J.D. Salinger’s novel ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ was published in 1951. The novel was not warmly received when first published, but it soon became a sensation. Many college students have read this book or had to research and study it. In this guide, we’ll analyze ‘The Catcher In The Rye’, theme and essay writing.
The story is centered on a 16-year-old character, Holden Caulfield. It narrates two days in Holden’s life after being expelled from prep school. Smacked by reality, Holden finds himself confused and unsettled. Holden struggles through the reality of the adult world and ends up depleted and emotionally drained.
From an academic perspective, students are often tasked to analyse the themes that come through the tale as Holden navigates the challenges of these two days. The aim of a ‘The Catcher In The Rye essay could involve breaking down those themes and discussing how readers can apply them to their own lives.
Let’s take a look at some of the things you may come across when analysing the story.
Writing An Essay On ‘The Catcher In The Rye’ – The Themes
‘The Catcher In The Rye’ is a fascinating book for its exploration of a number of powerful literary themes. These invariably get asked for essays and coursework, so below you can find useful overviews to help get you started.
Click Here To Learn How To Create A Literary Theme
You can also check out this handy video summary of the story too:
Reclusion As A Defence Mechanism
Teachers of adolescent education can explore this theme to educate students on the need to be present and open to people around them. In the novel, we see Holden in a state of alienation. He is distant and excluded from the world around him. He is also victimized.
A reference can be made to when he tells Mr Spencer he feels imprisoned on the “other side” of life. So, his entire life is about finding his way to this side. He attempts to find a way in a world where he doesn’t feel comfortable. As the story unfolds, we discover that Holden builds this alienation as a defence. His isolation is caused by his perception that he is above everyone around him.
This state of mind makes interactions difficult for him. A keen reader would realize that dialogue and conversations were confusing and overwhelming for him. Thus, his inflated ego served as a protective cover for him. So, in a nutshell, the isolation offers him solace.
The Burden Of Adulthood And Growing Up
Another theme in ‘The Catcher in the Rye‘ that can be used in adolescent education is that of the painfulness of adulthood. The novel is about a boy stepping into manhood or adulthood. Holden is a sort of paradoxical character if we are to explore this theme. However, we can all agree that a sort of conflict comes once a person realizes the effects of time and growth. Holden refuses to accept growth and maturity.
He has a fear of change and abhors complexity. From his perceptions of the Museum of Natural History, you can sense that Holden enjoys simplicity and permanence. He wants to be externally static and constant, like the statues in the museum. Even though he criticizes people for not understanding everything around them, he is a victim of the same sin.
What is interesting is that, like all teenagers, he refuses to confront this fear. He expresses it a few times. In chapter 9, he expresses that sex is something he does not understand. Holden creates a fake solution to his problem.
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Adulthood and its Phoniness
Holden enjoys the word ‘phoniness’. The word describes feelings of superficiality, lack of depth, pretension and hypocrisy. These are factors he encounters every day in his life. Before he reveals the catcher in the rye fantasy in chapter 22, Holden points out that adults are inescapable phonies.
That’s not the worst. To him, the sad thing is they cannot see the phoniness. Holden converts the word phoniness to mean anything wrong in his surrounding environment. This provides a basis for his denial and cynicism. He is not entirely wrong about his judgments. In the novel, he encounters people unaware of their pretence and superficiality.
Appearances
According to Holden, there are two types of people. The first group is people who care about appearance, and the second is those who don’t. To him, people who give too much attention to appearance are phonies. He believes that those are the people who consider looks over personality in most cases. Holden feels surrounded by such characters in the novel. Mr Stradlater exemplifies the best case of this.
The main character points out that Mr Stradlater seems composed and decent on the outside but is disorganized and dirty in secret. Holden believes he fancies substance over style. In the novel, he exclaims on time, “I didn’t give a damn how I looked”. This is not entirely true because he has small practices like putting down the flaps on his cap. This shows he’s concerned about looks even though he tries to act too cool for that.
Performance
A deep reader may figure out that Holden has a dualistic philosophy. In the same manner in which he holds style and substance, so does he regard authenticity and performance.
Performance is associated with phoniness to him. He dislikes actors or anybody who turns his life into a performance. He believes that acting has a corrupting value. He prefers originality. This is a problem faced by most adolescents.
There are other themes that teachers can look at in the novel. Some other themes that are prevalent in ‘The Catcher In The Rye’ include:
- Religion
- Inaction
- Sexuality
Reflections On The Catcher In The Rye, Theme And Essay Writing
‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is a rich work of literature that explores areas of adolescence and early adulthood with freshness and depth.
Even though the novel is old enough to be called a classic, it has relevant information that adolescent education teachers can refer to. The novel has so many themes if you look with a microscopic eye.
We have attempted to uncover the most pressing and important themes in terms of adolescent education. These themes can be used to shed more light on the issues that most young people face.
Learn More About Writing, Essays And Theme
Below, you can find some more useful guides on writing, theme and essay writing:
If you need any more help with ‘The Catcher In The Rye’, theme or essay writing, please don’t hesitate to get in contact.
Most nights you can find him up into the wee hours scribbling away or watching the NBA.
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