Catcher in the Rye- Question 3

The questions I will be answering are "What universal themes does this book address? What does the author understand about human nature?" from the book Catcher in the Rye. The universal theme is kind of a mix between confidence and happiness in you. The amount of confidence in and happiness in you defines how you will act towards other people and yourself. This book shows how acting mean toward other people and get upset over things that don’t really matter in the end will only hurt you. In this case it only hurt Holden. Holden was such pessimistic people in the book that it made it hard for me to relate to him sometimes and almost dislike him even though I knew he was just a character. This to me made the theme really been shown because it shows how being mean is just another way that people deal with their own insecurities, as don’t by Holden. It is such an important theme also, especially when and if the book is directed toward teenagers and people in their 20’s. The author knows a lot about human nature! “What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse." (Salinger, J.D. pg. 4) This shows how he knows about the human nature of even a pessimistic and mean boy having trouble letting go. The author realizes that it is really hard to people to let go of things and other people. That is one way the author understands human nature. The second way I found was that he understands how people who have their own insecurities, take that anger and hate towards themselves and try to throw it at other people. The author knows this is unhealthy and shows how in the end it only hurts oneself.


Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.