Blog 42

Question three we are having to answer for Catcher in the Rye is addressing the universal themes that are suggested in this novel and what does the author seem to understand about human nature.

The themes in the book Catcher in the Rye are very different compared to the other two books I read, The Grapes of Wrath and The Old Man and the Sea. Both of their themes had to do with never giving up and always making sure you keep going. Both of them had very similair themes which is a completely different theme than the one of Catcher in the Rye. The universal themes of Catcher in the Rye is mostly about what it is like to have to grow up. It is about how hard growing up may be. The universal theme is the painfullness of growing up by watching HOlden, a young immature boy, as he faces growing up and maturing and as a reader we get to see how he struggles with it.

It is actually quite strange that Holden Caulfield is the protagonist in this story because as a reader you get so frustrated with him and do not really like him sometimes. Holden is just like a little kid(Sallinger 69). He just wants everything to be easy and a joke. He can not take anything seriously because he just does not want to. I think he actually enjoys being immature.

As far as the theme of not wanting to grow up being universal...Growing up is difficult. It is something that every adult had to face at some point in their life, and for some growing up is a lot easier than it is for others. There are people in the world, all over, that would like to grow up. They want to have their own responsibilities. They want to develop a work ethic to earn money in order to earn their own things. I am one of those people. I like being mature and acting as an adult. Yes, it is hard to do and at times not as fun as being immature and not growing up, but i prefer living this way because I think the benifits it reaps are worth it. However, their are other people in the world that would like to stay kids forever, just like Peter Pan and his lost boys. They do not grow up until something forces them to. The thing that forces HOlden to is the question of sexual intercourse. Of course Holden is not ready because he has never accepted responsibility in his life. Anyway, whether we like it or not, no matter how difficult or how easy it is, everyone has to grow up.

Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and, 1991. Print.