Catcher in the Rye: Caulfield's Lifesytle Reflects Existentialism The Catcher in the Rye creates an existentialist out of Holden Caulfield by giving him a strong personal opinion, a different sense of view, and isolation. Holden's individuality and his different way of thinking creates within him an Existentialist that refuses to accept weakness but holds sympathy for the weak and vulnerable. The basis for these beliefs lies within the most commonly identifiable theme of existentialism, which states that the philosophy stresses the concrete individual existence along with the individual freedom and choice. It