The Catcher in the Rye by Michael

The Catcher in the Rye by Michael - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

“Mothers are all slightly insane.”

This is just one of the many quotes throughout The Catcher in the Rye that leave every teen who reads them with a mischievous smirk on his/her face. The Catcher in the Rye is a story about a teen, written for a teen. When I read the reviews online and the comments from people trying to be so analytical and cryptic about how the book has no meaning and Holden is just some pessimistic kid, I just want to reply by saying, “ You’re a grown up, this book is not for you. It wasn’t written for you, you just don’t get it, so just grow up and let kids read.”

The Catcher in the Rye is the kind of book that you either really love, or you really hate. I really loved it, and I think the majority of teens I know did too. J.D. Salinger wrote the book in our language – the voice throughout is just like a teen thinking or speaking. The humor he used throughout the story is ridiculous and makes no sense, but that also makes it great because again, it’s written for teens. How many times do we laugh at the same things adults do? Holden Caulfield’s sarcasm throughout the book is also spot-on and reflective of teen culture and humor, as are the contradictions he so often makes throughout the story. “I don't exactly know what I mean by that, but I mean it.” These not only add to the humor in the story, but also are a true reflection of the teenage psyche – we often make no sense, we’d rather be sarcastic than let our true feelings show, and half the time we really don’t know what we mean when we say or do the things we do.

Despite the humor and sarcasm in the story, J.D. Salinger also shows other, just as real sides of a teenager’s psyche. Throughout the story he identifies and emphasizes the little things that teens take an interest in, such as their cool new hats. He also is able to convey the fact that no matter how sarcastic or defiant teenagers may appear to be, they still very much want and need their families.

When teenagers graduate and go off to college, they will be so busy reading text books, writing papers, and studying, studying, studying that there will be no time for reading classics such as The Catcher in the Rye. Before they know it, they will be adults and this book, while still great, will have lost a majority of its value to them because they will no longer be able to relate directly to the main character, Holden Caulfield. This is why I think every teenager should read The Catcher in the Rye before they graduate and become a “stinkin adult.”