Life’s Many Obstacles In J. D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” the protagonist, Holden, is faced with many obstacles. Like most tragic heroes, he is a man who is reasonably happy at the beginning of the tragedy, but as the tragedy develops, some failure in his personality begins to affect events, so that his progress is a movement from happiness to misery. The ultimate misery results from his final awareness of his personalities limits or failures. Much of Holden’s misery is a result of his inability to successfully handle particular problems regarding adolescence. Holden’s loneliness and overal