Cut Holden some slack, please

We've touched on this a number of times in class, and I've been thinking about it a lot outside of school, too, but I think Holden's "meanness" is really revealing, honest, and (for me) appealing.
Holden sounds "mean" in his descriptions and narration, but I think most people can relate to this sentiment in one way another. We're in Holden's head, and we hear his internal monologue when his peers don't, and this level of intimacy reveals a lot about him. No one can be in your head, no matter the level of closeness they have with you -- that's why art as a form of fiction, I think, is such a compelling tool: it lets us enter the heads of characters and see inside their minds for once. It's uncomfortable to see the reality of other people's consciences at first, but Holden is so candid about his thoughts that I can't help but appreciate and like him as a character.

He dissects people, takes them apart in his head (and for us), but there’s a line that Holden draws between his inner monologue and the way he behaves. Though he thinks Stradlater is only “yearbook handsome” and is sort of phony, he still hangs out with him in the bathroom; he doesn’t particularly like the way that Ackley can’t take a hint but he gets it, I think, and doesn’t immediately get mad at Ackley (it takes a Ackley not listening to him). Though Spencer is stressing him out and Selma has a big nose and crooked falsies, he’s still polite to each of them, still hangs out with them and has conversations. In this way, I think Holden is a really captivating character – he exemplifies the way that we all behave, in one way or another. He is thoughtful, wishes Stradlater would think about things and have conversations with him, and he knows when is the right time to keep his thoughts and judgments to himself.

I like Holden a lot; I think he is honest with the reader and we can see his sensitivities, his personality, his intricacies, all that, and we can also see the way he chooses to present himself. He brings up the concept of "phony" a lot and how he can act a little phonier when he's with phony people, but isn't that how we all are? Someone who was really truly 100% open with their thoughts would be the biggest asshole ever!! Even with the best intentions, not-very-nice thoughts come into our heads no matter how much we love someone. Everyone thinks about people's appearances, their idiosyncrasies, their character, and sometimes we like it and sometimes we don't. Holden is honest and thoughtful and real!!

Also it seems that, at the point in the novel that we join him, he is in the middle of some sort of minor emotional breakdown, and those are definitely hard to go through without coming off as a bit of an asshole. When he gets all hung up on the memory of Jane (especially since it's bringing up all the memories of Allie -- which he doesn't seem to have fully processed yet), he gets into the fight with Stradlater. Have you guys ever had those days when you know you're really upset about something and taking it out on the people around you, but you don't know how to stop? His meltdown with Stradlater really struck me as one of those, especially when he goes to Ackley. He's desperately lonely, and he's reaching out to Ackley as a shot in the dark. I feel like, in the context of him bringing Allie's death back up to the surface of his mind, thinking about Stradlater possibly date-raping his old best friend, and feeling incredibly isolated at Pencey and unable to relate to the people around him, it's reasonable that he comes off as sort of an asshole. But hey, maybe that just says something about me!