Discussion Question 4- The Catcher in the Rye

I think the hero in the story is Holden Caulfield. Yes, for the majority of the book Holden struggled with everything. In the very beginning of the book he struggled with people, mainly his roommates and classmates at Pencey (Salinger 28-29). In the beginning of the book he struggles with facing the truth. He got kicked out of Pencey for failing in many of his subjects. The whole middle part of the story he is coming home from Pencey, but avoiding going home. He does not want to face his parents because he is afraid of their disappointment. He struggles with reality. He does not want to accept people for who they are most of the time. He always finds the worst quality in people and that is what his focus was on. In the end he struggled with finding happiness. I think he struggled so much in the end because he probably was not sure what true happiness was and did not think he could find it in the littlest things. One of Holden’s main traits is independence. In the story, Holden leads you to believe he does not really need anyone else. Of course, he wants a girl, but once he is with one, he chickens out and he does not want a girl (Salinger 94-98). He says he is lonely, but I think he likes being lonely. Even though it depresses him, he did not make a huge effort to surround himself with a lot of people. I think he likes his independence. He believes that he can live on his own and stick to his ways, no matter how depressing they are. Another one of his common traits is kindness. In certain parts of the book, the reader really sees how kind Holden can be. When he gives money to the nun’s he shows how kind he is deep down. He did not have much money at that point, but he wanted to give the nun’s more than ten dollars to help them pay for their breakfast. At the end of the story the reader also sees his kindness when he is with his sister. He treats her really well and does not break his promise to her no matter what. He buys her a ticket for the carousel and that is where he truly finds his happiness (Salinger 211). Since the conflict is internal, Holden is the only one who can really be the hero because he had to find himself and happiness in order to resolve the conflict.

 Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.