The Relevance of The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, shows great relevance towards the teenagers of the 21st century, even though the novel was written during the 1950’s. The novel focuses on main character Holden, his development through the course of the book which included his delinquent tendencies. These were manipulated to express Salinger’s views of teens and society during that time. The Catcher in the Rye is still relevant today because teen culture from the 1950’s can be correlated with that of the culture of present day teenagers.
Holden’s sole purpose in the novel was to symbolize an average 1950’s disobedient teenager. His attire didn’t match that of the everyday 1950’s teen. He wore his hat backwards, cussed with words like “crumby” and “goddamn” and don’t forget his arsenal of slang terms which persisted of terms like “bucks”(dollars) and “chew the rag”(talk). Holden smokes
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cigarettes, instigates fights, and failed school. His actions always seem to go against the intentions of adults. These actions draw attention to his demeanor towards other people and himself, and how he is viewed as a person. His actions are still brought up mainly because there are still juvenile delinquents today. The idea of young adulthood does not only occur naturally, but it is also aided by our parents who mend our mind in order to function well in society. Holden’s parents are out of the question. Understanding the transition from teen to adulthood is a vital tool for parent’s in order for them to understand why teenagers do certain things. More likely than not being a teen is often used as an excuse in order to be appeased for their actions. The rationale for most of Holden’s actions is that he likes it that way. Many teens resort to exploiting the fact that they are teenagers and in doing so they associate themselves with the wrong crowd of people which imprints delinquent on their reputation. A prime example would be Holden Caulfield. A present day Holden would be a kid like Joe. Joe is a juvenile delinquent who wears skinny jeans, large black shades, body piercings, and messy hair. Joe doesn’t exhibit feelings towards himself, neighbors, and even family. Joe, like Holden does whatever he wants because frankly the consequences don’t scare him. This is the Joe who got arrested for being on school property. The disobedient and insubordinate ways of Holden live on. Anyone can see themselves in Holden even if it’s in the smallest way.
The rebelliousness of Holden is the main catch for teenagers. As we mature we strive for more independence causing us to rebel against authority figures such as parents and teachers. However, Salinger made Holden rebellious, but severely went overboard. For instance, Holden didn’t just do badly in school; he got expelled because he was doing so badly. Statistics aren’t needed to show that kids who don’t find school a pleasing venue will do bad. Holden is a perfect example of this.
The Catcher in the Rye may also be a warning to students following in a similar disastrous path as Holden’s. The way Holden was developed and formulated made it inevitable that he would be up to no good. Teens as smart and as fatigued by school as Holden will soon figure out that their actions have reactions and they should be accountable for it by understanding why they have been consequence. The Catcher in the Rye would be beneficial towards today’s teens making better choices in
life. An opposing claim would be that since this story took place during the 1950’s, so it no longer relates to teenagers of this age. Holden didn’t appreciate the modern world then so he wouldn’t appreciate it now. The Huffington Post states “though Holden often is unhappy with his interactions with others, he does cherish the company of his chosen mentors, his close friends, and especially his younger sister. He also values books and museums, and other means of preserving special or important moments.” Today people tend to focus more on people who save the day rather than people who rebel against authority. This is understandable because nobody wants a villain, but who wants the hero to always win? Who wants superheroes at all? The Catcher in the Rye, in my opinion can still be relatable to teenagers today. Becoming an adult today doesn’t differ much from becoming an adult back then. It is just carried out differently as technology advances and communication becomes easier. The gap between the 1950s and now isn’t large enough to make the novel unreliable. To conclude the novel The Catcher in the Rye is still relevant to the teenagers of the year 2014.
Due to J.D Salinger’s personal and relatable narrative treatment, Catcher in the Rye continues to engage audiences, even 64 years after it was first published. The way the book deals with alienation and disillusionment in regards to Holden’s past trauma - through the closeness of first person narration and conversational writing among other techniques - creates a personal connection to Holden’s character and helps adolescents relate his troubles to their own.
