Marissa Crespo

Ms. Anderson
Holden...A Hero? Draft III
October 14, 2016
Holden...A Hero?
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a hero is someone who transcend[s] ordinary
men in skill, strength, and courage[is] usually born in their role...[partakes] in war or
dangerous adventure[and] is resourceful and skillful in many crafts. Any reader of T
he
Catcher
in the Rye would struggle connecting this Encyclopedia definition of a literary hero to
Holden Caulfield because Holden is not heroic in literary

terms. One might think Holden could

never be classified as a hero; he lacks these stereotypical heroic qualities, he fails to fit the mold
of a literary hero or superhero, and at first glance is simply an academically below average
teenager who is both borderline psychotic and depressed. When one superficially reads The

Catcher in the Rye, the reader understands Holden and what he represents in one dimension.
To delve into Holdens significance as a hero, the reader must be versatile enough to view a hero
in various contexts which will subsequently reveal J.D. Salinger's meticulous thought process
behind crafting Holden to fit the message of the novel. By expanding the definition of a hero
beyond literary terms and into the
modern terms, Catchers revolutionarily progressive theme
will unravel thus exposing Holdens valor.
Holden is pitifully deficient in comparison to the definition of a literary hero. Holden
lacks the distinctive valiance associated with traditional heroes such as Odysseus, Hester
Prynne, and Beowulf; however, he does indeed satisfy George Lucas fundamental hero
qualifications: departure, call to adventure, refusal of call, initiation, and return. Holdens
departure

is explicitly stated in C
atcher as the moment he is expelled from Pencey, which could
also be interpreted as his departure from childhood. After he departs from his private school,

Holden is thrust upon the real world alone, because he cannot return home before his parents
receive notice of his expulsion by mail. In the real world Holden is forlorn and irresolute; does
he want to go to the movies, or hire a prostitute for the night? Does he want to remain a child, or
become an adult? Salinger portrays the anticipation and allure of the adulthood as false; he
creates the conflict between adult life and child life within Holden by allowing him to have tiny
dosages of adulthood which are vehemently unfavorable to him. For example, when Holden is
waiting for the prostitute (one of the small dosages of adulthood Holden experiences), he
start[s] to feel pretty sexy and all (120) and sort of figure[s] this [is his] big chance (121) to
finally lose his virginity; however, while the prostitute undresses in front of him he [feels] much
more depressed than sexy (123). Holden is fearful of using the prostitute (which represents his
fear of adulthood) and even pretends to have had a recent operation to avoid intercourse. The
day after the incident Holden still [feels] miserable, [feels] so depressed, you cant even
imagine (129). Holdens negative sentiments after each encounter with adulthood represents
his discomfort and distaste for adult life.
This coming of age dilemma could be interpreted as a call to adventure: the adventure of
confronting adulthood. This invitation to adulthood is declined by Holden which leads to his
initiation into teenagehood, a stage of life unheard of in the early 1950s. Because the 1950s
lacked a teenage culture, teenagehood was just a stage in which people bridging late
adolescence and early adulthood were left disoriented (much like Holden). During this stage,
teenagers were expected to grow up, go to college, or get jobs, but were still too young to run
away stay in [some] cabin camps...and get married or something (171) or even order an
alcoholic beverage (168). Through Holdens journey, Salinger is capturing the dysfunctionality
that adolescents experienced during the 1950s; they are too old to go to ride carousels with the
kids but too young to be in bars with the adults. This disarray is extremely uncomfortable for an

already unstable Holden; as he sees the children spinning on the carousel, he realizes adulthood
is daunting--a place he does not want himself and other children to suffer, which then leads to
his return to childhood and desire to be the catcher in the rye. Not only does this moment allow
Holden to be classified as a hero by George Lucas, but it serves as a moment in which Salinger
can expose the theme of the fear and inevitability of growing up through the protagonists
epiphany. This ability to dauntlessly confront fear is undoubtedly heroic of a
nyone.
In addition to being a hero in terms of Lucas hero formula, Holden could also be
considered a hero to modern teenagers. In the 21st century, most people, including teenagers,
respect pioneers, people that reject tradition, and those who create a path for themselves even
though it may not be conventional. Holden c hooses to avoid adulthood and deliberately snubs
societal norm without the support of family or friends which makes him an admirably
independent figure in the eyes of modern teenagers. Although teenagers crave independence,
they are often too afraid to seek that independence. Therefore, they idolize trailblazers like
Holden who do without thinking twice. Those who represent originality and and abandon
uniformity are seen as heroes despite the prerequisites of a hero set by an outsider like Lucas
or Britannica. The raw, uncensored, confused Holden thoughts we see throughout C
atcher allow
teenagers to relate to him even though he comes off as an unreliable narrator. Many teenagers
are judgemental, cantankerous, and discontent, therefore, the majority can connect to Holden
and view him as a contemporary hero for being so audacious. Despite the lack of a niche for
teenagers during his time, Holden creates one. Though not welcomed by the kids, he engages
with them on the playground anyways (159); despite being unwelcomed in the bars, Holden tries
to order drinks and dances with older anyways (92). Holden sees that he is in a transitional
phase that does not belong in childhood nor adulthood and in turn decides to retreat to
childhood and create his own teenagehood. He is ultimately the embodiment of the struggle

many teenagers faced in the 1950s but never spoke of; Holden wants to avoid growing up, evade
responsibility, maintain his innocence, and be a kid for a bit longer. He knows must find
himself and overcome his personal demons before he can allow himself to grow, which is what
Salinger is trying to express is normal and okay through Holdens internal conflict. Unlike
many, Holden admits his disgust towards adulthood and unwillingness to mature; he creates a
path for himself, which is why such a wide range of teenagers (and people in general) deem him
a modern hero.
Holdens ability to serve as a courageous teenage pioneer in the 1950s and a modern hero
for decades through his journey deemed heroic by George Lucas reveals one of Catchers most
prevalent themes: growing up at ones own pace/comfort is reasonable. Abiding by all of
societys unwritten rules is unnatural and phony. Its important for a people to develop their
characters, find themselves, and overcome any obstacles before moving on to the next stage in
life (which is what Salinger cleverly expresses through Holden). For an indecisive, unreliable
teenager like Holden, realizing that he cannot handle adulthood--and his decision to avoid it--is
utterly heroic thus making his character a perpetual hero and the theme of T
he Catcher in the
Rye undisputedly timeless.