Comparisons in King Dork to the Catcher in the Rye

           In the book, King Dork Tom Henderson related many things to Catcher in the Rye through his eyes in his own life. One thing that really annoyed Tom was the fact that teachers always made their students read the Catcher in the Rye. The reason was that Tom didn't like the way that Holden Caulfield portrayed himself as a character and the world around him. Also that every English teacher in his school was so fond of Holden and found him very inspiring. The thing that is ironic about this is the fact that Tom is very similar in the ways that Holden is as a character. An example is both of their views of the society around them. Tom feels inferior to others and isolates himself from mostly everyone from him feeling that they are threats to him by bullying or treating him with lower rank. Holden isolates himself from the world from him feeling that mostly everyone around him are phonies and stays away from growing up to not become corrupt in adulthood. Tom has a difficulty of connecting with peers because of him having a reputation of a "King of all dorks", so he feels like he can't talk to others from the inferiority. Holden has a difficulty also because of the isolation he has put himself in by not wanting to get sucked into the phoniness and the curruptness of being an adult. Tom's younger sister hasn't shown much fondness to Tom until he entered the Festival of Lights, which she supported him by making posters and praising him to become more noticed. Holden's sister has always been very passionate and caring for Holden to help him overcome the fear of becoming an adult and open up to society. Tom's mom hasn't really been there for him very much by not telling him the truth behind his fathers death and relating to his problems to help him out. Holden's parents have barely been there for him to help encourage him to do well in school and sent him off to schools that he didn't want to attend.