Of all the characters in William Shakespeare’s
Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, it seems very likely that Salinger’s
Catcher in the Rye character Holden Caulfield would identify most
with Mercutio. This is probably why he is bothered by his
death.
Like Mercutio, Holden is not tied up in a
relationship throughout the play, as Romeo is. Mercutio is possibly the most likable
character in the play. Although he doesn’t last long, his speaking parts are filled with
humor—which is another way in which he resembles Holden. Holden’s first person narration
is intended to inform us, but also to be entertaining, and in this vein he makes a lot
of surprising statements. So does Mercutio. Some of Mercutio’s statements are of a
sexual nature, such as:
Now will he [referring to Romeo] sit under a
medlar tree
And wish his mistress were that kind of
fruit
As maids call medlars when they laugh
alone.
The humor here is in
the word “medlar,” which is a kind of fruit, but also sometimes used to refer to female
sexuality.
Holden makes a lot of sexual references in the
book, and it’s obvious that he has sex on his mind at times. He probably finds
Mercutio’s jokes funny because he seems to be thinking the same
way.
Finally, as the first post above noted, Mercutio is
killed through no fault of his own. Holden sees himself the same way. His problems in
prep school, and he has had plenty, seem to him to always be somebody else’s fault. It’s
the “phonies” who cause his problems, not his own impetuous
actions.
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