Theme Of Catcher In The Rye

“When I really worry about something, I don't just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. Only, I don´t go. I'm too worried to go. I don't want to interrupt my worrying to go.” Holden caulfield is a sixteen year old boy that worries a lot about the future. In this novel he struggles with growing up. The book catcher in the rye by J.D Salinger is a fiction novel. The Catcher in the rye is relevant to teenagers now a days. The emotions that holden goes through and the actions he make can be relevant today in many ways. The theme in this novel is Innocence. holden caulfield's secret goal to be a catcher in the rye. A catcher in the rye, well in holden's perspective is a person who helps
kids not go into and witness the adulthood.“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.” Holden doesn't want to kids to experience the adulthood because he thinks it bad, he just want them to stay with their innocence now. Nobody could stay innocent but they could chose to do the right thing.

The second theme in this novel would be mortality. Holden doesn't want to grow up but he’s for certain that he doesn't have any innocence left. “What I really felt like, though, was committing suicide. I felt like jumping out the window. In most of the chapter he feels like running away and he talks about death so much because he's tired of his life. This relates to teenagers because many kids our age have thought about death. Teenagers sometimes feel depressed and angry because of stress at school, problems with others ,and trying to please our parents. Over time all this stress and depression make you think that killing yourself will not make you go through what you're dealing with at any time of the situation. Teenagers feel like death is the way out even if they're just playing around by saying it.

The third theme in catcher in the rye is Isolation.“I felt so lonesome, all of a sudden.
I almost wished I was dead.” while being in new york holden was alone and depressed as hell. He always talks about everyone being phonies, but the truth is that he can't communicate with others maybe it's his way of being. Most of the time it's good to tell someone how you really feel and let out everything you been holding on. But holden can't do that because he's alone and that's only making him feel depressed and emotionally sick. He wants someone to listen because it must have been hard getting kicked out of pencey or how he still feels sadness about his brother Allie's death. This relates to teenagers because all of us feel that way in a part of our lives. Sometimes we can't talk to our parents, or even friends because they start judging you. And even though we are not alone we feel like we are. We wish we could find someone to tell us everything is going to be okay and that it's going to be better. Holden doesn't feel like he could talk to anyone but his little sister phoebe but the truth is that being with phoebe gives him happiness something that he can't find yet. Holden sees that when he's an adult, life going to be harder and
difficult.

The novel catcher in the rye by J.D Salinger could be relevant to teenagers and can also the teenagers could relate to holden emotionally.
Half of all teenagers are rebellious like holden caulfield. The three themes that i chose were innocence, mortality and Isolation. I picked these three because these three stood out more when i read the book and i could relate to all of them. innocence,the older you get you realize what's good and what's bad and yet many of us pick what's bad/wrong. Mortality, some of us fear death and most of wish it. Everyone in this world is going through something whether it's an argument to an issue and eventually a problem. Many of us can handle it or fix it but most of us can't, we feel like were not strong enough to deal with the situation whether it's bullying, family issues some kill themselves to not go through any more problems. Last but not least Isolation, holden is all alone in new york and he feels lost, depressed, anxious. Every teenager feels one of these emotions right now and even though they are not alone ,like if they have family or friends they still feel loneliness and this causes emotional distress and a lot of mental
issues.