Holden: The Thinking Man by The Catcher In The Rye Margaret Atwood defined the "thinking man" as one who resists, believes survival is a necessity, is isolated and alienated, and who is aware of the elements that make their psyche and physical being disappear. Atwood's "thinking man" is shown in Holden Caulfield through the use of character, plot, and symbolism. The “thinking man” is clearly depicted through the character of Holden Caulfield. A characteristic of Atwood's "thinking man" is that he is isolated and alienated. Holden is a very lonely character. An example that demonstrates this is his direct reference to David Copperfield in the first paragraph of the novel when he says "...and all that David Copperfield shit." (p.1) When David Copperfield was a child he was alienated from his mother, and he was very lonely. This points to the fact that Holden had a very lonely childhood and, like David Copperfield, also his innocence. As the "thinking man", Holden was aware of the elements that make one's being disappear. This segment of Holden's character is aided by symbolism. For Holden, it was too late to stop himself from entering adulthood, a realm he resisted, a realm he viewed with disgust. For this reason he wanted to help other children, and save them too from "disappearing" beyond the edge of the rye field, to preserve their innocence and save them from the dreaded adulthood. Furthermore, Holden had resisted one of the factors leading towards the loss of his innocence; lose your virginity. He "has had several opportunities to lose [his] virginity...[he] has come very close to doing so a couple of times...she keeps telling him to stop, and [he] stops." This not only shows that he does not want to lose his purity, but that he also cares about the girl's innocence and does not want her to lose it. Next, "Catcher In The Rye" uses the plot to create the "thinking man". ". Holden Caulfield has a deep struggle within himself. He wants to be positive and she wants to work with and for the positive, yet he is continually drawn to the negative aspects of life. In one scene he is at a rest stop, when two nuns they approach him. Even though they didn't ask for money, Holden donates $10 from his rapidly depleting funds. However, he is also attracted to the negative aspects of life.