Jasmine Sanchez

Mrs. Anderson
Draft 2
September 25, 2016
Holdens Journey: Seeking Purpose
In the novel, The Catcher in the
Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is
portrayed as an outsider in society. His past haunts his present and it is evident that it
is affecting his mental state, when readers meet him. In many of literatures classical
works, authors have written about a heros journey, for example T he Odyssey. When
readers think of a hero, qualities like courageous, intelligent, and strong come to mind.
It is evident throughout Holdens journey that he does not encompass any of those
qualities, resulting in the readers perceiving Holden as an antihero. Based on Joseph
Campbells idea of the heros journey, which consists of the departure, initiation, and the
return, Holden does not perfectly fit the requirements but in some ways does succeed
therefore, Holden Caulfield complicates the meaning of a modern hero.
First, Im going to examine how his personal qualities and actions that he
portrays throughout the novel make him fall short. A hero is someone the readers root
for, yet many readers portray Holden as a coward unable to grow up, Its no fun to be
yellow. Maybe Im not all yellow. I dont know. I think maybe Im just partly yellow
and partly the type that doesnt give much of a damn if they lose their gloves (89).
Readers lose sympathy towards Holden because of his annoying character because of
the cynical and apathetic voice. Most would even consider Holden as an anti hero
because of these qualities, Im the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. Its awful
(16), traditional heroes do not lie and do not identify themselves as liars. Although he

contains many qualities like the ones he has such as, sympathetic and compassionate
towards his younger sister, Phoebe, however this does not necessarily qualify him as a
hero.
Caulfield goes on a quest as he wanders through New York City. His quest starts
off the day he left Pencey Prep, as a reader we notice Holden does not care about
anything and clearly does not know what to do with his life. According to a blog
dedicated about heroes, most often a hero receives assistance from an unlikely mentor
to help make him stronger and wiser to prepare him for the journey ahead, like the one
Holden is about to embark on. Although Holden sees Mr. Spencer as a phony; Mr.
Spencer tries to help him by advising him to find direction in his life. Mr. Spencer
lectures Holden how little effort he has put into life and school. The protagonists
attitude differs from a heros qualities.
However, the complication can be seen in the fact that, Holdens journey does
incline him to seek the answer or purpose of something, therefore fulfilling part of the
meaning of a hero. Holdens purpose was to find happiness amidst a materialistic
world, filled with phonies.

He seeks a world he can find comfort in because he

constantly notices how phony the world is and tries to escape that world. Throughout
Holdens journey the author depicts how difficult it is growing up but although it is
difficult to grow up it is necessary. Holdens quest is to stop the loss of innocence from
occurring. He does this through himself, Phoebe, and others. He envisions himself as
the Catcher in the Rye. As he wanders through New York City, his experiences shape

how he sees the world and many of the things that motivate him to cling to childhood, is
society and the adult world.
During a heros journey, the hero is supposed to come back victorious. In Holden
Caulfields case he necessarily does not find a resolution in his journey but does find his
purpose. Holden does come to the realization that he wants to be the person that saves
children from growing up:
"What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliffI a
mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going. I have to come
out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I'd do all day. I'd be the catcher in
the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I
know it's crazy."
Holden wants to help others that face the same problems he does and he wants to help
others as they go through the liminal period from childhood to adulthood. As Holden
takes Phoebe to the carousel, he feels a sense of happiness because he has finally come
to terms with the fact that he cannot save everyone including Phoebe, "If they fall off,
they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them" (274). Essentially, the ambiguity in
the completion of Holdens journey does not clearly reveal if Holden is a hero.
Although Holden does have some qualities of a hero, he does not fully complete
the ideas of literary hero. At the end, he does start to comprehend the harsh realities
and conforms to the expectations of society, this is seen through the ambiguity of his
suicide attempt. He rejects society by alienating himself from everybody even those who
try to help him. It is evident that modern literature does not give a clear answer.

Ultimately the ambiguity functions for the reader and writer, in that neither can clearly
determine if Holden Caulfield is a hero or not. The writer undoubtedly leaves the
readers with this ambiguity purposefully. The ending of the book resulted in Holden not
becoming something better and continuing to not accept societys expectations.
Although Holden represents a modern version of the classic hero going on a quest, the
biggest transformation is his realization that he cannot fix all the problems of the world
and cannot protect the innocence of the children.