Catcher In The Rye By J. D. Salinger

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People often consider themselves to be perfect, in society the level of character a person has is built upon what they do for others. This has caused many people to stop doing things out of the goodness of their hearts and instead start doing them for publicity. The American classic, The Catcher in the Rye written by author J.D. Salinger, truly analyzes the mysteries of human nature. What begins as a boy’s harmless hiatus from school slowly develops into overarching themes of society and its faults. The main character Holden Caulfield is filled with immaturity and hypocrisy; naturally, many readers despise him. However, he shows the realities of the human race. While mankind mindlessly and constantly criticize others, they fail to notice their own our biases and prejudices; trying to justify reasoning with invalid sources and opinions. In the novel Salinger uses several characters like Holden, the title of the book, and his own experiences to show themes in society that occur in our everyday lives. Minimal characters in many books go unnoticed unless scrutinized, and then their potential of having a major theme is reconsidered. The way Salinger glances over key actions in the book may be mimicking the way humanity is oblivious to good and bad. The former peer of Holden, Ackley represents the hypocrisy of people. Holden constantly bombards Ackley with insults and criticizes him, yet he does the same actions, “He stuck around till around dinnertime, talking about all the guys at Pencey that he hated their guts…” (Salinger 35). Society observes and critique others without hesitation, people are always being watched to find an error. Ackley also gives the perspective of an average teenager. Holden and Ackley both face the troubles of... ... middle of paper ... ...er of being kicked out of school. Holden shouldn’t have been yelled at for not enjoying school. School for many students is an institution where you are forced to memorize subjects that will not become useful once a career has been established. The irony within the title is when Holden tells his deeper feelings and aspirations to his sister she mocks him and tells him how unrealistic he is being. It shows the carelessness society has for one another at such an early age. In Phoebe’s case she was losing her innocence at age ten. Salinger himself is crying out for help using this book as a symbol, especially when Holden ends up in a psychiatric hospital; He wants people to now of his troubles and feelings and that society should be more lenient towards people. Since, people cannot read minds and understand the processes and reasoning’s this book was made to help aid.

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