Holden Caulfield

"In "Catcher," every motif of America's famously adolescent national character burns bright: the moral absolutism, the inchoate chafing at any manifestation of authority, the romanticizing of innocence and childhood, a certain prudishness, and the conviction of personal exceptionalism. All of these traits are problematic, obviously; you can see the seeds of countless political mistakes and miscalculations in Holden's self-righteousness and rigidity, his ability to feel persecuted in the lap of privilege.Read more