Holden as a Hero Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger is a story about the trials of life and the toll it can take on the psyche. I believe that Holden Caulfield is an under credited hero. He is a teenager forced to grow up in a time of turmoil with severe emotional handicaps placed upon him by family, friends and life in general. Holden is one confused kid trying to beat the Man in the 1950’s.
He grew up ignored by his parents, drifting from school to school in search of a purer lifestyle. On page one Holden humbly describes his lousy growing up. “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you will probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like… but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth… that stuff bores me.” Holden does not want to go into his childhood and play the victim. He tells us that he had a rough time and leaves it at that.
Later in the book he alludes to how his parents just shuffled him from school to school hoping that he would do better at the next one. All he tells us about is his dad is that he is a big shot corporate lawyer, not much about what kind of father he was. Suggesting that he was gone a lot and not around to give a good role model for Holden. In turn it shows up in Holden’s attitude towards adults. Throughout the book Holden shows his resentment towards the Man. He always refers to how phony the authority figures are.
Multiple times he talks about his old headmasters who were very phony. They would only talk to the parents who had money and influence. They would ignore those who struggled to get their kids into the school and did not wear the finest clothes. He rebelled against the common conceptions of age and maturity. He believed that you should be considered mature when you could thin for yourself and make your own choices, not when you reached a certain age or certain physical appearance. He wanted to be treated like an adult and resented others judging him based on his age.
School Time Wanted Home
... with the people of my own age. Six hours of school time was a long time, I always looking at the clock ... to see the time for the day to ... stop. I did not want the time to go on, my parents asked how school was. I just told them that ... was not going to ever succeed in school. My biggest fear was being held back. I didn't want to be the ...
Holden was very introspective. He was very aware of himself. He knew what he like and disliked, even though some of his actions contradicted his beliefs. He felt like the world was going to hell in a hand basket. He could not understand how other people in the world would not want a pure lifestyle.
A life that was sure and stable. He hated being moved around from school to school not having many friends. He decided that it was immoral to follow a system that was based on hypocrisy and shallow wants. He rebelled in order to create a system of his own in which a pure lifestyle would be the ultimate goal.
Holden should have been Buddhist, with out the smoking and drinking. Oh yeah, and the delusions of grandeur. “So I went back to the room and turned on the light, to start packing and all… Then I got the hell out.
Some stupid guy had thrown peanut shells all over the stairs, and I damn nearly broke my crazy neck.” Holden talks about leaving and how it affects him emotionally every time that he leaves a school. He needs closure and gets some by yelling at all the phonies in the dorm. “Sleep tight, ya morons!” Holden Caulfield is a hero. He is a kid that survived many adversities with nothing more than a nervous breakdown to show for it. He came out of that on top with a new respect for everything and a new outlook on life that made him a better person.
