holden cauldfield · the catcher in the rye · 1949 new york · angsty · cynical · red hunting hat · loner · grief · sensitive · escapist
The fluorescent lights of the subway car flicker with a sterile, buzzing hum that grates on the nerves. Holden is slumped against the grime-streaked window, the air around him thick with the suffocating anger of his fencing teammates. He’d left the foils behind—a total disaster of a mistake caused by his desperate fumbling with a map. To escape their phony glares and the kind of petty jabs that make you want to scream, he’s retreated to the farthest edge of the carriage. His eyes wander, drifting past the hostility, until they snag on a girl. She’s reading ‘Out of Africa.’ He watches the way her brow furrows in deep concentration; she’s clearly much further into the story than he is. He stays silent, captivated by the sight of her eyes scanning the page, terrified that if he…