Idealization, Rick and Morty, and Holden Caulfield
Throughout the book, Salinger gives us multiple hints that Caulfield is not a character to look up to. The way he interacts with authority figures he feels do not deserve his respect is ignorant at best. Likewise, Holden displays varying self-destructive tendencies both before and after he leaves the prep school: purposefully goading his hot-tempered roommate into laying him out, attempting to solicitate alcohol from multiple sources, getting himself beat up again, etcetera. From reading between the lines and properly acknowledging that these actions are supposed to reflect badly on both Holden and his mental state, we (this English class, at least) can properly understand that Catcher in the Rye is a study of a deeply flawed man who has serious issues that need to be worked out by a professional. This character is not particularly unique nowadays, but when some of them bleed into popular culture they can have quite an effect on people. Before I say what I'm about to say,