The Catcher in the Rye

   
    Everyone has probably heard at least once in their life that planning is a vital part of life. Holden, from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is the perfect example of someone who has insufficient planning. Holden is a kid who’s choices are greatly influenced by his emotions which causes him to have insufficient planning. He runs away from his school, Pencey, and faces many conflicts and problems such as losing money, being scammed, and being forced to pay for otherwise unnecessary things are all causes of Holden’s lack of planning. Ultimately, Holden’s lack of planning holds many consequences.
   
    Holden’s lack of planning is the main reason why all these problems and events keep happening to him. It all starts with him deciding to run away. When Holden decided to run away, he decided on a whim, which meant that he did not really plan things out which led to him not seeing the possible outcome of his actions. “But all of a sudden I decided what I’d really do, I’d get the hell out of Pencey―Right that same night and all.” Here Holden decides to leave on the spot because all the “phony” people annoy him. Making decisions this way can really affect you and your life because you may not be able to see the possible problems that could lie ahead. For example, Holden faced conflicts such as running out of money. He also may not see the impossibility of what he decides on. For example, at one point in the book, he decides to go out West. “But I really decided to go out West and all.” He doesn’t even consider the fact that he’ll need money to get there and the fact that he’s broke.
   
    Holden’s lack of planning holds many consequences and causes many problems as mentioned in the paragraph before. One of the main conflicts is running out of money. He treats money as if it doesn’t matter, and lacks planning that could help him save money. For instance, he gives a donation when he really cannot afford it. “They let me give them ten bucks as a contribution. They kept asking me if I was sure I could afford it and all.” Had he been planning from the beginning, he would have not run out of money so rapidly. Near the end of the book, he only had “...three singles and five quarters and a nickel left...” and is eventually forced to borrow money from his younger sister. Besides giving donations, he also went out on a date with Sally Hayes. “But the thing was, I’d made that date to go to a matinee with old Sally Hayes, and I needed to keep some dough for the tickets and stuff.” He spent extra money on unnecessary things that he could live without, which caused him to not have enough money for things that are necessary such as food. Another conflict was getting scammed. In one part of the book, he decides on a whim to hire a prostitute. However, the next day, the pimp(Maurice) claims that the price was ten dollars, not five like he had originally said. “...Five bucks a throw...” In this way, Holden was forced to pay five more dollars than he originally had to. Had he planned, he would have foreseen the many dangers involved in being alone as well as saved money.
   
    Holden has many flaws such as being judgmental and not knowing when to stop talking, however, his most biggest flaw would be his lack of planning. His lack of planning was the main reason why he faced most of the conflicts in the book such as losing money and being scammed. All or most of Holden’s problems could have either been avoided or solved in a simpler manner had he planned what he was going to do once he ran away. Lack of planning made it easier for him to lose money as well as become an easy target for scammers.