Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger

Holden Caulfield is quite a guy. He possesses a strong dislike for pretense. He is very generous. Capable of deep love. Spontaneous in action. High in spirit. Very articulate in speech and even more so in the written word. Yet he is branded an outcast by society - society can't find a way to fit him into itself. His young sister, who he loves dearly, loves him back strongly enough to prevent his demise. And Holden endures and the reader is left with the impression that he will eventually prosper. Very influenced by his younger brother's death and the death of a classmate, he yearns to meaningfully prevent such future disasters by intervening at the doorstep to destruction on behalf of unknowing young innocents. He analogizes this longing as an interceptor of young children playing too close to a cliff - a catcher in a field of rye - nobility hidden in integruous purpose.