Holden Caulfield as a Saint Term Papers

It can be safely stated that Holden Caulfield, the main character of Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, is really a young man who demonstrate many qualities of a saintly Christian person although his character should not be misinterpreted as Christ-like. Still, some researchers accredit Holden with so many of the attributes of Jesus that, in his efforts to help others, he exhibits the same empathy for man that Jesus has been ascribed with. Holden’s emotional responsiveness to his fellow man is displayed on numerous occasions in the novel. For example, he obviously becomes distressed by the fact that the nuns he meets at the station, who offer their devoted service to God and people, buy a paltry breakfast because they cannot afford something more expensive. Moreover, Holden worries about the ducks at the park also become the subject of Holden’s worry and he wonders how they will survive once the lake has frozen over. Although Caulfield has his own failures, they cannot be called extreme and are related with the likes of breaking no-smoking rules at Pencey and garage windows. The main character of Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye eventually comes to realize that the global evil will never be destroyed.