Catcher In The Rye Adolescence

Every person experiences the period of being a teenager. It is a time of great confusion and an attempt at self-discovery. J.D. Salinger shows his audience of teens, the struggles of life through the eyes of one of history’s most beloved characters, Holden Caulfield. Serving as a Sergeant during World War II, Salinger was permanently stained by the horrors of the war and it resonated through his works. The pages of this book were attached at his hip for the majority of his life, he carried them with him everywhere he went. They, too, saw the terrors of the Second World War. As Salinger experienced life, the book matured along with him and this gave it depth. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the author exhibits the theme of the difficulty

He included Holden’s innermost thoughts and feelings about maturing into an adult, the different kind of language he used, his opinion on education, his instant judgement of everyone he encountered, and his persistent need to use depressants to surpress his emotions. Through his flashbacks on his life, the reader is able to learn a lot about the character’s preferences. The audience is very aware of his strong dislike of “phonies”, those who were too typical or too traditional (1). This gave the reader a look into Holden’s code of ethics. The way Salinger portrayed Holden almost made the reader despise the character, constantly hoping for him to make better choices and cease his ill-advised ways. All the while, the reader believes that he is still a kindhearted teenager and shows signs of sensibleness from time to time. The author creates a sense of criticism towards the character, but manages to get the audience to continue to trust him to make the right decisions anyway. Salinger overcomes the obstacle of Holden being the lone protagonist, the possibility of him going against many other’s morals, and gets the reader to still support the main character. The audience is left in suspense, questioning Holden’s reasonings. There is always the concern about what Holden will do with the rest of his life. Another strength is in the perspective that Salinger chooses to take. The words of a teenage boy is easily relatable for all teens reading this book, and even older readers who may have gone through similar problems. Those that lived equivalent lives to Holden, such as getting kicked out of school or being doubtful of their futures, feel close with a character that felt the same. Salinger’s writing manipulates the reader’s emotions to match Holden’s, causing all kinds of feelings from frustration to hope. Even at the point of the book where it appears that all