Holden Caulfield Fear

In his first inaugural address, former President of The United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself”. Even the most powerful weapons, tsunamis, or calamities that befall man cannot be compared to the dangers of fear we generate in our minds. Fear is defined as being an “unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm”, which most people are unaware of, and yet it has become a prevalent emotion in our society. This psychological disorder has the ability to take complete control over one’s mind and thus renders one unable to accomplish their goals in life, as fear is standing in their way. Although many may not realize it, fear causes one to panic and have anxiety, which causes more harm

In J.D Salinger’s novel The Catcher In The Rye, the outspoken protagonist Holden Caulfield lives with constant fear, which is the one factor that causes him to live a limited and isolated life, eventually leading to his downfall. This is demonstrated through Holden’s fear of confrontation, especially as he fears to face the problems in his life, and fears that if he is to confront others, he will be rejected by

As the novel progresses it becomes evident that Holden exhibits great concern when it comes to protecting the innocence of youth, and says that the only thing he desires to be is the catcher in the rye, as he says: “Thousands of little kids...running and they don 't look where they 're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them” (Salinger, 173). Here, he is saying that he would protect children from ‘falling off the cliff’ into adulthood by catching them and preserving their purity that he himself fears to lose. Holden remains hostile towards the slightest idea of change, as he holds a cynical view towards adults, as he constantly labels them as phonies, and suggests that the only way to stay pure-hearted and unhypocritical in society is to remain as an innocent child. Additionally, Holden’s deep concern of the loss of children’s innocence is shown when he visits a museum with his younger sister Phoebe, and notices that somebody had vandalized the wall using vulgar language. He immediately becomes enraged upon seeing this and says: “I thought how Phoebe and all the other little kids would see it, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them [what it meant]...I kept picturing myself catching him at it... till he was good and goddam dead and