Marijuana Research

gfggdfHolden Caulfield is characterized as a young, impulsive, self- declared loner. He does not fit in anywhere, often not even trying to find a place for himself. He keeps failing in traditional roles: he has been sent away to school, probably because he is a difficult son; he flunks out of school after school, because he refuses to do his work or try; and he is liked by no one and has no real friends, male or female, because he is strange and isolates himself. From the beginning of the story, his lack of acceptance makes him feel alienated; in turn, he is angry, dissatisfied, and frustrated. Holden seeks to place the blame for his misery on outside people and things, which he normally judges as phony. He longs for honesty and integrity, but he seems to be the only authentic person he knows. He longs for connection, but no one understands him. He blames the world, with its phoniness and insensitivity, for bringing him down.

Running away from still another school, Pencey Prep, Holden spends time alone in New York City, where he meets with one defeat after another. He is unable to perform with a prostitute, is beaten up by a pimp, is laughed at and rejected by his date Sally. When he goes home to see Phoebe, the one person he has always felt he could count on, she even questions Holden.

Holden's search for meaning becomes a tragedy as he realizes over and over again that he will never find what he is a looking for. He is an idealist clinging to a vision of a society that he will never find. He is a loner looking for human connection that he will never find.

Holden is a tragic hero, not in the classic sense, but