Essay On Holden Caulfield A Hero

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Albert Camus once said, “the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” Which is essentially the motto that Holden lives by, he has without a doubt internalized this quote. J.D Salinger uses the protagonist, Holden, to criticize the vices of society; a psychotic, depressed and cynical teenager who is trying to “find himself.” Holden is unquestionably not a hero, well in the stereotypical sense with the whole saving the world gig, however he does do something a little more realistic and impressive- he breaks through the phoniness of society and in doing so he exhibits both bravery and shows care to those that are otherwise forgotten.
Holden Caulfield is intriguing, to say the least. He doesn’t hold any of the typical traits a hero would, like Superman: he doesn’t have incredible strength both mentally or physically, he isn’t crazy good at anything in particular nor does he have supermodel girlfriend to strut around. All in all, Holden Caulfield is a “loser.” It is not lost on the reader that Holden is severely depressed. He …show more content…
This was when he asked the cab driver about them. He again asks about the ducks this time to Horwitz, “Do you happen to know where they (ducks) go in the wintertime, by any chance?” (page 91). Holden’s interests in ducks is beyond bizarre, yet it shows the reader how caring he is. He asks multiple people and all of them don’t care about them. In a world where people are selfish and only really care about their own independent success and well-being, Holden makes it his thing, mission, to care about those who are
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