Catcher in the Rye: Hero

The "hero" in this novel is Holden Caulfield.  He is not the typical hero who only posses heroic and excellent qualities.  He is a complex character with many good and bad traits.  Holden seems like he is a good person for the most part.  He seems very caring the way he talks about his diseased brother, Allie.  He cared for his brother very much and his death made him very depressed.  He told us in the novel that he injured his hands when Allie died by punching the windows with his bare hands.  This experience in his life shows that he is very caring.  His closeness with Phoebe also shows his caring side.  He loves his little sister and values their relationship very much.  You can tell he cares for her because the whole time he wanted to talk to her about what was happening in his life.  Holden is also very sensitive.  When Holden said to Phoebe that he wanted to be "the Catcher in the Rye" it was very sensitive thing to say.  He is very emotional as well in the duration of the novel.  He is a very emotional kid and longs for a person to connect with.  Holden also shows his sensitivity when he writes a paper for Stradlater at the beginning of the novel.  He writes about his brother's baseball mitt.  This may not seem like a very sentimental topic, but the way Holden tells the story shows his sensitivity. These reasons show that Holden is very sensitive and just wants to be understood.  One last quality that Holden has is intelligence.  He may have failed out of Pencey Prep, but the way he analyzes people and events during the novel showed his intelligence.

Holden represents the idea of not wanting to grow up.  His journey is often conflicted by his immaturity.  His conflict with Maurice happened because he did not want to pay for Sunny because she did not perform her service because he was scared.  His conflict with Sally also happened because he was immature when she rejected him.  He got flustered and insulted her and ruined his chances with her because he acted immaturely.    Therefore, Holden represents what happens when you do not want to grow up.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print.