The Catcher in The Rye, by J.D. Salinger has been on the required reading list in high schools across the nation since shortly after its publication in 1951. Though it has been criticized off and on by various critiques as being shallow, without plot and to fast it has held its placed in the English Departments for half a century. Part of what makes it a must read for any teenager is the ability to identify with the changes the main character, Holden, goes through. As teens begin to emerge from puberty and rush toward adulthood they inevitably begin to face life's ironies as well as their own weaknesses among those ironies.

Holden helps them see those life responsibilities and lessons they are learning through the eyes of a peer. Regardless of the era the book was penned in, and regardless of the changes our world has seen, the painful rebirth every teen passes through in the final phases of childhood is a road Holden helps them navigate.

One of the most important changes that Holden deals with in the Catcher in The Rye is the realization that there is really no such thing as unconditional acceptance from anyone. Holden has always had a problem with authority figures. From the b

There was one realization that Holden arrived at that other teens rarely do. Holden had an old soul. Because he was "wise beyond his years" in many areas he saw too much too soon and it caused great confusion for him. The ability to understand so much about why people act the way the do, without the years behind him with which to handle it became too much to bear. He at once realized he had seen way too much and was completely unequipped to handle it. This psychological awakening caused the breakdown that landed him in the hospital.

While there he learned to accept that he might not do any better once he was released. This may be viewed as a depressing realization at first. But when we peel back the top layer and look beneath the surface we will see it is actually the final understanding that he can accept himself for who he is without shame, or trying to be someone else.

eginning of the book he makes it clear that he is not the type of teenager that goes with the program and complies with the rules. He has been kicked out of three boarding schools and still does not feel he should change the way he reacts to structure and confinement. Holden is aware that he has a reputation for being a rebel that borders on troublemaker. He discounts such opinions of his character believing the opinion holders to be beneath him, or at least unable to understand the reality of who he is. However, he has a 10-year-old sister Phoebe who he has always been close too. When he sneaks to his house to visit her while "on the run" he anticipates the unconditional acceptance that he has always enjoyed from Phoebe. Instead h!

Salinger, J.D. Salinger. "Catcher In The Rye. (L.B.Books, 1991)

Pearlman, Michael. " The role of socioeconomic status in adolescent literature".Adolescence. (1995):

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1206
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)