Book Analysis: The Catcher In The Rye

“Viewed from the vantage point of half a century, the novel raises more questions that is answers. Why is a book about a spoiled rich kid kicked out of a fancy prep school so widely read by ordinary Americans, the overwhelming majority of whom have limited means and attend, or attended, public schools? And Why do English teachers, whose responsibility is to teach good writing, repeatedly and reflectively require students to read a book as badly written as this one?”

Introduction
Ladies and Gentleman, today we are here to discuss the importance of this quote presented by well known book critic, Jonathan Yardley. The novel, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ written by J.D Salinger in 1951, has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage anguish and the constant search for identity. Although one may argue that the protagonist, Holden Caulfield is a spoilt rich kid who is expelled from an upmarket boarding school, Holden is idolized and empathized with by many ordinary Americans and adolescents from all around the world for that matter, where the overwhelming majority of whom have limited means of education and attend public schools. Many of those who have read ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ believe that the novel has been poorly written, whereas through careful analysis of the novel, we can see that aside from this belief, Salinger has adopted many stylistic choices that still relate to contemporary readers today.

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William Beardslee, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Children's Hospital Boston, states that the protective factors that can reduce the risk of a young adolescent person developing depression include the presence of a supportive adult, good interpersonal relationships, a strong sense o...

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...mokes them. Holden also wants to have his independence, like an adult.

ALCOHOL
"There isn't any night club in the world you can sit in for a long time unless you can at least buy some liquor and get drunk. Or unless you're with some girl that really knocks you out." Holden Caulfield, "Catcher in the Rye", Chapter 10
Adult like behaviour
Risk taking behaviour

SEXUALITY
In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw.
One of Holden's greatest internal quandaries regards how to resolve the paradox of love and sex. Holden wants to feel the deepest type of love possible, the love that died when he lost his sibling years ago. The intensity of his raging adolescent hormones makes him think that somehow sex would be joined with that same depth of love for a another person, though in reality sex comes all too easily with money rather than authentic feeling.