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.
The novel The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger depicts a journey of a young man named Holden Caulfield where he encounters many of life’s challenges. As Holden has been bouncing between schools all his life, he just recently got kicked out of his current one: Pencey Prep. He has trouble focusing in school and has experienced many traumatic events in his life, like the death of his little brother Allie. Many believe the novel should be banned, but there is an underlying message Holden is trying to communicate. Throughout Holden's journey many feel that there were ban-worthy moments, but the traits he demonstrates are most powerful: compassion, maturity/coming of age and intelligence.
Catcher in the Rye is one of the most famous books in American literature. Written by J. D. Salinger, it captures the epitome of adolescence through Salinger’s infamous anti-hero, Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield learns about himself and his negative tendencies, and realizes that if he does not do something to change his perspective, he may end up like his acquaintance James Castle whom he met at Elkton Hills. Holden tries to find help to mend his outlook on life through Mr. Antolini so he does not end up like James, who did not want to face the problems he created for himself. This is proven by the similarities between James Castle and Holden, Mr. Antolini’s willingness to try and help Holden, and Holden’s future being forecasted by James.
Since its publication in 1951, The Catcher In the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger has served as a conflagration for debate and extreme controversy. Although the novel has been the target of scornful criticism, it has also been the topic of wide discussion. The novel portrays the life of sixteen year old, Holden Caufield. Currently in psychiatric care, Holden recalls what happened to him last Christmas. At the beginning of his story, Holden is a student at Pencey Prep School. Having been expelled for failing four out of his five classes, Holden leaves school and spends 72-hours in New York City before returning home. There, Holden encounters new ideas, people, and experiences. Holden's psychological battle within himself serves as the tool that uncovers the coming-of-age novel's underlying themes of teen angst, depression, and the disingenuous nature of society. The novel tackles issues of blatant profanity, teenage sex, and other erratic behavior. Such issues have supplemented the controversial nature of the book and in turn, have sparked the question of whether or not this book should be banned. The novel, The Catcher In the Rye, should not be banned from inclusion in the literature courses taught at the high school level.
It is widely agreed that Salinger’s Catcher in The Rye is unarguably the quintessential coming of age and initiation story . This story has been compared against Ellis’ Less Than Zero and T.S. Elliot’s Wasteland as being among the literature that best elucidates the alienation of our youth . The story of Holden’s transition into manhood has been compared against the American transition into consumerism after the world wars . The story has been elevated above bildungsroman to an epic of Odyssean proportion . Certainly the chronicle tackles Holden’s identity crisis to include the desire to be authentic . Adolescent development is explored through Holden’s exploits . Small details of the story, such as the name Caulfield, have been critically dissected as allusions . Most unusually, a critic even explored the relationship between the siblings, Holden and Phoebe, through the lens of feminism . Even though there are many different ways to look at Catcher, everyone agrees that this story employs the loss of innocence model of the fall from disillusionment and pain which leads to wisdom.
“Catcher in the Rye”, written by J.D Salinger, is a coming-of-age novel. Narrated by the main character, Holden Caulfield, he recounts the days following his expulsion from his school. This novel feels like the unedited thoughts and feelings of a teenage boy, as Holden narrates as if he is talking directly to readers like me.
Protected by a cocoon of naiveté, Holden Caulfield, the principal character in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, therapeutically relates his lonely 24 hour stay in downtown New York city, experiencing the "phony" adult world while dealing with the death of his innocent younger brother. Through this well-developed teenage character, JD Salinger, uses simple language and dialogue to outline many of the complex underlying problems haunting adolescents. With a unique beginning and ending, and an original look at our new society, The Catcher in the Rye is understood and appreciated on multiple levels of comprehension. The book provides new insights and a fresh view of the world in which adolescents live.
