The Catcher in the Rye

 The Catcher in the Rye is a well known novel which has become an enduring classic. The novel follows two days of 16 year old Holden Caufield as he has been expelled from school. 

I must admit, when first reading this novel I struggled to understand why it was so well-known and studied in schools. however, I soon began to realise the importance of this story. The story highlights the loss of innocence as Holden is determined to grow up into adulthood. Yet, he is only 16. An innocent, young sixteen year old boy jumps into a world filled with alcohol, sexual actions and nightclub but overall, Holden falls into a world filled with loneliness, sadness and loss of hope - his idea of this world was not what he imagined and his child-like innocence has been stripped away from him. 

Ultimately, the two days of Holden's life which we are exposed to demonstrates the hardships he has been faced with - particularly the loss of his brother Allie years back. Due to this loss, Holden is very attached to his little sister Phoebe. Phoebe listens to him and is a voice of reason throughout the novel as she proves herself to be more mature than Holden despite being 10 years old, she manages to tell Holden when he is right & wrong. Although, due to her age, she still has her childhood innocence which Holden lost too early on in life and so, he tries to hold onto Phoebe's innocence and protect her at all costs. 

Overall, J.D Sallinger created a novel ahead of his time - one which demonstrates the hardships of growing up as well as the need to grow up too soon. The novel is one which can speak to and relate to teenagers and young adults for an endless amount of generations.