Does Holden Caulfield epitomize Altruism or Misanthropic Nature?
Holden Caulfield, the teenaged protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s much celebrated book “The Catcher in the Rye” is undoubtedly one of the most famous and influential characters of the popular culture. Albeit Salinger has left the phoney world once and for all, his shadow still lives forever in Holden Caulfield. Salinger’s acerbic wit received both hatred and love from his critics and readers. While some may judge Holden Caulfield as a terrible cynic and a troubled teenager, he just could be an altruistic “Catcher in the Rye”, the way J.D. Salinger intended. Readers may sometimes overlook the significance of the title of the novel, to the protagonist. For the usual reader, there are many negative qualities attributed to the troubled and cynical character. For instance, Holden is a misanthrope as he hates the entire world, which he considers phoney and has a host of adjustment problems due to which, he is not able to pass his exams. He gets the axe three times from three different schools an
