Stephen Dedalus' and Holden Caulfield's Outlooks on Death

Having finished A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as well as Catcher in the Rye, I've noticed surprising contrast considering the common theme of coming of age. Stephen is cold, selfish, and disciplined; Holden is relatable, charming, and impulsive. However, both of their narratives deeply explore their conscience, and in doing so, there are naturally some parallels in their thinking and development. One which stood out to me in particular was how the two characters deal with the concept of their own deaths. In the two books there is a passage in which they envision their own deaths with some fascination.

The passage where Stephen Dedalus imagines dying occurs in the infirmary when he is mildly ill, and goes as follows:

There was cold sunlight outside the window. He wondered if he would die. You could die just the same on a sunny day. He might die before his mother came. Then he would have a dead mass in the chapel like the way the fellows had told him it was when Little had died. All the fellows would be at the mass, dressed in black, all with sad faces. Wells too would be there but no fellow would look at him. The rector would be there in a cope of black and gold and there would be tall yellow candles on the altar and round the catafalque. And they would carry the coffin out of the chapel slowly and he would be buried in the little graveyard of the community off the main avenue of limes. And Wells would be sorry then for what he had done. And the bell would toll slowly.

For Stephen, dying is something glorious. He craves attention, and he sees death as an opportunity for people to express sympathy for him. As an artist, he sees his death as a kind of martyrdom, and this theme is continued throughout the novel as he explores the significance of his namesake Stephen, the Christian saint persecuted for his faith. We see no sense of dread, only a kind of thrill at the "sad faces" and he heightens the drama by even being so specific as to describe the how "the bell would toll slowly."

Holden's vision of death also occurs in a state of less-than-perfect health, as he is walking around a cemetery in the cold rain without having had much sleep, and recently having gotten pretty drunk.

....I thought probably I'd get pneumonia and die. I started picturing millions of jerks coming to my funeral and all. My grandfather from Detroit, that keeps calling out the numbers of the streets when you ride on a goddam bus with him, and my aunts--I have about fifty aunts--and all my lousy cousins. What a mob'd be there.... . Anyway, I kept worrying that I was getting pneumonia, with all those hunks of ice in my hair, and that I was going to die. I felt sorry as hell for my mother and father. Especially my mother, because she still isn't over my brother Allie yet.... The only good thing, I knew she wouldn't let old Phoebe come to my goddam funeral because she was only a little kid. That was the only good part. Then I thought about the whole bunch of them sticking me in a goddam cemetery and all, with my name on this tombstone and all. Surrounded by dead guys. Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody.

Similar to Stephen's imaginings, there are many little details such as the flowers and quirks about the relatives who would attend. Yet, there is a difference in his tone. Although he delves right into the idea of his own death with many mundane specifics, unlike Stephen, he doesn't sound too excited by the idea of people being sad at his funeral. He describes feeling sorry for his parents, and is especially concerned that Phoebe not be exposed to the tragedy.

For these two characters, death is something far and distant into the future, as they are at the prime of self-discovery. Facing the fact that they will ultimately die seems to be a small way in which they come of age. Although their elaborately thought-out funerals may seem ridiculous, there is definitely something impressive about how they explore their demises relatively fearlessly. Interestingly, they both focus on the reactions of others rather than their own fates, as Stephen delightedly imagines everyone's sadness, and Holden pityingly pictures the pain his death would cause others. Both see themselves as highly important to the world around them, and are confident they will be greatly missed. This sense of importance in their identities is also a milestone in coming of age, as they differentiate themselves from others as unique presences in the universe.

Holden Caulfield, Let's Be BFFs?

Switching from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to Catcher in the Rye has been quite refreshing. I find Holden Caulfield so much more interesting than Stephen Dedalus, and a large part of it has to do with his awareness of the world around him. He is constantly observing people and trying to interact with them where as Stephen was mostly an introvert. The language is also very different. Unlike most classics, the narrative style is as casual as if he were speaking directly to you in person, and he's exactly the type of person I would want to talk to. As I read, I'm constantly laughing out loud and fully engaged with what he's saying. He never lets you zone out, they way he addresses the reader and keeps you involved in the story and what he's saying.

I feel like I can really identify with Holden Caulfield, which I couldn't do with Stephen Dedalus who seemed so cold and distant from everyone. One of his main intentions throughout the novel has been merely to find a good conversationalist, and this is something I'm always looking for as well. I try to talk to people as much as possible, and although I wouldn't be so inclined to invite a random little girl out for hot chocolate, I share Holden's penchant for talking with people.

I also find his attempts to categorize people quite amusing. "All these handsome guys are the same. When they're done combing their goddam hair, they beat it on you." It makes me laugh, but then when I stop and think about his little generalizations, they have some greater truth and significance. I feel like I know what he means when he says this, and it gets me thinking about all the conceited people I know and how they fit this profile.

Another quotation that got me thinking was: "Every time you mention some guy that's strictly a bastard- very mean, or very conceited and all- and when you mention it to the girl, she'll tell you he has an inferiority complex. Maybe he has, but that still doesn't keep him from being a bastard, in my opinion." At first, I just kind of shook my head at the ridiculous oversimplification, but when I considered it more, it rang true. People in general have a way of turning things around to fit what they want to believe, and what Holden was saying makes sense.

So, I basically think Holden Caulfield is great. His honesty is appealing, he has an astute world view, and his ability to make me laugh while reading gains him major points. I don't really understand how he is so ostracized when he is so warm and charming all the time. I think the people around him don't get him, and just aren't on his level. They're constantly dismissing him, like when the taxi cab driver is irritated by his question about where the ducks go in winter or when Sally is so alarmed by his proposal to run away together. I don't see how they can't be at least a little intrigued by his quirks, rather than being so freaked out. I wish I knew him, though, because I'm sure we'd get along swell.