The Catcher in the Rye - My Final Blog/Thoughts

In this final blog, I would like to talk about the struggle Holden has with accepting adulthood into his life. I think this is a very important theme/struggle in the novel because it is something that I can relate to, along with other students my age. It seems we all are dealt life's card at some point growing up. The Catcher in the Rye is such an exquisite novel because its theme can still be applied in today's society, despite the fact the book was written over fifty years ago. I am not exactly sure if Salinger's novel has been made into a movie or not, but if it has yet to hit the big screen, I know I would thoroughly enjoy watching it.

Like I said before, the fact that Holden has such a hard time grasping reality is not something new in my life. Now that I am getting to be older and forced to manage tasks on my own, I feel the same attitude Holden has in the novel. He feels as if everyone around him is a bunch of phonies. I feel like that at times too, especially now that I am in high school and I see all of my friends changing, some good, others bad. I read a lot of reviews of The Catcher in the Rye regarding it to be a very terrible book. First of all, I am pretty sure the critics reviewing it are like fifty. Why would they want to read about a sixteen year old's struggle with life? They have already dealt with that, so of course reading this book would not be applicable to their own lives. Anyway, stuff like that really irritates me (I sound like Holden. Hmm, maybe another reason why I was so intrigued with the book). Back to the point. I personally felt a connection to Holden Caulfield because I am experiencing similar struggles in my own walk of life. I am glad I sat down and actually read the book, instead of Sparknoting it like a lot of my fellow classmates probably have. If you are reading this and decided to do that, I highly suggest taking the time to read the novel. It is better than what short summary Sparknotes has to offer you.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.