Catcher In The Rye Individualism Quotes

This is in J. D. Salinger's novel, "The Catcher in the Rye," Mr. Spencer lectures Holden on why he has been expelled from Pencey and about how life is like a game and should be played by the rules that have been made for it. Here, Salinger's use of a metaphor to describe life as a game suggests that not everyone is given the same advantages to succeed. Holden himself comes from a wealthy family but refuses to conform to society and the role of his social class and play the game "according to the rules." This suggests a theme in the novel of nonconformity which relates back to when Salinger first wrote "The Catcher in the Rye." Individualism beginning in the 1960's turned into a cultural movement for young people and is expressed through Holden's defiance in the game of life.

"…he had poems written all over the fingers and the pocket and everywhere. In green ink. He wrote them on it so that he'd have something to read when he was in the field and nobody was up at bat. He's dead now…You'd have liked him."

D. Salinger's novel, "The Catcher in the Rye" when Holden takes out his brother Allie's baseball glove and describes it. This serves to project the theme of teen grief having a significant impact on the way adolescents deal with the changing world around them. The mentioning of the baseball glove suggests a strong connection between Holden and his deceased brother Allie. Salinger's choice of the word green for the ink used by Allie is done possibly to show the positive aspects of Holden's brother since he was in his youth when he died. Another example of why it is suggested that Holden was moved by Allie's death is that he says, "You'd have liked