The Baggage We Carry

The Baggage We Carry

    Most people, when they look for a roommate, look for common interests or a similar personality, but Holden looks for suitcase quality. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is bothered by many things, but nothing irritates him more than what he calls “phony” behavior. He constantly criticizes people for being superficial, conformist, materialistic, and shallow. Ironically, many of the traits Holden condemns in others also appear in himself. While he never openly admits that he is phony, there are moments in the novel where he becomes aware of his own contradictions. His hatred for cheap suitcases is not just a result of his privilege. Instead, it exposes a deep discomfort with that privilege and the position it places him in. The cheap suitcases force Holden to see himself as the very bourgeois phony he claims to despise.

    When Holden helps the two nuns with their luggage, he admits, “I hate it when somebody has cheap suitcases. It sounds terrible, to say it, but I can even get to hate somebody, just looking at them” (Salinger 58). This moment is surprising because it contradicts everything Holden claims to value. Throughout the book, he prefers someone’s authenticity over status, yet here he is judging others based purely on their belongings. What makes this confession significant is his self awareness. When he says it “sounds terrible,” he is recognizing his own phoniness. But the hatred is not about the suitcases themselves. The cheap bags act as a mirror, reflecting Holden back to himself as a privileged prep school kid passing judgment. His expensive luggage screams his wealth, forcing him into a performance of class superiority and into being this polished kid he does not want to give into. The suitcases depress him because they become an unavoidable reminder of a class divide he cannot cross, no matter how much he wants to connect with people like the nuns on their level, and also have their pureness and sense of not having guilt.

    The Dick Slagle story illustrates the guilt that Holden has about his wealth. Slagle, embarrassed by his inexpensive suitcases, keeps them hidden under the bed. Holden, trying to be considerate, hides his own Mark Cross bag in solidarity and to help boost Slagle ego back. Slagle then takes the suitcase back out and places it on the rack so people will think the expensive one belongs to him. Holden’s charitable gesture, make Slagle feel that it is still a performance from Holden and this condescending kindness that turns Holden into someone pretending to be generous. Holden even admits, “The thing is, it’s really hard to be roommates with people if your suitcases are much better than theirs...they don’t give a damn whose suitcases are better, but they do” (Salinger 59). This quote shows that Holden understands how his wealth creates sets him apart from Slagle but also the nuns. Slagle’s teasing of Holden’s bourgeois belongings starts as a joke but is actually rooted in resentment that Holden is aware of. Holden realizes his wealth has created a situation that he can never escape from. He will always have privileged parents, money, and keep getting put back into school until he fixes himself. He knows that he can never become as pure as the nuns because with wealth comes greed and phony behavior that he is constantly surrounded by at Pencey, his old schools, and his parents. He cannot hide his privilege, and trying to do so only makes it more uncomfortable. The suitcases trap Holden in a constant performance of guilt, reminding him that he is surrounded by phonies.

    This is why Holden ultimately prefers rooming with Stradlater. He admits, “At least his suitcases were as good as mine” (Salinger 59). Even though he finds Stradlater superficial and obnoxious, their equal social status gives Holden relief from the moral discomfort he felt with Slagle. With Stradlater, there is no performance required. He is phony and I am not, so I am just better than him. Holden is not choosing phoniness over authenticity by preferring Stradlater. He is choosing to escape the person he cannot become. He is choosing to ignore that his innocence is stripped away as he grows older, along with the society and world he lives in. This shows that Holden knows his phoniness and materialist ideals cannot survive in a world where a piece of luggage decides who you like or dislike.

    Holden’s obsession with cheap suitcases is his struggle with his own phony behavior. The suitcases are an example of him trying to escape phoniness that will eventually get to him, just like the suitcases already have. He wants to be a protector of innocence, someone who values people for who they are, but he knows his own privilege keeps getting in the way. The suitcases are the reminder that he is part of the system he hates. Holden is admitting that it is easier to live with phonies than with genuine people who force him to confront his contradictions. By the end, we realize Holden is trapped in the performance he wants to escape.