Stradlater

So I was just sitting here thinking about some random stuff. One thing that came to mind was the character Stradlater for the great, classic American novel the Catcher in the Rye. I think that he has a very interesting personality. He is considered a cool and popular child but Holden sees him for who he really is. One thing I find hilarious is that Holden sometimes calls him a sexy bastard. This is because Stradlater is sexually active. This is very unique because all of Holden’s other friends are not active and doing things of the sexual nature with people of the female sort. Not many people do anything sexual at the school they attend. Basically Stradlater is a pimp. Now although Stradlater is a stud, Holden knows who he really is as a person. In reality, Stradlater is quite disgusting in a lot of different ways. He uses a razor that is extremely old. It is probably over a year or two old. I would imagine that it is covered in rust, but apparently it still works because all of the girls love his cleanly shaved face. It is probably a very big health risk because there is a chance that he could have to get tetanus shot to prevent infection. At one point in the novel, Stradlater and Holden have a bit of a falling out. They end up getting in a fist fight; well really Stradlater just destroys him. I think that this probably had happened before just because of the relationship they have. It seems that Holden doesn’t really mind him as much as a lot of the other people that he knows. He almost has a slight respect for him. This may be because of the fact that they have been around each other for quite a long time. Overall I personally think that Stradlater is an alright guy but he could definitely get annoying so I understand Holden’s feelings for him.