Holden Needs To Be Sent To Wilderness Camp

Over the past few years, I've seen a surge of YouTube influencers make these videos about how they sent their supposedly 'out-of-touch' and insufferable teenage boys to wilderness camps in Nevada or Arizona and they come back transformed, hard-working, humble men ready to make their mark on society. Now while I've never met any of these people, my extensive internet research from questionable sources has gotten me thinking that Holden might benefit from something akin to this. While Holden may not be touched by the debilitating influence of internet fame and social media rut, he needs to unplug from his preppy, toxic environment of upper-middle-class white Northeastern society and reevaluate his life.

One thing that stood out to me about Holden was his ability to critically analyze society around him, especially considering that he's been "stuck" his entire life in something akin to a rat race, where everything is about gaining an accomplishment after another. While he is annoying about this at points, calling other people phonies every other sentence, and he has a fair amount of privilege, he is "unique" in the sense that he is willing to question the structures in power that govern his life. An example of this is his problems with school and performing and learning for the purposes of getting accolades and awards - he refuses to try when it comes to school but will write a well-done composition for Stradlater when he's not getting credit for it. Holden's off to an uncommon start which involves his dissatisfaction with the society that he currently occupies and he might benefit from getting out into the wilderness and seeing society at its bare bones, in its natural state. 

I'm not saying Holden should stay in the wilderness forever and excuse himself to a life of seclusion - it would be interesting though, to see him transition back into New York and explore areas not just within his neighborhood. He has a storm pent up in his mind and sorting that out and coming back to the city and seeing the diversity that there is beyond the bubble he's stuck in would help him put his potential to use. Not every person in 1949 has the privilege, resources, and talent that Holden has and those who do aren't quick to question the systems that have given them that power in the first place. Holden may be right - maybe everyone else is a phony - but acting on that and opening his eyes to the world is how he can set himself apart. 

Comments

  1. Emily SFebruary 8, 2023 at 5:03 PM

    maybe not a wilderness program- those things are straight up abusive and would probably make him worse off-- but a reality check would be great. "he needs to unplug from his preppy, toxic environment of upper-middle-class white Northeastern society and reevaluate his life" really captures it perfectly.

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  2. Nyla Kyles March 6, 2023 at 12:14 PM

    I agree with you that Holden needs to unplug in some sort of way in order to truly advance. I actually wonder if that's kind of what he was doing at the end of the book it was very ambiguous but we know Holden went somewhere so maybe he was/is at dome kind of secluded place where he is somewhat disconnected from his preppy New York life.

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  3. Arya ThirodiraMarch 8, 2023 at 4:29 AM

    At surface level, I might say it’s a good idea to send Holden to a wilderness camp. He comes off as that prep-school, obnoxious, annoying kid but I think there’s a lot more to him. Although he’s never lived in a lower-class environment and had those struggles, he still grapples with his own resentment of the adult world and his reluctance to enter it. Ultimately, I feel that these problems exhaust him and cause him to express this kind of obnoxious attitude. I agree with the fact that he must take action and at least make some effort rather than sitting around and criticizing the world around him. In this way, he really does fit that toxic, wilderness camp teenager persona. Interesting post!

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  4. EliMarch 8, 2023 at 12:21 PM

    I definitely agree that Holden is woefully unaware of the privilege that he has lol. When he talked about running away from his life to live in Vermont all I could think about was how delusional he sounded when he described his idyllic life. His weird romanticization of this rural lifestyle shows how young and inexperienced. I definitely agree that a controlled trip to the wilderness would help him grow.

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  5. NathanielMarch 26, 2023 at 8:42 PM

    I'm not sure that Holden needs to be sent off to a wilderness camp, but I do agree that he needs a slap of reality to show how he shouldn't take what he has for granted. Maybe a mission trip would help Holden, showing him what other people have that aren't as privileged as him. He'd probably benefit from it, mature some, and perhaps even figure out more of what he wants to do with his life, because he starts to sound a little crazy with some of his plans.

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