"The Catcher and the Rye": Characterization of Holden Caulfield

     Nearing the halfway mark of The Catcher and the Rye by J.D. Salinger, I'm 100% totally and completely befuddled about how exactly I feel concerning the character of Holden Caulfield.  It seems as though J.D. Salinger tries to make Holden one who cannot relate to his surroundings.  Yet, I feel as though many readers can easily identify with this restless and uneasy character.  I can easily imagine the majority of the audience to view Holden as judgmental, a slacker, a compulsive liar, and childish.  Holden realizes his wrongs, but instead of fixing the problem, flees from the situation, and later creates another entanglement for himself.  However, though immature, Holden makes himself relate to others who have ever felt the pains of being alone.  Holden, after being kicked out of his four boarding school, wonders the streets of New York to fill the hole of his loneliness.  Holden describes himself as being "so damn depressed and lonesome", which in the minds of readers, creates Holden to be a sympathetic character (Salinger, 37).  Overall, Holden Caulfield  may appear to an ignorant soul, but in reality, is mentally unstable, lonely, quite depressed, and lives in a world where he is misunderstood, not only by other, but also himself.