Moron Use in The Catcher in the Rye

The motif of a “moron“ is a noun used often by Holden in dialogue. He constantly reminds the audience that he is physically weak which makes it easier to see how he uses words as a form of power. JD. Salinger emphasizes the concept of Morons through Holden’s monotonous defense mechanism. In chapter 6 when Holden is frustrated with Stradlater he yells “You’re a dirty stupid sonuvabitch of a moron”. While they are fighting, Stradlater has an upper hand in strength and stature, so Holden attempted to “punch him back“ with words, to reassure himself he isn’t weak, Later, in chapter 13, he blatantly explains how he’s scared of fist fights which clarifies his motives for the language he uses the character is filled with self-hatred -putting others down justifies his internal worth.

One example of this is when he is glancing at a group of girls in order to get their attention, they react by laughing, then he says to himself, “When I did it they started giggling like morons”.

Holden has a lot of pride, or at least wants to appear that way; even when nobody is listening he has to prove his superiority towards others. When people Holden doesn’t respect make a mockery of him, he lashes back with phrases like “moron” and views the situation as them acting idiotic rather than considering himself the foolt Perhaps the most vivid scenario of this motif occurs when Holden is leaving the dorms of Pencey and abruptly shouts, “Sleep tight, ya morons”.

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He tries to play off leaving as if it doesn’t affect him, though he appears to be crying- creating irony and allowing the reader to see the side of Holden he tends to hide. Crying while yelling such a bold statement shows a heavy contrast and emphasizes the internal struggle the protagonist has with himself- he feels small, but wants to appear big. This specific motif represents the mask Holden wears to hide himself from his own weakness Salinger is careful to include a pattern of the word in order to trigger our sympathy and also give a greater character depth. Holden feels a need to justify himself and also try to eliminate the doubt in others that he might not be as strong as he acts, both physically and emotionally. The constant use of moron highlights the hastiness of a teen in this era while also revealing the tragic battle that many young adults face as they search for a place to belong.