Introduction J. D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher in the Rye highlights various issues that teenagers contend with in their lives. Having been published in the mid 20 th century, the novel has captured the attention of numerous readers. In fact, some highlight that novel is among the best works of literature to date. It has won many prizes and praises from varied authors and readers. The protagonist of the novel, Holden Caulfield has influenced many teenagers and has become iconic figure in the context of the American society. Despite criticisms of the novel that criticize the explicit illustration of sexuality and other social issues like identity, it is imperative to notice that its influence throughout the century has been unsurpassed. This is a research paper on the novel that seeks to elucidate on the aspect of Holden’s detachment from reality. Is the Protagonist a Hero or emotionally unstable? While many readers have had an opportunity to analyze various characters throughout the book, it is important to note the protagonist, Holden Caulfield has various aspects that makes him to be a ‘hero’. At the outset, Graham points out that he has been able to resonate strongly with different readers of different social-economic backgrounds (45). Many of the readers find his work very influential owing to the way he portrays the perspectives he holds about life. This influence has made the readers to fall into the temptations of redundancy in that many of them do not question his failures and shortcomings but perceives him as a heroic character (Magill 12). This aspect of his character has made the book not only exciting but also able to elicit many commendations across all social-economic divides. There are various signs that the readers have persistently ignored relating to his troubled life. Graham says that Holden falls out of four schools, an aspect that parents and readers ought not to take positively (41). To the contrary, readers opt to ignore these aspects of Holden’s life placing little emphasis on his apparent failures. As such, the book projects a character that is influential and able to convince people in what Booth and Mays refers to as minority influence (34). Further, it is recognizable that Holden suffers from mental disorders and traumas that obviously have had an effect on his perceptions and perspectives about life. The death of his brother has had an effect on his ability to project various aspects of life in a consistent and accurate manner. Besides, one of his fellow classmates commits suicide. These two sources of emotional stress have apparently impaired his ability to present his views about the world precisely and accurately (Graham 67). Nonetheless, it is through of the ability of the protagonist to provide logical arguments that cannot match a mentally disturbed individual. This makes the reader to assume that the character is of sound mind. Amazingly, it is these aspects of the book make him a hero to majority of the readers. The rationale is in his aptitude to convince his audience and influence them to dropping an objective perspective about the other characters and people in his society as depicted in the novel (Steinle 61). Another peculiar aspect of the book and a testimony that the emotional state of Holden is ailing is his apparent judgmental positions he takes about events and peopl