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How does Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye compare and contrast to characters in Othello?
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Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye and characters in Othello can be compared and contrasted in various ways. Holden, like Othello, suffers from personal insecurity—Holden grieves his brother's death and questions his self-worth, while Othello struggles with racial prejudice and self-doubt. In contrast, Holden's desire to protect the innocent, unlike Iago's malevolence, showcases Holden's attempt to do good despite his imperfections, whereas Iago exploits vulnerabilities for harm.
As the question asks for comparisons or contrasts between Holden and characters in Othello, I would contrast Holden to Iago. First, Holden (though he is flawed and often a jerk) tries to see the good in people. Second, he feels driven to protect the innocent.
Early in the story, Holden goes out of his way to be kind to his elderly history teacher, Mr. Spencer, as he leaves Pencey. Mr. Spencer annoys Holden with his elderly habits and his lectures, but Holden doesn't want to hurt his feelings or let his teacher think that he didn't like his history class. He is likewise kind to the nuns he meets while eating breakfast at a New York City diner. He believes in them, feels sorry for their meager breakfast, and gives them ten dollars. Holden certainly doesn't like everyone, but he reaches out in kindness to people who feel real...
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or vulnerable to him.
In contrast, Iago hates the world and thinks the worst of everyone. He believes everyone is on the take or the make. He believes that all women are inherently whores and that sex is a dirty business, purely animalistic rather than an expression of love. Since he has such a low view of humanity, it is nothing to him to manipulate people as tools and discard or kill them when they are no longer useful to him. For example, he manipulates his wife, Emilia, into giving him Desdemona's handkerchief, even knowing she is close to Desdemona. He simply doesn't care because he doesn't understand real friendship. He even kills Emilia when she betrays him.
Holden has a deep desire to protect the innocent. He wants to be the catcher in the rye, saving children before they can fall off the edge of the cliff. He is very protective of Phoebe, and he helps young boys find the mummy exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Iago, in contrast, actively tries to harm the vulnerable. He plays on Othello's vulnerabilities to turn him against his wife. He is pleased when the vulnerable Othello kills the innocent Desdemona.
Holden is a flawed adolescent who has been through the trauma of his younger brother's death, yet he is trying in his imperfect way to do some good in the world by protecting the innocent. Iago is a twisted malevolent figure who seems to have suffered some extraordinary emotional hurt that has left him acting out underhanded sociopathic rage. He is intent on harming, not protecting, other people. Both figures are damaged: Holden, however, at least tries to turn his pain to good, while Iago turns it to evil.
A reader might compare Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye to Othello in Shakespeare's Othello. Both Holden and Othello suffer from personal insecurity that lays the foundation for negative events that happen to them. For example, Holden is grieving the loss of his brother Allie, which is a natural human experience; however, along with his grieving, he considers that Allie was a "better" child than he is. When Holden is writing about Allie's mitt, he recalls that Allie was really smart and that everyone liked him. It almost seems that Holden questions why Allie was the one to die, suggesting that his family would have been better off if Holden were dead instead. Similarly, Othello is insecure about himself largely because of his race. Othello faces prejudice when Brabantio cannot fathom having his daughter Desdemona married to Othello because he is black, and it is natural that Othello would by hurt by such discrimination. However, Othello internalizes this prejudice, and he even questions why he is worthy of Desdemona's love. Both Holden and Othello question their self-worth, which causes them to fall victim to negative experiences: Holden is kicked out of several schools and pushes away anyone who tries to get close to him, while Othello falls into Iago's manipulation.