F for Effort
In The Catcher in the Rye , Holden Caulfield frequents the habit of bringing a topic up, perhaps even expressing an interest in it, but explaining to the reader that he is deliberately choosing not to engage because he 'doesn't feel like it.' This attitude is most notable in Holden's school work. The story opens at Pencey Prep, where Holden has just been kicked out of after failing four of his five classes. It's also revealed that Pencey is not the first school he's been kicked out of; presumably, it won't be the last. Why is this? Holden doesn't seem particularly unintelligent and even informs the reader of the initiative he takes when he writes extra-curricular essays. There could be many explanations. At first, I assumed that Holden was protecting himself from failure or disappointment. Maybe Holden uses his actively-maintained passivity to convince himself that he only does badly because it's him who refuses to break a sweat. This self-sabotag...