Cather in the Rye
Without a doubt, J.D. Salinger is one of the best twentieth-century America authors. He is best known for his book, Catcher in the Rye, a book about a seventeen-year-old teenager, struggling through his teenager years, falling into a depression and trying to understand the real world. The straightforward approach to his novel caused a hurricane of controversy in America. It was the first time an author, dared to tell it how it really is and tried to open America's eyes to understand the thoughts of a typical adolescent teenager. This straightforward, simple read is nonetheless used in many schools today for its rich content of symbolism and truthfulness. This book has had a huge impact on teenagers all over the world.1 The story of J.D. Salinger's life begins on January 1, 1919 in New York City. He was born into a wealthy family; his father was a Jewish cheese importer.2 Salinger attended many prep schools. This is where he was first inspired to become a writer. In his quest to become a writer he wrote many short stories, many of which were never published.3 In his later years, Salinger joined the military. He participated in World War II where he became emotionally distraught and sought psychiatric help. Mostly due to the fac
Unfortunately, some troubled youths have read the Catcher in the Rye and felt so sympathetic to Holden that they have taken the book to far. Obviously this doesn't happen often but in the case of Mark David Chapman it did. Chapman, as a young kid, lived with an abusive father and was constantly picked on at school. He lived an unhappy life without many friends or hobbies. Although considered a normal boy with an IQ of 121, well above average, he feel into an awful drug habit during high school and constantly ran away from home.11 His life took a drastic change when he was 16, when he decided to deeply involve himself in religion and music. He loved children and worked at the local YMCA. When he first heard Lennon say, "We are bigger than Jesus Christ" he no longer idolized the musician. He would jokingly chant, "Imagine John Lennon is dead".12 At the same time one of his close friends handed him a copy of The Catcher in the Rye. Soon Chapman would obsessively read the novel over and over again as he identified himself with the main character.13 In the years that proceeded Chapman would have continuous thoughts of suicide and would get himself deeper into a depression.13 The first sign of his obsession with the Catcher, was when he told his girlfriend to read it and that he wanted to change his name to Holden Caulfield and even wrote a Hawaii attorney general to ask for the procedure. When he brought home the book, John Lennon: One Day at A Time by Anthony Fawcett he was deeply angered to read that Lennon pre
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Approximate Word count = 1023
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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