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Catcher In The Rye Adolescence Quotes

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“Then I lit another cigarette… I must’ve smoked about three cartons that day” (161). Catcher in the rye book by J.D Salinger is about a teenager named Holden Caulfield and is based on Holden failing college (Pencey) and having a rough time living around New York City until his parents find out that he failed at his fourth college. This book is written from the perspective of J.D Salinger and counters many issues regarding adolescence such as freedom and responsibility that Holden can’t handle leading to nervousness and depression. This is shown through topics such as drug usage, smoking, drinking, prostitution and J.D Salinger’s meaning to Catcher in the rye though it contradicts with the idea that he is nice towards Phoebe (Holden’s younger …show more content…

The main reason he does this is he has no support and no one to talk to. This led him to depression, which teenagers struggle with because of no support from parents. An example of this is when the prostitute comes into his room and he explains his feeling in the book “I felt much more depressed…” (95). This reinforces that he is certainly depressed and wants to talk to anyone. To relate this it shows that due to him living alone, as he failed his college and didn’t want to return home until his parents received the letter, due to this, it can cause depression as you don’t have anyone to talk to and you are left alone, this suggests that growing up is bad due to you not having mental/ physical implication of any close members due to a specific event in time. Not only does Holden spend his money on calling a prostitute, but he also involves himself to ask others to smoke with him due to desperation needs and support, this suggests that being alone can lead to an incorrect …show more content…

Holden is a heavy smoker partially due to his mum being a smoker herself. The cigarette plays an important part in Holden's life as he has an indirect reason behind it. Holden smokes in occasions where he is nervous or when he has difficulties, this provides a symptom of growing up is harmful, as though it focuses on him being nervous but it can also cause other diseases, such as asthma. This relates back to freedom, as if you were restricted you will choose what is right for your body. An example of him smoking is when he is hungry, “I felt pretty hungry as soon as I had a cigarette(105).” His feelings are shown due to him smoking such as hunger, this informs that he doesn’t have someone to take care of him when he is hungry or in any other situations. This provides proof that he needs support, meaning that he can’t handle the freedom and responsibility. Leading onto the meaning of the book in the perspective of the

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