Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And Donnie Darko

Moral values are a standard of right and wrong. Everyone has some kind of moral value that they believe in. Whether it is respect, honesty, loyalty, etc. In the book, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger and in the movie Donnie Darko both of the main characters, Holden and Donnie had certain moral values that they both believed in when it came to living their lives. They believed that these moral values make them better people and help them make the rest of the world better. Both of the characters believe in the moral values of; serving mankind, seeking justice, and having courage to create a perfect world. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden possesses certain moral values that help explain himself. First, his moral value of serving mankind is shown many times throughout the book. One example of this is when Holden was at the diner when the nuns came. He gave them money for their collection basket and even offered to pay for their breakfast. Holden believed that he was serving mankind because if anyone else saw the nuns, they would have probably offered to do the same. By serving mankind, he was serving God too. Even though Holden doesn't like to admit that he believes …show more content…
These moral values lead both characters to see that in order to have this perfect world that they envisioned, they wouldn't be able to be apart of it since they mess it up more than they help. Holden ends up in a mental institution because he was trying to do too much to keep the world innocent even though he couldn't. As for Donnie he ends up dying because when he saw how the future would be with him in it and no way to help make it perfect, his death was the only way to make it perfect. Both Holden and Donnie tried so hard throughout the book and the movie to be heroes and make the world into something perfect that they ended up hurting themselves in the