The Catcher in the Rye: Who is the "hero" in this book and what are some of his/her traits? What does he/she accomplish, and how is he/she portrayed? Does the hero represent an abstract idea such as goodness, truth, courage or evil?

The protagonist and “hero” in this story is Holden Caulfield. Honestly, he is one of the most interesting characters I have ever read about. He is impulsive, and does things without much thought, like calling random people on a payphone and walking right out of his boarding school on a dime, but he can also be very thoughtful, like when he thinks of his brother Allie and sister Phoebe, and when he thinks about Sunny buying a new dress (Salinger pg. 96). He is carefree, but sometimes very concerned. He is judgmental, and thinks the majority of everyone is a phony, but also sentimental to some people, like his little sister Phoebe. He’s a liar, and even admits it and says, “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful” (Salinger, pg. 16) but also truthful, especially when he’s talking to Phoebe. He can be rude and mean, but also kind and generous, and he shows this when he gives money to the nuns, when he tries to be friendly to people, and when he buys something and thinks good thoughts of his sister. He has so many characteristics, and his emotions are all over the place the majority of the time. But he’s real. He tries not to be fake, and he’s really just a regular teenage guy trying to find his way. Accomplishment wise, he’s done very little. He’s not good in school at all, except for English, which he excels in. (Salinger pg. 10) He doesn’t know what he’s going to do when he grows up, or where he wants to go with his life. All he really wants to do is find some peace of mind, and Phoebe helps him with that. That’s why I like him so much. He’s got very little accomplishments, but he tries.  Most people in the book don’t really like him, except for his two teachers and his sister. Most think he’s too wild and uncaring. They see him as clumsy and unimportant, still a child. Holden wants to connect with people and get friends, but he just doesn’t seem to really fit in with anyone. He’s not portrayed in a good way by most, by his two teachers and his sister see him as a desperate kid who is just struggling with life in general.

If Holden was an abstract idea, I’d probably put him as uncertainty. He’s uncertain about what he wants to do with his life. He’s uncertain about his future, and his past, and he struggles a lot with day to day decisions. He runs away from school because he’s uncertain how his parents will react to him failing out. He runs away, wandering New York, just completely uncertain about what he’s going to do. Uncertainty really fits him, I think, because that’s really what he is.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.