Failing Mentors

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 ...