The questions I will be answering are “How does this novel reflect the history, behavior and social issues of the time period and setting? What is this book's symbolic and thematic significance?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. The book portrays the time period of mid 1940’s- beginning 1950’s pretty spot on. The fact of showing how there wasn’t a lot of people driving and people more often taking cabs and trains as means of transportation was much like in that time period. The times were a lot different back then for teenagers. First of all most things were just more available. A small amount of money could get you a lot back in those days, and most teenagers only had a small amount of money. They could go to a bar a buy alcoholic drinks and no one would really stop them. They could go and get hotel rooms and strippers and most would just turn the other cheek. Today people would not serve them, most can’t afford hotel rooms, and most strippers won’t do anything for children/ teens. In this time all of these were not only partly acceptable, but they were acts Holden himself did. Holden basically did whatever he wanted to. He slept, ate, and went wherever he wanted to or felt like going. He was never really questioned or got in any trouble. Today you teenagers, and even adults for that matter, cannot say, sleep, or go wherever they want. The symbolic and universal theme to me is the timeless factor of teenager problems. No matter what era or day there is always going to be confused teenagers. "People always think something's all true." (Salinger, J.D. pg. 9) This quote is also a symbolic theme showing that the “truth” is not always true. This is something that many people can take away from the book because even today we believe too many lies. Between television, magazines, and the internet, we believe everything we see or hear.
Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.
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