I recommend reading Catcher in the Rye as it shows the many common themes that a teenager lives with. Going into Catcher in the Rye, I was expecting that kind of book read in high schools that you feel like you are forced to read. I’m not a big reader either but this book really did catch my attention. I didn’t really think it was a good thing to try and have a strong narrator if he is flunking out of school. But for some reason this idea that he is flunking out of school kind of helped to make this a story that makes things so much better. 

Catcher in the Rye is the story of the main character, Holden Caulfield, and his struggles of a teen growing up. This common theme of Growing up can be broken up to many subcategories in the struggles of Holden’s Life. What caught my attention the most throughout Catcher in the Rye was that Holden really did have some major but possible struggles of a common teenager. I don’t believe that many teenagers are getting kicked out of school after school, but I do think a lot of teenagers struggle with the thought of being lonely or even being lonely in itself. 

The plot starts off with a big event as Holden finds himself kicked out of another school and he is leaving at the end of the weekend. The book is very slow for a good chunk as the weekend before he leaves honestly feels like you are with Holden for multiple months. While being a slow paced beginning, we as the readers find that there is really good character development between characters like Ackley and Stradlater.,Two people who aren’t necessarily important to Holden but are developed in a way that makes them seem like main characters. This  character development helped me to remember the characters better, but at the same time this slow paced beginning gets boring. I also find myself wondering why Holden likes to repeat himself a lot. He seems to need a sense of reassurance in order to feel better about himself or even to fully know the truth. 

 A main theme that I have come to discover as I have been reading The Catcher in the Rye is the struggle of growing up. No one ever wants to grow up and sometimes growing up can be scary and Holden helps to portray this idea that everyone has their struggles in growing up and that growing up shouldn’t be easy. I find that this is actually a relatable theme not only to me but to a lot of other teenagers. Growing up comes with a lot of struggles and Holden helps to show the reader that not only is it normal to struggle with growing up but it is something that most people do struggle with.

Another theme that we recognize is loneliness. Holden is extremely lonely. He doesn’t seem to fit in with the crowds he has been around and we often see him just sitting alone in his room. At the beginning of the novel instead of going to the huge football game we see Holden sitting in his room and even going to talk to one of his teachers before he leaves Pencey. This is an extremely powerful theme in the way that Holden can let other teenage readers feel the way he feels. Holden is just an ordinary teenager going through his life with the daily struggles that he has. I believe this book is extremely important to read especially as a teenager. 

Overall the book is very slow but it has great character development and even helps to portray how Holden can be relatable to many other teenagers. I recommend that every teenager should read this book whether it is for school or not. Holden is a great example of the American Teenager going to school, having fun, and even doing stuff with friends. But we see the problems that come with this and how he flunks out of school a lot and even struggles to go out because he doesn’t like the mass of crowds and how he can sometimes feel lonely. Catcher in the Rye is a great novel portraying the struggles of growing up and the struggles of being a teenager and is a book that many people should read.