He spends his time with a variety of people, but he can't make meaningful contact with any of them.

Holden isn't sure whether he'll be able to handle things better when he leaves the institution, and he's sorry he told his story at all.

Although he's intelligent and fairly well read, school represents repression to him; it stands for the "phony" standards and values he hates.

Holden is sensitive, probably too sensitive for his own good, and he suffers from an almost uncontrollable urge to protect people he sees as vulnerable.

Holden is essentially a loner, but not because he dislikes people. His loneliness arises from the fact that no one seems to share his view of the world, no one understands what's going on in his head.

Holden is a hero who stands against the false standards and hypocrisy that almost all others accept. As much as he would like to accept the world and be comfortable like almost everyone else, he can't pretend that his society is worthwhile.

His version of truth, however, is very subjective, and not necessarily correct. In his mind even good or beautiful things can be tainted because of the true motives of their creators.

He often seems unwilling or afraid to say exactly what he feels, first, because he doesn't know what he feels, and, second, because he's afraid of revealing himself to a world that is either indifferent to him or ready to tear him apart.

You'll begin to see that he tends to dismiss many important things with throwaway phrases like "this madman stuff." It's a way of downplaying things that bother him; it makes him seem untroubled by things.

His language also tells us that he doesn't want to be thought of as one of those "splendid, clear-thinking young men" his school claims to mold.

Another of Holden's interesting characteristics is his need to look at both sides of a question, even when he seems to have a strong opinion favoring one side. This trait keeps him from totally disliking anyone, because as soon as be becomes angry at someone, he thinks of the person's human side and tempers his opinion. The same characteristic keeps him from deciding many things about himself.

Although Holden doesn't believe that life is a game, he does hold himself responsible for not measuring up like everyone else he knows.

The clean perfection of the scene may have a special meaning for Holden. That perfection is related to innocence, which you'll find is very important to Holden.

Realize that something is not quite right with the way Holden sees himself and deals with the world.

As far as he's concerned, One of the Helpless is out there, and it's his job to protect her.

He has no immediate plan in mind. He has nowhere to go. He has nobody to talk to. He's so much in need of a human connection that he'd settle for just about anyone he knows. Holden is a lonely boy, but he can't bring himself to say it.

Though he tries talking to people, they all disappoint him, and he withdraws from them before anything can happen.

He's frightened by the possibility that Jane might have changed, her growing up could be a terrible event in his life.

After a while, you begin to see that the problem comes from the way he sees things, not necessarily from the way they are.

He adds that he hates fights because he's more afraid of hurting someone than of being hurt. But even that isn't an acceptable excuse.

Girls in general seem to fit into Holden's classification of vulnerable people, and that, of course, complicates his feelings about sex.

Even the positive things he encounters are tainted in some way. He's unable to enjoy anything because nothing is perfect. The result is that even good things make him sad.

As he has done all along, he's trying to reach out to someone. But, as usual, he's saying the wrong thing to the wrong person.

He becomes upset at these performances because he thinks people are applauding the grandstanding and showing off, not the talent. He becomes even more upset at the possibility that the performers themselves no longer know the difference between showing off and creating something beautiful.

Take that as a clue that Holden's grasp of reality isn't as firm as it should be. He doesn't imagine himself doing anything remotely attainable.

He seems to expect something from the world that the world can't deliver.

Both schemes would allow him to disappear from the world, and on his own terms.

Then he decides that it's a hopeless battle, anyway. You can't erase all the obscenities in the world.

Holden doesn't want to see anyone grow up, especially not Phoebe.