Everyone knows and wants the all too true “American dream,” to be or wants to be something that is better than what you are or have already. In The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield is an idealist who always envisions his life as it should be, and not as it truly is. It is the story of an emotionally disturbed sixteen-year-old boy; told through a flashback. In an attempt to …showed first 75 words of 2504 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2504 total…He thinks that he is okay and mentally stable as he goes through his mental breakdown. Holden is an idealist, but seems to always become disillusioned by things that happen to him. The ending of the novel is very symbolic because Holden always thought that he didn’t need to share his depressing stories with other people. When it was just what he needed to discover his condition and truly find himself and his identity.