Misunderstood Heroes There are many people that we admire; heroes being the most common have been looked up to for centuries. Through heroes one creates the concept of good versus evil. More often than not we associate the heroes with good and the villains with bad. Then there are the guys in the middle, the ones we can’t identify as good because he does bad things but the character is too complicated so we don’t understand the logic to his actions. This kind of character we identify as an anti-hero. For example Grendel in Grendel by John Gardner is an anti- hero as well as Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, a coming of age novel, by J.D. Salinger. To almost every story there is a set hero and villain, both can be easily distinguished
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He misunderstands the world and his world misunderstands him. Caulfield most times is a pessimist. “I don’t give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am - I really do - but people never notice it. People never notice anything.” (The Catcher in the Rye pg. 22). Holden finds alot of things pointless. The rules of society bother him, he doesn't understand why people are the way they are. One of Holden’s bad characteristics is his ability to lie. “I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful.” (The Catcher in the Rye Chapter 3). This is one of Holden's greatest flaws that gets him into problems. At times Holden tends to overreact somewhat violently even though he admits he's weak and yellow. “It's no fun to be yellow. Maybe I'm not all yellow. I don't know. I think maybe I'm just partly yellow and partly the type that doesn't give much of a damn if they lose their gloves.” (The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 13). This is important because we know that Holden isn't all bad and that he has frailties, and he knows it as well. Holden is an anti- hero because he is at times selfish, violent and overall feels like …show more content…
Everyone has a definition for the terms but we can never fully understand why a person does the things they do. I think that anti- heroes aren't born bad but we as society create the monster with in. Grendel at first wanted to be apart of the human community he attempted to talk to the Danes but he was turned away as a villain so he became one. Holden is different though he isn't bad he's just questioning how the world/ society work. He tries to break away from the mold we have formed as a result he seems selfish and weird. His personal flaws do make him an anti- hero but not a villain. So in conclusion we shouldn't be so fast to judge a person, we don't know their stories and maybe the things they do seem right to them because they were never taught better all we can do is accept
He misunderstands the world and his world misunderstands him. Caulfield most times is a pessimist. “I don’t give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am - I really do - but people never notice it. People never notice anything.” (The Catcher in the Rye pg. 22). Holden finds alot of things pointless. The rules of society bother him, he doesn't understand why people are the way they are. One of Holden’s bad characteristics is his ability to lie. “I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful.” (The Catcher in the Rye Chapter 3). This is one of Holden's greatest flaws that gets him into problems. At times Holden tends to overreact somewhat violently even though he admits he's weak and yellow. “It's no fun to be yellow. Maybe I'm not all yellow. I don't know. I think maybe I'm just partly yellow and partly the type that doesn't give much of a damn if they lose their gloves.” (The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 13). This is important because we know that Holden isn't all bad and that he has frailties, and he knows it as well. Holden is an anti- hero because he is at times selfish, violent and overall feels like …show more content…
Everyone has a definition for the terms but we can never fully understand why a person does the things they do. I think that anti- heroes aren't born bad but we as society create the monster with in. Grendel at first wanted to be apart of the human community he attempted to talk to the Danes but he was turned away as a villain so he became one. Holden is different though he isn't bad he's just questioning how the world/ society work. He tries to break away from the mold we have formed as a result he seems selfish and weird. His personal flaws do make him an anti- hero but not a villain. So in conclusion we shouldn't be so fast to judge a person, we don't know their stories and maybe the things they do seem right to them because they were never taught better all we can do is accept