You can tell that J.D. Salinger knows a lot about human nature by the theme that he addresses in this novel. From the time we are born until it is time for us to leave our parents and go conquer the world on our own, most of us have been cared for and we have had a lot given to us by our caretakers. I think that a lot of people take this for granted and they think that it is their natural born right to have someone take care of you. Of course, a baby can not feed and clean itself, but you get the idea. Kids do not realize what they have while they have it. Teenagers on the other hand are starting to begin that process of seeing that they will have to take care of someone someday too. That is what being an adult is all about; taking care of other people. Unless you are a hit man everyone has a job on this planet that is to benefit others. When teenagers start getting jobs and their classes are harder they start to see what life is really like, leading to that feeling of never wanting to grow up. I personally know how hard it is to go through this transition. All adults want us to think about anymore is college and the ACT and what we want to be when we grow up and on and on and on. It is hard to think about all of those things when you are just trying to get by today without messing something up. I am not trying to make it sound like my life is terrible, because it is not, I am just saying this is how it is for most teenagers and I completely understand where Holden is coming from. The valuable theme and lesson that I got out of this book is to enjoy these high school years while we can and do not be such a grump when it does come time to think about adult things. It is going to have to happen sooner or later. The phrase YOLO does not seem to apply here, so how about 'You only go through high school once?' Maybe it will catch on...
Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 1951. Print.
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