Suddenly, Holden is awakened. He is shocked to find Antolini sitting on the floor by the couch, patting Holden's head. Holden becomes very upset and insists on leaving.
He decides that Mr. Antolini is a pervert. Holden becomes increasingly disillusioned with Mr. He initially tells us that the instructor was the best teacher he has ever known. Antolini is a kind of mentor, almost an older brother. Holden compares him to D. Young, articulate, and popular, Antolini is also intensely caring as evidenced by his continuing concern for Holden as well as his attentions to the mangled body of James Castle.
But in this chapter, Holden discovers the feet of clay on his golden idol. Whether Holden's ultimate judgment that Antolini is "perverty" is accurate or not, he is forced to recognize that Antolini does have his problems. Holden already knows that Antolini is a heavy drinker. When the teacher greets him at the door with a highball in hand, Holden passes it off as "sophisticated. He mentions it several times and notices that, when coffee is served, Mr. Antolini just fixes himself another highball.
But I do say that educated and scholarly men, if they're brilliant and creative to begin with--which, unfortunately, is rarely the case--tend to leave infinitely more valuable records behind them than men do who are merely brilliant and creative. Spencer and the like speaks highly of him. Such writing is rarely equaled. Here's a link to my article, "Misjudging Mr. Antolini" on Wattpad. Dec 03, AM. Monty J wrote: "Paula wrote: " Antolini fills dual roles of both family friend and teacher.
In both cases, he has an implied responsibility to cultivate the boy so he will develop into a successful and productive adult. Salinger characterizes Antolini as not only a brilliant teacher but also hints that he may be a closet homosexual, making him a fascinatingly complex character. The homosexual implications charge their interaction with sexual tension.
The big question here is whether a gay man can compliment an adolescent male without being accused of pedophilia. Aide from Antolini's gayness, as a family friend, he was acting out a responsible nurturing role by giving Holden advice, calling him "handsome" and stroking his head.
All of these gestures fulfill the "family friend" duty to shore up Holden's self-confidence by reinforcing his positive qualities of intelligence, education and physical attractiveness. If Antolini were an aunt and did those things, few people raise an eyebrow. But since Holden thinks he's gay, he reacts homophobically, taking the reader along with him. Homophobia was prevalent in the s when this novel was published, so it's understandable that Salinger's writing would reflect the mores of his milieu.
A family friend should be able to do what Antolini did without being accused of making a sexual pass. But Holden's overreaction characterizes him as both heterosexual and homophobic.
Furthermore, his overreaction represents a maturation milestone--that he not only can discern subtleties of gay behavior, but is also assertive enough to defend his masculinity. This is evidence of Holden's maturity. At 17, Holden was not legally an adult, but his behavior in this instance establishes that he's mature enough to defend his masculinity. Jan 13, AM. It seems Mr. Antolini has crossed his boundary line.
Holden sees him as a caring teacher and whether or not, Mr. Antolini is attracted to Holden, the boundary line should not be crossed. I mean, Holden is just The Catcher in the Rye J.
Antolini Character Map J. Character Analysis Mr. Adam Bede has been added to your Reading List! Here is Holden's 'last adult refuge in a disintegrating world,' and yet once again Holden must escape from a situation to avoid any sort of difficult confrontation Graham Holden can now dismiss Mr. Antolini's advice to him, for he can now perceive this once-respected teacher as a predator. At the same time, if Mr. Antolini was making advances on Holden, then it's clear that perhaps Holden is right about the world - that it's incapable of offering true love, only phony attempts at connection coupled with arbitrary pain.
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