Catcher In The Rye Argumentative Essay

Sam Soroko

Ms. Sullivan

Honors English 9 IH

1 June 2023

Catcher in The Rye RST

The Catcher in The Rye by J.D Salinger is recorded as one of America's most famous, yet infamous books of the 20th century. First published in 1951 after a decade of work, the book was unique due to its strong themes of teenagehood, loss of innocence, and sexuality. This made the book very controversial to society yet very relatable to the old American youth in an era of post-war cultural rebellion. Catcher is a book about a rich teenage boy named Holden who runs away from prep school to New York and struggles with fitting in and functioning with the societal norms of the 1940s. Many teens found Holden to be a relatable character that matched the teenage standards

People understood and connected with Catcher due to the language and vocabulary it shared with the audience at the time. Words like “Phony” and “chewing the fat” made sense in its release era, but have now become outdated by modern slang of the 21st-century youth. Shown in the article, “Is Catcher in the Rye Still Relevant to Teens”, states “ "It's hard for a 14- or 15-year-old to put themselves in a post-World War II mindset. The language is different. Holden's voice sounds authentic and vivid, but it's not how a teenager sounds today. There's a lot of ambiguity, and you're not quite sure how to read this person." This excerpt shows that students can’t connect and comprehend the development and protagonist of Catcher due to its outdated language that blocks students from understanding the book and receiving its messages. Catcher comes from a different time and since kids don’t have the same perspective and age as the book, they cannot connect with Holden and the book itself. The older generations of current students like their parents and grandparents can understand the book, but going forward in the future, Catcher will only continue to lack understanding by future student generations that will see Catcher as a piece of a classic piece of literature like Shakespeare that can only be taught and understood in school with a

Most kids don’t relate to Holden’s character due to the privilege he has in an old-fashioned world that most would not have due to racial, religious, or gender reasons. Holden's complaints and anger about innocence and teenagehood make students feel they can’t understand his struggles due to the modern access and exposure to information that gives children a better insight into growing up and exposure to adulthood. In the article, “Schools Are Seeking A Multicultural Holden” it states “Holden Caulfield is probably pretty out of date, compared to some kids in the schools now," said Michele Bajek, supervisor of English language arts for Arlington schools, where many students hail from Somalia, El Salvador, Egypt and dozens of other countries. Bajek finds the tale of underachieving, prep school dropout Holden and his nervous breakdown irrelevant to the lives of most of her students, many of whom work part-time to help support their families” This supports how Holden’s complex character is undermined due to the outdated writing of his character that hurts the connection people face with him and the book. America today has a wide diverse culture with varying races, ethnicities, genders, and wealth classes that have equal representation in modern literature. Catcher was created in a time when there was no inclusivity in literature and