Holden has warned us that he loves to lie. He confirms that on the ride to Penn Station. First, he introduces himself to Mrs. Morrow as Rudolf Schmidt, using the name of his dorm’s janitor. Then he describes her son to Mrs. Morrow in glowing, grown-up terms. Old Ernie “adapts” very well, something that anyone who has been away at school will recognize as a universal adult virtue. Her son is a complex guy, according to Holden, the sort of fellow who is a little difficult to get to know at first but only because he is an original, one of a kind. Ernie is enormously “popular,” another adult virtue that most of us fail to achieve. He should have been president of the class but is so modest that he refused to accept the nomination and run for office. Holden understands how mothers love to hear good things about their sons and wonders if Mrs. Morrow will always think of Ernie as the shy fellow who refused his class’ nomination, even as the despicable boy becomes a despicable man.
Critics disagree about Holden’s motivation. In The Catcher in the Rye: Innocence Under Pressure (published by Simon & Schuster), Sanford Pinsker appreciates the humor of the encounter but sees “disguised hostility” in Holden. Is Caulfield mean-spirited here, or is he merely trying to make Mrs. Morrow feel good? We know that Holden can be cruel, as evidenced, for example, by his fascination with Ackley’s physical shortcomings (his problems with acne, his round-shouldered homeliness). On the surface, Holden seems to be kind to Mrs. Morrow, telling us that he likes her. We might fast forward, however, to the conversation that soon may take place between Mrs. Morrow and Ernest. She most likely will learn that Rudolf Schmidt is the janitor, and she will know that she has been tricked by the boy she met on the train. Is Holden sufficiently aware to realize this, or is he just careless?
