Hero - The Catcher in the Rye

So far the first four questions that I have had to answer pertaining to The Catcher in the Rye, has been very difficult.  The fourth question may be the toughest.   Who is the hero of the book.  Usually, when you are looking for the hero in the book, it is pretty tough to figure out.  It is usually the main character who accomplishes the most.  Well, in this books case, the hero is hidden.  There is nothing that any one character does that sets him above everybody else.  Even looking for one minor thing that would be classified as heroic, I could not find it.  That is why I am not going to answer who the hero is, but I will answer who the protagonist is.  The protagonist is Holden Caufield.  The book is written about him when he is sixteen and struggling in school.  He is just like any other teenager.  He hates school and is having trouble growing up and having trouble with the categories that come along with that.  Holden is portrayed as a highschool student, I want to say drop out , but I am not sure if that would apply.  Also, he is portrayed as a youmg man who has trouble growing up, and hates "fake" people.  He does not like phonies, but goes on a date with one, just because he likes kissing her ((Salinger 105).  A lot of guys do this, they do not like something about a girl, but they date her just because he is pretty (hot).  Looking back, Holden does not really accomplish anything in this book.  He gets kicked out of school and lives on his own for a short time period.  I think that Holden represents the idea of what a teenager is.  Holden goes through problems like school, girls, and many other things, and that is what every teenager has to go through.  He represents that idea to show that you are not the only person that goes through these problems.

Bibliography

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