How Does The Catcher In The Rye Relate To The Meaning Of Life As A Teenager

Modern teenagers have many issues finding things to relate to. This fact has only gotten more prevalent as years go by. A great example of this is “Catcher in the Rye”, a novel by J. D. Salinger that depicts a troubled teen named Holden Caufield who struggles to find the meaning of life. This is a novel many teens could relate to and there are many ways how and they all lie in the novel itself.

Firstly, for example, Holden’s school problems and how it relates to teenagers. It is established in the first four chapters that Holden was kicked out of his school due to many failed exams. In his last days there, he had many bad encounters with some of his classmates and that shows how stress can lead to stressful situations. Many teenagers face that kind of stress on a daily and sometimes it’s out of their hands.

Secondly, the changes in life and the stress it causes. Holden tells all throughout the novel that he would like to keep everything the same as it was before the corruption of the outside world. To him, adulthood is the time where all the “phonies” are created and from there, it can expand to children that are “exposed”. Throughout, Holden expresses his disdain for it and he wishes that he could keep everything the same, especially for children. The

Generalizations aren’t always the best to do but I believe many teenagers stress about this on a daily basis. In the novel, Holden thinks about what his future will be and how he would achieve it. Despite his inability to put these thoughts into action, he still planned these out as if he was ready to do something about it. Many teens face this same dilemma and at times, it can seem vastly out of reach. The thought can be so daunting, some may decide to just give up just as Caulfield almost did many times in the novel. Giving up is a recurring thought in Holden in the form of thoughts of suicide and for many teens, it is as