The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger is about a troubled young boy trying to seek the comfort he has never found. He speaks through this book as if he was asked to explain every detail in his past time. As you read his words and conversations he has with people you can notice right away there is something wrong in his head. He comes off to other people as just a normal boy who doesn't like to take everything seriously when in reality there is a problem there.
I believe this story was written for young adults to see the changing in life people have to go through. Some teenagers face problems that they think is so extreme when really there are bigger things going on today. This story shows that we do have it really good. We could be like this man with no social skills and very little friends. We are raised to be the best children we could be without noticing that there are people out there who don't have these skills. They may either have a disorder which doesn't make their minds think like ours or could just be defiant not wanting to listen or hear what anyone else has to say.
When we complain about not having enough or say " I can't" we should really stop for a second and think about the people who absolutely nothing let alone not having enough and the people who really cant do something because of a disorder or disability. The boy in the story can have all these things he wants if he would just live his life according to the way it should be lived. He makes himself to be the outcast and the problem child when he has the smarts to go to a great school but just doesn't put his mind to his work.
I would like you to comment on if I made my point across of why this story was written for us young adults to read.
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I'm particularly interested in the comment you voice towards the end of your post: "The boy in the story can have all these things he wants if he would just live his life according to the way it should be lived. He makes himself to be the outcast and the problem child when he has the smarts to go to a great school but just doesn't put his mind to his work."
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that parts of Caulfield's attitude towards others and of the personality that he portrays in the novel reflect rebellion against the way he 'should' be. Do you think he should follow the rules, or is it the rules that have created the monster? Hang on to this debate and revisit it when we get to the Beat writers of the 1950's and 60's next year. They too acted strangely and radically and refused to conform to the status quo, and many of them were committed to psychiatric wards because of this. Is Holden crazy, or too sane for his own good?
I like your last paragraph it got me to think a little not too many post out here leave me pondering a certain idea or topic, but your post was one of the few that did! Good Job!
ReplyDeletemar, i totally agree with you that the book was written for teenagers facing problems that they think is so extreme but really there is more other important things out there. Keep up with the good work =]
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