The Catcher in the Rye - Question 4

Who is the "hero" in this novel and what are some of his/her traits? What does he/she accomplish and how is he/she portrayed?

The protagonist, or hero, of this story is really difficult to pinpoint. The story really just tells the story of a teenagers struggles, and no one really steps in to save his life, or helps him realize a life changing epiphany. The story really doesn't have a hero unless you look at things from a completely different angle. Who is the anti-hero? Holden lacks many characteristics that a hero must have such as courage, honesty, and decisiveness. Just by those characteristics, Holden is nowhere near the hero of the story. Holden just sounds like a lazy minor character, or even the antagonist. He isn't a good looking person, he isn't funny or charming, and he just mopes around.

But for some reason, everyone loves him. While Holden does lack a few majorly important characteristics, he makes up for them with others. Holden is very noble. He always wants to protect the few people that he cares about, his family, Jane, and children all over the world. Holden has a love for children more than he loves adults, which shows how innocent he really is. Holden is also very compassionate. He saw the prostitute as more than just a prostitute. He just wanted to talk with her. He actually treated her like a person, not like an object. Holden also has an amazing goal in life: to be the catcher in the rye. The catcher in the rye's job was to save the playing children from falling off the cliff. Essentially, Holden wanted to save all children from whatever they needed saving from. He even went around and tried to wipe off the profanity from the school walls. Really, that goal is impossible, but it shows that Holden has pure intentions and really is the hero of the story.

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