Catcher In The Rye Present Day Analysis

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Could you benefit in 2017 from reading about a mentally ill teen and his dull story set in 1950? Could you learn a life lesson from someone you can’t sympathize with? Contrary to the popular and initial views on J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield’s story is still applicable in the present day. Although the current notion by many is Holden’s story is outdated, many people fail to realize that the book is still applicable today.
Holden’s activities in Catcher in the Rye are identical to activities by teens in the present day often for the same reasons. Often in the book Holden can be found doing activities he does not want to participate in to gain social acceptance from his peers. This is clearly seen when Holden goes …show more content…

Ariel Levenson, an English teacher in Manhattan, makes “A typical response”(Schuessler) that language in Catcher and the Rye is “grating and dated”(Levenson). Language is always changing throughout history, but instead of focusing on the language of the book the ideas and themes can still be utilized today. For example, in the book Holden has a strong appeal for the word phony, and although that piece of vocabulary does not present itself in general conversation today, it can have several deeper meanings that can be applied today. One meaning of Holden's excessive use of the word Phony is because it is the only way he can express his discontent with growing up. In the present day many teens have similar views on growing up, and the way Holden deals with this discontent can serve as a method to or to not adopt when dealing with growing up in the present day as a teen. Another language barrier between Catcher in the Rye and the present day, is it’s use of explicit vocabulary. Many schools all over the United States have censored The Catcher in the Rye for it’s inappropriate language and scenes. Although there are parts in the book that may not be seen as appropriate for school, there are other lessons that can be derived from these scenes. In one part of the book Holden buys a prostitute to partake in sexual

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    Holden Caulfield, portrayed in the J.D. Salinger novel Catcher in the Rye as an adolescent struggling to find his own identity, possesses many characteristics that easily link him to the typical teenager living today. The fact that the book was written many years ago clearly exemplifies the timeless nature of this work. Holden's actions are those that any teenager can clearly relate with. The desire for independence, the sexually related encounters, and the questioning of ones religion are issues that almost all teens have had or will have to deal with in their adolescent years. The novel and its main character's experiences can easily be related to and will forever link Holden with every member of society, because everyone in the world was or will be a teen sometime in their life.

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