Holden's Influence On The Catcher In The Rye

While this novel does have profanity and sexual references, it still deserves to be taught in high school because Holden shows how having a negative attitude towards life does not get a person far. In the beginning of the novel Holden tells the reader that "[Pencey] kick[s] [him] out [of their school]" (6) because he "was [failing] four subjects and not applying [himself]" (6). However, he does not just notify the reader, he notifies them in a way of forgetting to mention that he is no longer going to be attending Pencey. Holden passes this off as some minor detail when in reality it is not just a minor detail. Later on, Holden reveals to the reader that this is not the first school where he has gotten expelled. To some this would be devastating,

Before he leaves though, he "yell[s] at the top of [his] goddam voice, 'Sleep tight, ya morons ' " (68)! Although it is a shame, any reader can see that Holden seems to have nothing going right or in a positive way all because of his negative attitude. Therefore, this attitude leads him to almost care about nothing. Though Holden may seem to be a lost cause because of his negative attitude, he thankfully has an epiphany that changes his view towards the world because he realizes that people have to grow up. When Holden visits his younger sister, Phoebe, he is happy to see her, but when they begin talking their conversation turns negative. Holden begins complaining to her about what he hates, but Phoebe tells him that he hates everything. Though Holden disagrees with her, when she asks him to name one thing that he likes, he struggles to think of something that he likes. So, she asks him what he wants to do later on. Eventually, he tells her that if he could do anything, he would be "the catcher in the rye" (225) because that is "the only thing [he would] really like to be" (225). He hints to the reader that he wants to be the catcher in the rye so