Catcher in the Rye, Holden essays

Catcher in the Rye, Holden essays School, family, girls, alcohol, money, and sex. These are all very normal but serious problems among teens. The book A Catcher in the Rye emphasizes these problems with the main character, Holden Caulfield. I think these problems and the diversity of the story are the two main reasons this book is so popular among schools. Many teens can probably relate to the problems Holden has in the story. Holden, like many teens, is failing out of school. The major pressure among many teens is to exceed in school. We are introduced to Holdens school problems near the beginning of the story, and we learn that he has already failed out of four schools. By witnessing what trouble Holden goes through from failing out of school many teens will look upon this as an incentive to try harder in school. Right as Holden was leaving school he says, I was sort of crying, I dont know why (52). This shows he felt terrible for being kicked out, and he did not want to leave. Another common problem among teens that Holden experiences is with his family. Holden has a distant relationship with his parents. The most obvious example of this is his fear to tell them about his expulsion from yet another school. When Phoebe infers that Holden was expelled she constantly says, Daddyll kill you(165). Holden commonly digresses at the subject of his parents. The next common problem is with the opposite sex. Holden has an exceedingly large problem with girls. He feels in love with all the girls he encounters in these four or five days. In addition, he has strong feelings for an old friend, Jane Gallagher. When Holden meets up with Sally he says, I didnt even like her much, and yet all of a sudden I felt like I was in love with her and wanted to marry her(124). Many teens feel this way about the opposite sex but in many cases, it is a result of raging hormones. The last things that Holden is confronted ...