The Catcher in the Rye - Is Holden Caulfield the Archetypal 20th Century Anti-Hero?

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The Catcher in the Rye Is Holden Caulfield the archetypal 20th century anti-hero? Discuss. The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger in 1945. Throughout this text, the protagonist Holden Caulfield is portrayed as someone who is facing the typical struggles that became apparent in society due to the industrialisation of the 20th century. Despite his un-heroic nature, we’re called to examine wether or not Holden has enough characteristics to be titled an archetypal anti-hero. His mental instability and judgemental personality can be used to argue against this statement. Conversely, the obvious flaws that he posses and the heroic desires that he has may just be enough for him to redeem his title as an anti-hero. Through the discussion of these points, we can come to an educated conclusion as to wether or not Holden is in fact the archetypal 20th century anti-hero. The 20th century anti-hero commonly had the characteristics of a villain, but the desires of a hero. By examining the personality of Holden, we can resolve that he suits the requirements that this statement is expressing. Holden does have many negative characteristics, such as his judgemental and critical personality. He is constantly talking about the people he sees within his own head, such as when he visits a bar. He catches the eye of three women, and instantly says that they “were pretty ugly” and “all had on the kind of hats that you knew they didn't really live in New York”. Holden can’t know for sure if he’s right about them, but his arrogant nature makes him think that he is automatically correct. This gives him a villainess tone. Nonetheless, Holden’s desires help to put him in the anti-hero category. He says that he keeps “picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all” and he’s “standing on the edge of some crazy cliff”. All he wants to

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