Ben Kirchner

Theology III

8/28/08


Desperate Faith


Holden Caulfield in J.D Salinger's “Catcher in the Rye” is a man of faith because he is able to put trust into people in a the belief that they will help understand himself. In addition to putting trust into others Holden is also able to to give donations to worthy causes in a belief that by giving money to the charities he is balancing out the negative effects of his life on society.

Holden is a man of faith because to me faith is the ability to put complete trust into something with a belief that something will occur that will benefit your life. Holden demonstrates this ability over and over again through out the Catcher in the Rye. Even though the people Holden sought out ranged from an old ex friend to a prostitute he gave equal treatment and friendship to all of them, in addition to complete trust. Through these experiences Holden had the belief and confidence that if he talked his problems through with these problems he would be able to enjoy the way of lifestyle around him, and to me that is faith at a high level even if it was a misguided one.

Because of his strive to fix himself in a deteriorating world Holden is very self-aware for his action that further deteriorate the world. Because of this self-awareness Holden experiences great guilt that tears him apart. Because of this great guilt Holden develops a belief that if I can just give money to those that make a positive influence on the world than that balances out my actions lessening the guilt. To me this is also an example of faith because once again you are putting trust into someone you don't know with the hope they can bring what you know you cant into the world, a good influence, but this time you have belief that by enabling someone else to do good you have done good.

These are the reasons why Holden Caulfield is a man of faith.