Holden Caulfield and White Mike. Two icons that are comparable?

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 2,6, University of Würzburg (Neuphilologisches Institut), course: The Literature of "Becoming", language: English, abstract: The protagonists in J. D. Salinger¿s "The Catcher in the Rye" and Nick McDonell¿s "Twelve" are commonly compared in literature reviews on novels of education. What do the characters Mike White and Holden Caulfield have in common? Are the two adolescents comparable or are they not?

To answer these questions I will give basic background knowledge about the genre out of which both novels emerge, which is the Bildungsroman or the novel of education. I will then compare Holden Caulfield and White Mike. The aspects that will be in the center of attention are their initial situation, their religion, the feeling of loneliness and the topic of women.