The characters Holden Caulfield and Jim Stark share some common characteristics. The two can both be seen as messianic figures because of they way they are in their stories. I think that Jim is more messianic in the end of his story than Holden is at the end of "The Catcher in the Rye." .
Holden Caulfield is a very troubled young man that has many problems in life. There are two big reasons why Holden is such a troubled person. One is that a classmate of his once committed suicide and that was really hard for him. The bigger of the two is the death of his younger brother Allie. Even though he suffered these situations in life, it doesn't quite show why he ended up like he did. .
Holden is an outcast in the story. He doesn't really talk to anyone except for a few teachers and his two "friends" Stradlater and Ackley. Holden has a problem with people for some reason. He will criticize someone before he even meets them and he always looks at negative characteristics. He also likes to use the word phony for many different reasons. .
Holden is looked up to by his sister Phoebe. They have written to each other but not spoken lately. One night he goes home and sneaks into her room. She doesn't want him to leave and when he says that he is, she wants to go with him. She really admires him and wants to be with him. Holden doesn't really have a big following of people at the end, but he does have the characteristics of being a social outcast and he does have his sister looking up to him. .
In the movie Rebel without a Cause James Dean plays the role of a boy named Jim Stark who is always getting into trouble because he doesn't like being home. His parents spoil him and let him do whatever he wants. His dad won't stand up to his mom and that's one thing that really makes him mad. He also doesn't like called being chicken which you find out in the beginning because of a bully. .
Jim is a smart character and he isn't scared of anything.