A Warning to All Young Adults in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger

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The Catcher in the Rye book report

In 1951, Little, Brown and Company published a novel written by J.D Salinger named The Catcher in the Rye. In detail, the genre for this book would definitely be a young adult fiction. Certainly, the way the author told the story was from an adolescent perspective and the speech and vocabulary made it very easy to understand and relate to. Also, the fact that The Catcher in the Rye was told from a first person perspective made the story flow from beginning to end. In summary, the main character and storyteller in the book is Holden Caulfield, a troubled teen who is alienated from the world and can’t seem to find where he belongs. His struggles in life take him to many different places and get him involved with many unsavory people. Holden’s problems and mischief get him put in a rest home where he was sent for therapy. The story begins when Holden expresses his distaste for his past and refusing to go into detail about it. The only detail he gives is that his brother D. B. is a Hollywood writer and he feels a certain anger towards him for adapting to the Hollywood lifestyle. Finally, he starts his story where he is standing on top of Thomsen Hill watching his old school, Pencey Prep, play football against their rivals Saxon Hall. Holden’s story is very sad and I believe that J.D Salinger made the story like that so the reader would feel compassion for him instead of reigning judgment on his downfalls. Overall this book was very good and what made it so good was the fact that it related to me. Since I am the same age as Holden was in the story, I can relate to his challenges of life. With that being said, I believe that this book should be used as a warning to all young adults.

Basically, thro...

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...iew website I visited was theguardian.com. On this site I saw a lot of positive feedback. For example, the critic said things like “I find it an exciting and compelling read” and “it was fascinating to get inside the head of a troubled teen”. The only negative part of the critic’s review was his mention of the book being banded in nearly five different states. In my opinion this book, regardless of being banned, is still a great book and has been for many years. That is why it is considered a classic and will always be a part of the literature world. The uniqueness of the book makes it almost impossible to undermine. Holden’s life story has become an example to teenagers that you should want to apply yourself in school and in life. By showing the mistakes of Holden and how hard he made his life, it should be treated as a warning for other teenagers not to do the same.

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