When Holder interacts with women in the novel, he s very different when he interacts with men. The female characters all are very important because they present and symbolize many different things. In addition, Holder is very nice to younger females but to older females he gets sexually attracted. When this happens he will do anything to get women s attention, which leads to him being an extremely disrespectful and impolite teenager who is also very immature. “l started giving the three witches at the next TABLE the eye again”(Slinger 70”).
In short, Holder tries to be nice to people of the opposite sex and wants to create friendships, but his immaturity makes him think of women as objects and his disrespect towards others will not help him get through his life. Holder ‘s communication idealism is first brought forth when he describes his life at Pence Prep High School. He thinks it is full of phonies, morons and bastards. His roommate, Seedeater, “was at least a pretty friendly guy, it was partly a phony kind Of friendly.. ” (Slinger 26).
Also his roommate, Ackley is “very nosy bastard” Slinger 33). Holder can not stand to be around either one often for a long time. On the other hand, he has little sister Phoebe, she is the one with whom Holder communicates very openly with. In general, Holder is surrounded by these types of people no matter where he goes. He can not function in their environment. This explains why he has trouble with communication with others. Holder is growing teenager who chooses to be frozen between a world of the innocence of children and complex world of adulthood.
He is wedged between these two worlds because he possesses a fixation with childhood. In addition, he traveling alone in his journey, faced with unexpected troubles. When Holder sees profanity on a wall, he feels depressed. “That s the whole trouble. You can t ever find a place that’ s nice and peaceful, because there sin t any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you ‘re not looking. Somebody will sneak up write F’ you ‘ right under your nose” (Slinger 204). Moreover when Holder watching
Phoebe riding on the carousel, he understands that no matter what he has to grow up. “All kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was Phoebe and I was sort of afraid she d fall off the goddamn horse” (Slinger 21 1). Holder concern for Phoebe safety shows an adult sense of responsibility when being with and caring for a younger child. Holder changes his point of view from the beginning to the end of the novel. He has huge significance to his problems with his relations and communications, also he realizes that he has matured from what he started from.
