|
|
In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield is introduced as a troubled New Yorker in desperate need of guidance. He doesn’t care about life or school, and has to find a way to change. The only problem is, Holden doesn’t want to or even think he needs to. Instead, he chooses to make poor choices that keep getting him kicked out of schools. Holden really could have changed easily. All he needed to do was make a simple decision. But he chose not to. So Holden ends up in a Mental Hospital, overwhelmed with his troubles. Yet he wasn’t on his own during his times of struggle. People tried to help Holden, but this just made things worse for him. J.D Salinger shows how three characters fail to become positive mentors, pushing Holden further into emotional trauma. Mr. Spencer is one character who fails to become a positive mentor to Holden. If Mr. Spencer was a true positive mentor, he would have given him guidance and advice on what Holden should do. Instead all he does is tell Holden that his lack of care is stupid and continually nags about his schoolwork. But first of all, Mr. Spencer’s appearance really bothers Holden. He becomes very uncomfortable because of the way Mr. Spencer looks. “The minute I went in, I was sort of sorry I’d come.” (pg.7) Mr. Spencer’s attempt to become a positive mentor had already begun to fail as soon as Holden walked into his room. It’s tough to give someone advice when that person doesn’t want to be there in the first place. But Holden listens to Mr. Spencer anyway just to be polite. Yet he ends up getting a lecture he doesn’t expect. Mr. Spencer gets very angry and scolds Holden when he finds out that he was kicked out of Pencey. If Mr. Spencer wanted to be a good mentor, he would have tried to give him some words of encouragement instead of putting him down.
|
