Catcher In The Rye

I have become interested in history because it has made me evaluate my perceptions and understanding of events both past and present. Through studying history I have started to understand the tension between different factions in society and how art, philosophy, music and subculture can be seen as a reaction to events that are taking place in their time. By learning about the rise of the Labour party, reading ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger and visiting the Immigration Museum on Ellis Island, I am now aware that the challenges which people contend with today, such as why the migrants are leaving places such as Syria and my personal experiences as a teenager, are fundamentally similar to what people have faced previously. Learning about 20th century British and European history has increased my awareness and understanding of current political debates, such as the role of the state in providing a welfare system and whether Britain should keep Trident.

One of the things that I drew from this book is how postmodernism and the changing face of society have influenced how history is written: it has begun to move away from the history of people with authority and has instead started to become more concerned with people whose history has not previously been explored or been considered important. Evaluating Simon Schama’s postmodernist ‘Citizens’, I found his take on the French Revolution refreshing as by embedding his argument in a vivid narrative it not only gives the event a human face but also made me consider to what extent a seemingly mundane matter or a chance meeting may influence the way events pan