heterosexuality and homosexuality; In J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, such ideological imperatives invade the prose and are evoked in Holden Caulfield, as exemplified in his battle between what society deems acceptable– heterosexuality– as opposed to what it deems disgraceful– homosexuality.
Secondary process is best captured in the codes which invade the ideological imperative that Old Spencer presents to Holden in [Holden’s] visit to him before he leaves Pencey. Old Spencer explains to Holden that life is a game meant to be played by the rules (Salinger 11). This adheres to the cultural codes of sexuality of the 1950s. What Old Spencer says has both a connotative and denotative meaning. The denotative meaning is to never stray outside of the lines. Old Spencer is encouraging Holden to “repress [what his unconscious] desires” (Silverman 60). The repression of desires is also illustrated in the pleasure principle. Freud denotes the pleasure principle as the “impulse to avoid … experiences that inspire excitation” ( Freud qtd. in Silverman 57). By adhering to the game of life, Old Spencer believes Holden will turn into a proper adult, which is exactly what was culturally and socially expected of young men coming of age in the 1950s. Old Spencer wants Holden to avoid making rash decisions, which is a direct evocation of what secondary processing represents. By fostering the idea that the path most traveled in life is the only option, Old Spencer invites Holden to repress what he really feels. Old Spencer is acting as the secondary process of society during the 1950s, telling Holden what is to be done is not necessarily what is desired but, what is expected of us. Old Spencer symbolizes the 1950s rigid ideal of masculinity and sexuality, discouraging Holden from engaging with his emotions and in turn, prevents Holden from ever exploring his own intimacy or with another human being.
Holden and Mr. Antolini share a history similar to that of Holden and Old Spencer but with Mr. Antolini, the reader infers there is a more personal component to the nature of their relationship. Mr. Antolini went to “dinner quite frequently” to see how Holden was “getting along” and both him and his wife “read all of D.B.’s stories”- clear evidence that he has cared about Holden in the past (Salinger 199-200). “Certain memories” such as the ones Holden has of Mr. Antolini are remembered “because of their pleasurable affect”, as they remind him about times when he was at school when he did not have a complete distaste for everything (Silverman 69). Holden’s positive memories surface as he is knocking on Mr. Antolini’s door which signifies to the reader that Holden is searching for the feeling of being cared for in his search for human connection. The 1950s social semiotic field determined that homosexuality was a socio-cultural imperative influenced by primary process actions and therefore unacceptable to take part in. As shown through Mr. Antolini, Holden– consumed by the idea that his deepest feelings are wrong and should, therefore, be perpetually repressed– reacts to an action so small, he makes himself think it is uncomfortable because he is so afraid of what he will actually feel. Holden is constantly opposing what Mr. Antolini says, further proving that he consciously wants to repress any and all feelings he has. Sometimes, when it feels like there is nothing left to do, the primary process acts upon such desperation without letting the conscious think about what is happening. Mr. Antolini sort of pets or pats Holden on the head as he is sleeping on the couch (Salinger 211). The primary process is about taking action based on feeling and evidently, Mr. Antolini felt the urge to comfort Holden, someone who he felt needed contact with someone who cares about him. Mr. Antolini acts upon his primary process and Holden, in the time when he is writing down this event– the time at which the reader is experiencing what happened– is too acting upon his own primary process because he tells the reader he does not “even like to talk about it” (Salinger 211). Holden tells the ready how much of a confused state he was in, how he could not stop sweating, and how that something like what happened with Mr. Antolini had happened many times before (Salinger 213). Whether Holden would like to believe it or not, he has more often than not had interactions with men in which he has felt the same way with as he had with Mr. Antolini. The reader sees Holden feel a sense of comfort and relaxation in his own primary processing around Mr. Antolini until he convinces himself that he is not supposed to feel like that.
What is “initially repressed is” Holden’s “desire to engage in” homosexuality, which is a “forbidden activity” by 1950s societal standards. This “repressed desire continues to express itself… in the guise of a fantasy” (Freud qtd. in Silverman 78). Using language, Salinger signals to the reader when Holden is forcibly repressing his sexual desires. Holden swears to the reader “sex is something [he] just [does not] understand” (Salinger 71). When Holden swears, it is usually an attempt to prove to the reader the validity of what he is saying. The language Holden utilizes and the language which Salinger uses to present Holden is Evident of Freud’s association of the secondary process with language (Silverman 80). Holden acts like a different person around the reader just like he pretends to be something he is not in his own life. Holden feels like the world in which he lives will be unwelcoming of the part of himself he has been told to hide. While at Ernie’s, Holden swears if he “were a piano player, [he’d] play in the goddamn closet” (Salinger 94). If Holden was comfortable in his own skin, he would have used different language to describe his feelings. This stylistic choice made by Salinger is meant to provoke the reader to realize Holden’s true sexual identity. Unfortunately, he is growing up in a time where an individual is not supposed to be, individual. Ideological imperatives tell Holden to be traditional but, tradition has never been something Holden has followed. Evidently, Holden will continue going around this circle comprised of what is expected and what he actually wants. Finally, when he has the chance to let the pressures of society go (with Mr. Antolini), he shuts it down. Holden’s repression of his sexuality shows the reader how miserable he really is.
Sexual orientation ideological imperatives of the 1950s invade The Catcher in the Rye and are presented in the language and both Old Spencer and Mr. Antolini. Holden’s sexual orientation is revealed through his unrelenting battle with his personal primary and secondary processes, as well as his encounters with Old Spencer and Mr. Antolini. Holden visits Old Spencer at the beginning of the novel and visits Mr. Antolini at the end. The reader can visualize Holden’s character development through these experiences that take a circular shape. Holden only tells us what he thinks we want to know, in terms of his sexuality. The fact that the reader finds Holden often changing the subject further implies his sexual confusion. Consumed by traditional ideological imperatives, Holden is plagued by the idea that heterosexuality is the only sexuality, whether he knows it or not.
In a heteronormative society, Holden Caulfield faces numerous difficulties as a gay man. Codes of sexual orientation invade the text and drive Holden to the point where he is rejected by society and is actively rejecting himself. When J.D. Salinger penned The Catcher in the Rye, he lived in a society that fed off of the oppression of its people. These ideological imperatives that Salinger lived through, invade his prose from every possible angle. The Catcher in the Rye is what Roland Barthes as a second order signifying system because it is based upon an already existing system. By writing Holden— who is a part of the second system— into the society in which he lived, perhaps Salinger— who is a member of the first system— is signaling to the reader something about his personal life. Through coding, Salinger displays the harsh difficulties faced by gay men, thus expressing the dominant views and values of the 1950s. By adding together the evocation of primary process in Mr. Antolini and the evocation of secondary process in Old Spencer, the dominating values of the 1950s are exposed. The reader is provided with an ending that does not tie up loose ends but rather, leaves the world wide open. It is not known whether or not Holden ever breaks out of the ideological imperatives thrust upon him. Holden is stuck in a state of wanting to embrace his sexuality but also hating himself because of the difficulties he goes through. Holden is told to repress his feelings, hide from his true identity, and is forced by societal pressures to endure feelings of self-hatred. At the end of the novel, Holden tells Phoebe that the one thing he would want to do for the rest of his life is to be “the catcher in the rye” (Salinger 191). Though he confuses the lyrics, it is evident to the reader that the rye is the only place Holden can find happiness. Perhaps the only safe space for Holden is in the rye- a place where he is accepted for who he is and can rescue others from the same suffering and discrimination he endures.