Holden Caulfield Tragic Hero

Words: 413
Pages: 2

A tragic hero holds potential to be extraordinary. In the case of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher In The Rye the potential is placed in the hands of Holden Caulfield. Holden, due to his inability to cope with his brother’s untimely death, struggles to relate with others and do well in school, because he focusses on the purity of childhood and views adults and adult institutions as “phony,” he is a tragic hero and unable to transition into adulthood. PURITY OF CHILDHOOD:
Holden believed he could preserve childhood. He believed he could catch the children, in the rye. To keep them away from becoming adults because being an adult is “phony”. Allie, Holden’s brother, died at a young age which triggered this inability to transition into adulthood, not