In the beginning of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is an immature teenager. Holden gets kicked out of his school, Pencey Prep, for failing four out of five of his classes. He says, “They kicked me out. I wasn’t supposed to come back after Christmas vacation … I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself and all” (Salinger 4). Holden does not yet realize the severity of his actions. He does not comprehend that when he does not apply himself, he does not do well. This could partly be due to the fact that when he gets kicked out of one school, he knows that his family will just pay for him to be allowed into another boarding school. Part of the irony in Holden’s story is that physically, he looks mature, but mentally, he is still very much a child: “I act quite young for my age, sometimes. I was sixteen then, and I’m seventeen now … I’m six foot two and a half and I have gray hair ” (9). There is no middle ground, adolescence, for Holden. He can only be an adult, physically, or a child, mentally. Holden’s history teacher, Mr. Spencer, tries to appeal to him by using a metaphor: “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules” (8). Holden then reflects on this to hims...
Some people feel all alone in this world, with no direction to follow but their empty loneliness. The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D Salinger, follows a sixteen-year-old boy, Holden Caulfield, who despises society and calls everyone a “phony.” Holden can be seen as a delinquent who smokes tobacco, drinks alcohol, and gets expelled from a prestigious boarding school. This coming-of-age book follows the themes of isolation, innocence, and corrupted maturity which is influenced from the author's life and modernism, and is shown through the setting, symbolism, and diction.
Holden is a pessimistic, remote, and miserable character and he expresses this attitude through dialogue, tone, and diction. Throughout the book he has remained to be a liar, a failure, a loner, and lastly, a suicidal guy who feels like he has no purpose in life. Perhaps Salinger expressed his perceptions and emotions of his teen years in this book and it was a form of conveying his deep inner feelings of his childhood. Readers can see this clearly shown in The Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger.
Upon introduction, Holden Caulfield gives the impression of being a textbook teenage boy. He argues that Pencey Prep, the all-boys academy at which he studied, is no greater than any other school and is “full of crooks.”(Salinger, 7) His harsh language only further argues that he is situated in an all-male environment and has no apparent filter for when swearing is inappropriate. Despite all of the indications that Holden is typical, it soon becomes evident that Holden’s personality does not conform to the teenage stereotype. Although he appears to have some friends, namely, his roommate, Stradlater, and ‘Ackley kid’, it is clear that he does not integrate well with his peer group. Holden’s inability to read social cues leaves him in the dust when all of his “friends” have matured enough to recognize his need for improvement. He is constantly making jokes out of everything without any thought as to how h...
The Catcher in the Rye was a pivotal novel in the 1950s because of how it portrayed teenagers during those times. The character of Holden Caulfield is a very troubled teen with a lot of angst and is failing four out of his 5 classes, he was only passing English because of the fact that he was a gifted writer. The Catcher in the Rye was written by J.D. Salinger who is now known as a hermit lte in his life, and he is also very critical of how people interpret what he meant from The Catcher in the Rye. It was originally written for adults when it was first published but since then, the novel has become very popular with teenagers because of characters like Holden Caulfield. The 1950s was also going through many difficult times, including the Korean
Holden attacks various weaknesses in the 50's society. He criticizes nearly everything that he observes, and refuses to pull punches. Often Holden uses his brilliant talent of observation to discover the true motives behind the people he calls "phony." Through his observations the reader can interpret Salinger's view of the 1950's culture. Holden's perceptions of paranoia, conformity, and the consumer culture convey Salinger's views.
J.D. Salinger’s, The Catcher in the Rye successful in many respects, from its popularity among adolescent readers, to its 29 weeks spent on the New York Times Bestseller List. One part of The Catcher in the Rye that was not successful is its main character, Holden Caulfield. Holden mentions at a certain point in the novel that he aspires to be a “Catcher in the Rye”. Whether he achieved his goal is controversial amongst many readers. I believe that in the end, Holden was not successful in becoming, the “Catcher in the Rye” because he cannot change the the lives of others by protecting their innocence.