Quest For Love in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher In the Rye

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The Quest For Love in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher In the Rye

In many novels written by J.D. Salinger, there is a recurring theme of love that

arises and that indicates the character of the individual in the novel. Salinger uses

love in the context of being a device that is used to protect and to care for people

who need protecting and caring. In Salinger's novel, Catcher in the Rye, love is used by a character, Holden Caulfield, who struggles desperately to find a certain somebody or anyone to allocate his love to, but realizes finally, that this love is not necessarily expressed through saving " the children in the rye" from the time of trial, but actually caring for them and being their friends, during the time of trial.

The quest of finding the true love of people is an ongoing dilemma in

the lives of many people all throughout the world. The constant need for love is

overwhelming, and the tragedy of this great world is the fact that some people

do not find the proper love that they deserve. Holden Caulfield is a perfect

example of the striving to acquire a love sought all throughout his life.

According to this quote, "He is simply expressing an innocence incapable of

genuine hatred. Holden does not suffer from the inability to love, but does

despair of finding a place to bestow his love" (Heiserman and Miller 30), Holden

Caulfield has the need for allocating his cornucopia of love for people. His

quest is very simple. He wants to do good. As compared to tragic heroes in the

past,

"Holden seeks Virtue second to Love. He wants to be good. When

the little children are playing in the rye-field on the cliff

top, Holden wants to be the one who catches them before they

fall off the cliff. He is not driven toward honor or courage.

He is not driven toward the love of woman. Holden is driven

toward love of his fellowman...." (Heiserman and Miller 25).

In other words, he is not a tragic hero, but rather a misfortuned hero that

struggles to find a person to give his love to. There is nothing tragic about

his life.

Holden also seeks circularity in his life.

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