The Catcher in the Rye

Name

Professor

Subject

Date

The Undying Legacy of J .D . Salinger 's The Catcher in the Rye

Introduction

The Catcher in the Rye is one of the significant books released during the Second World War . It also made the list of the top 100 novels of the 20th century . It is also recommended as one of the must-read books in American literature

J .D . Salinger became a key writer of his time due to the publication of his precious and only novel in 1951 . The book managed to gather

numerous appraisal and approval and become one of the books recommended in various prestigious bestsellers lists . The book underwent numerous transformations and criticisms until it was declared as one of the censored books inappropriate for young readers (Andrychuk 2

The book was banned due to its flagrant use of profanity and behavior of the protagonist which might mislead its readers . Authorities imposed necessary actions to prevent further proliferation of the copies

Although The Catcher in the Rye caused considerably controversy when it was first published , the book tells of the accounts of disoriented days in the life of a troubled sixteen-year-old boy . The book presents its undying charm and legacy of real thoughts of an idealistic youth which remains to be the indelible weakness in our society

Synopsis

J .D . Salinger presents in his novel the adolescence experiencing alienation and dysfunctional social mechanism . The novel title was based on a poem by Robert Burns , Comin ' Thro ' the Rye (Lombardi

The book tells about the story of an adolescent who is about to enter the realm of adulthood . The book relays the story of the novel 's protagonist , Holden Caulfield , and his misadventures and constant failures as well as his ideas defying conformity . He is a consistent drop out of different schools . And when he is again expelled from his school , he decided to leave school in anticipation of his expulsion . He refuses to go home because of the shame and scrutiny he will receive from his parents and siblings . He decided to spend the next two days in New York where he contemplates on the different prevailing American values , as well as the perception of sex in the society (Andrychuk 1-2

The novel focuses mostly on Holden 's encounters in the Big Apple . He experimented on his life during his stay in New York trying the different experiences which comprised the adult world . In the end , he concluded that the adult world is a world of phoniness and hypocrisy for the sake of adhering on the underlying conformity standards of the society . He also examined that the childhood world is full of innocence and honesty that is lacking in the world of the elders

The novel has the theme of alienation as a self-protection , as Holden feels ostracized in the midst of phony adult people . In the course of the story , he has always attempted to find his place in a society where he feels like he does not belong . Thus...